First Day in Chamonix....

The last time we were on vacation with Vivynne and family was our big trip to Croatia in 2013. This time I was completely out of the loop as Vivynne arranged everything with occasional input from Jimmy. She booked us a one-week stay in a lovely wooden house in Les Houches, in the Chamonix region of the French Alps.

That first full day together, we drove into Chamonix for a walk around, some lunch and to grab some groceries. 

Although much of the city caters for upscale shopping and dining, parts are a bit grubbier..

....including this area where we found a restaurant with great vegan wraps. 

It was sad to see so-called “locks of love” had invaded this bridge in an otherwise quaint spot. 

A Few Hours with Jim and Nina...

Shortly after Veronica arrived home from England, we set off in a rental car to head to the French Alps to meet old friends Vivynne, Tony, Ariana and Max. Along the way, we took a small detour to have a short visit with Jim and Nina. There was no snow at their house, but we did pass some on the way.

After a quick snack, we took a nice walk around their neighborhood, which included this mansion...

...and lots of grapevines. Silly me failed to get a group shot or a photo of their lovely house.

We hadn’t planned to stay for dinner, but couldn’t resist Nina’s offer of chili made from a mix from a great chili restaurant we used to go to together in Raleigh. It was a short but sweet visit.

Amsterdam with Ashlynn...

Ashlynn had a casting in Amsterdam, so I tagged along. She was so excited to play a vinyl record for the first time.

There were an insane number of pigeons gathered at Dam Square.

I thought the decorations of this bookstore was especially festive...

...and this window at the big department store was really adorable.

Couldn’t resist taking a photo of the beautiful blue skies over Amsterdam Centraal station...

...which didn’t last long as it poured while we were having lunch in the station. As soon as it stopped raining, I dashed outside to grab photos of one of the most vibrant rainbows I’d see in ages.

If only the second one was as clear.

An Average Day in Voorschoten...

As much as Kati would enjoy chasing the coots, she usually doesn’t even have the chance. They get one look at her...

....and they voluntarily jump in the canal.

I think the new Mini Bieb in our neighborhood is just adorable.

Double Editorial...

Shot by German photographer Bela Raba, the photos were used for two very different magazines. Point of View appeared in the December 2018 issue of Moi Ostrov, a fashion magazine produced in Cyprus geared towards Russians living in Europe. You can see the entire spread starting on page 36 of the digital issue.   

Cyprus Hill appeared in the February 2019 issue of Spectr, an international eyewear fashion magazine for opticians and eyewear enthusiasts. You can see how the same photos were presented differently starting on page 200 of its digital issue. It was definitely a great way to finish her on-stay in Greece. By the time she got back to Athens on Saturday, she only had enough time to grab a quick meal before Jimmy had to head to the airport. Ashlynn enjoyed another two nights of partying with her model friends and then it was time for her to come home as well.

Behind-the-Scenes and End Results...

The following day Ashlynn had a short shoot, another of which she never got the photos from. The next day, however, was a double editorial shoot from which she got tons of photos. It was also her first shoot with a male model, who just happened to be from Amsterdam. They were picked up early and brought to a nearby empty villa. 

It was very cool that many of the crew members posted behind-the-scenes photos. I love seeing the process...

...as well as the end result. 

The make-up was quite natural.

As you can see, this shoot was all about the glasses. These were Ashlynn’s favorite...

....but they didn’t make it into the official shot.

From this angle, Ashlynn’s outfit looks quite conservative...

....but the reality was quite different.

On the Catwalk in Cyprus...

Timing is everything in life and it turned out that Sophie’s was good, but Jimmy’s was bad when Ashlynn found out that she would be flown to Cyprus for three nights. In Sophie’s case, she would only have to entertain herself for one afternoon before she flew back to Holland. However, in Jimmy’s case, he was arriving in Athens for a conference the same morning that Ashlynn left and would be spending those three nights in her apartment without her. 

It was exciting that for the first time Ashlynn was flown and put up in a nice hotel for a job. Everything was arranged very last minute so she didn’t get confirmation until 9 p.m. the night before that a taxi was picking her up the next morning at 5 a.m.

The first big event was an evening of fashion shows in honor of the 100th issue of Moi Ostrov, a magazine for Russian expatriates living in Europe. These first two outfits were for Natargeorgiou, a duo of Greek/Cypriots fashion designers.

This outfit was designed by Ramona Filip, a Cypriot luxury wear designer.

These two photos were captured off of a video, which explains why Ashlynn looks a bit like an avatar.

She also wore Prada in another show for a local shop that sold a variety of designer brands.

Hashgiving...

The third Hague Hash we did in November was a joint run in Rijswijk with Amsterdam H3 and Opee hared the runners’ loop. Sadly for him, only two of the runners found the split and the rest of us missed it completely.

I enjoyed leading the circle. Once again Joe Dirt and Do Me Moore, the hosts, had made a trail that required the pack to follow photo clues rather than the usual flour and chalk up to the point of Opee’s extra loop for the runners. This fellow had to do a down-down for getting lost because he failed to turn over the page to find the rest of the clues. 

I clearly got into my role of leading the merriment of the circle...

...and I was occasionally even funny. 

Last year we helped with some of the cooking of Thanksgiving dinner, but this year Austin and Hannah did it all on their own, which was even more impressive considering they had six-month-old Emma to take care of. 

November Hashing with The Hague H3...

Although we don’t hash with The Hague H3 very often anymore, we found ourselves hashing three times with them in November. The first two times actually started in the same spot in Voorburg, which is an easy cycle ride from our house.

It was a beautifully sunny day to celebrate Webf*?%er’s 60th birthday. His trail had several drink stops including this one at a local brewpub.

It was not at all surprising that Opee committed at least one crime to earn himself a beer.

Three weeks later, we were back to the same start location, but it was a fair bit colder.

It was cool to learn that there was a hidden trail at the end of this light rail station’s platform.

The beer break was long overdue and we were relieved it was inside. Technology is frowned upon on trail. Since my memory is bad, I used my phone to jot down infractions to be reported on during the circle as The Hague RA would likely be looking for additional down-downs.

The circle was held out in the cold. As you can see, I turned my dear husband in for a crime committed on trail.