Heading to the Main Stage...

Ashlynn had three castings for fashion shows for Amsterdam Fashion Week in July and was chosen for two of them. Unfortunately, those two shows were both the same day, so it was only possible to do one; Marjolein from Dune Agency advised doing the Aziz Bekkaoui show as it was paid and on the main stage.

When I was watching a show with Ashlynn in January in the Gashouder, I could only dream that I’d be watching my baby walk down the catwalk in this cool venue.

Was so happy that not only were Jimmy and Veronica able to come along, but Carlin and Sally joined us as well. I got back from Paris with just enough time to change my clothes and meet Carlin and Sally at the train station. Veronica dropped Ashlynn off in the morning and then spent the day in Amsterdam and Jimmy met us after work.

The Eiffel Tower...

After the cruise, the band was to play at the restaurant at the dock across from the Eiffel Tower. Of course, we had to take more photos.

We were disappointed to learn that the concert was only to be an hour long, meaning that the band spent more time setting up and taking down than actually playing, but it was a nice venue and a very good concert.

The next morning we had breakfast together before Dad and Ann boarded the bus for the next leg of their journey to Lyon. I originally had planned to spend much of the day exploring Paris on my own, but had to change to an earlier train as there was no way I was going to miss seeing Ashlynn walk the catwalk at Amsterdam Fashion Week.

Cruising on the Seine...

The following day Ann and I visited a street market in the neighborhood and then I did some quick shopping at a mall to buy some capris as it wasn’t as warm as I had anticipated. That afternoon we were taken by bus to meet a boat for a cruise along the Seine. Only a quartet played for the passengers on the top deck of the boat.

I’m not usually a fan of tourist cruises, but there was no annoying multi-language play-by-play on the top deck, so we could enjoy the jazz and the scenery in peace.

A Parisian Jazz Club...

That evening, the three of us had dinner at a sidewalk café before heading to Le Petit Journal Montparnasee Jazz Club to watch the band’s first concert.

As you can see, they were dressed very casually for the warm-up.

The concert was actually much better than I expected as there was very little improvisational jazz, which is a style that my dad loves but I don’t. Unfortunately, the concept of being in a Parisian jazz club turned out to be better than the reality as it was nothing special.

Visiting My Parents in Paris...

When I found out that my dad was going on an European tour again with the Stanford Jazz Band (despite his age and the fact that he never attended Stanford) and wouldn’t be visiting us, I was disappointed. My disappointment faded quickly after Dad invited me to join him and Ann for three nights in Paris, which was the first stop on their two-week tour. They had just arrived in Europe, so our first night was quite mellow with dinner with the band at the hotel.

The following day, Ann and I took a long walk while the band rehearsed. We walked across Luxembourg Gardens, which is a huge park starting near our hotel in Montparnasse.

Eventually we made our way to the Seine. It is estimated that the one million love locks on Pont des Artes bridge weighed 45 tons; they were removed from the bridge in June and replaced with panels painted by street artists.

Of course, we had to pose in front of Notre Dame.

Visiting a Glacier...

One day they took a gondola up a mountain and then hiked up to a glacier.

Ashlynn and Sara

There was no working on the glacier; this part of the trip was just for fun.

Ashlynn, Leo, Rory, Sara and Stas

Biology / Geography Trip to Switzerland...

Ashlynn and Sophie

Ironically, Jimmy and Ashlynn both left for Switzerland on the same day, both for school. While Jimmy was busy in a classroom learning about renewable energy, Ashlynn was busy doing field work, which she really enjoyed.

Ashlynn and Marina

For Biology, they had to count the number of different species of plants in a quadrant.

Leo, Josie, Joe, Marina and Ashlynn

For Geography, they had to measure the velocity and gradient of the river.

The didn’t measure anything at the lake; just enjoyed the views.

Despite lots of work each day, this was one of Ashlynn’s favorite school trips.