Another Test Shoot...

Greek photographer George Angelis first photographed Ashlynn at the fashion show for designer Sotiris Georgiou and then later requested for her to come to his studio for a test shoot. Here are the results.

Ashlynn was very excited that Sophie was once again able to visit her while she was on-stay. They visited the Acropolis and went clubbing.

Where’s the Photos?

Two days after I left, Ashlynn had another test shoot in Athens. As you can see from this behind-the-scenes photo that she sent us, the eye make-up was pretty wild.

She said it was a really fun shoot in a cool location: a basement bar with walls covered in graffiti.

Unfortunately, nearly five months later, we still haven’t seen any of the photos from this shoot. While the photographer is supposed to provide Ashlynn with the shots, it would be easy for her to use them without Ashlynn’s knowledge. Hopefully she’s just waiting to get them published in a digital magazine and will then send them.

Oddly, Ashlynn had better luck getting shots from a random photographer taking photos at a club.

Final Day in Athens....

While Ashlynn was at a casting the morning of my final day in Athens, I headed over to Ace Models, her Greek agency, to have a chat with her booker. I’m really pleased with how this shot of the Arch of Hadrian, built around 131 AD, looks like it’s in the middle of nowhere when in fact it is on a very busy road.

When Ashlynn and I met up, we stopped in The Loom, the carpet store in the historic walking district where her editorial was shot. 

We had a nice chat with the owner. As you can see, Ashlynn wouldn’t let me take a photo of her.

 We saw lots more ruins as we walked towards the Acropolis.

Eventually we made it to the path up the 480-foot (145-meter) Filopappou Hill, known as the Hill of the Muses as legend has it that nine muses were buried there.

Due to its closer location, this hill had even better views looking down on the Acropolis and the city.

It also had a nice view of Mount Lycabettus, where we had watched the sun set two days earlier.

My timing was perfect because I happened to be with Ashlynn when she got some great news: IMG had arranged for her to go to Seoul for eight weeks in early January, followed by eight weeks in Sydney. How nice of IMG to help me plan the locations of my next big trips as well.

Miscellaneous Athens...

I actually didn’t take this photo of Ashlynn nor was it a model shot. It was taken by a stranger while it was still quite warm, about ten days before my arrival.

Ashlynn was still posing for me at this early stage of my visit.

 Thought this was cool in a funky urban way.

Liked this mural on a school in Ashlynn’s neighborhood...

 ...but thought this mural near the port was pretty strange.

Had a good laugh that there’s a pasta company called Melissa, but doubt Jimmy was very excited about his souvenir.

An Unexpected Coastal Walk...

The following day we took the metro and a bus south of the city to head to a lake that Ashlynn had read about. We came across this beautiful bay first.

Lake Vouliagmeni was a very scenic lagoon supplied by saltwater from the bay and a freshwater spring formed about 2,000 years ago. Unfortunately, Ashlynn’s research failed to reveal the high entrance fee, so we admired the scenery and moved on.

Rather than immediately catch the bus back, we opted to walk along the coastline. First we paid a few euros to go to a private beach so we could use the loo and see the views...

 ...and then we walked along the public rocky beaches along the Saronic Gulf.

 We eventually found a waterfront café to watch the sunset, which was spectacular.

After having a nice chat with the restaurant owner about his upcoming vacation in the US, we caught a bus to the metro back to Ashlynn’s neighborhood. 

For the second time, we ate at a nearby souvlaki place. that served delicious and cheap pita wraps.

Sunset from Mount Lycabettus...

Later that afternoon, we headed over to Mount Lycabettus, Athens highest point at 908 feet (277 meters).

It was an easy walk up a paved path. Ashlynn was happy to finally be heading up, but wasn’t happy that I kept pointing the camera at her. Along the way we had a nice chat with an Italian guy who suggested we check out another hill on the opposite side of the Acropolis, which we did the following day.

This hill likely got its name from the wolves that existed in the Lykovatias Forest in the region in ancient times.

The views were incredible!

According to mythology, the hill appeared when Athena, after getting bad news from a raven, threw a rock which she was going to use to build the Acropolis.

We had some time to kill before sunset, so we went to the casual restaurant with views away from the Acropolis for a drink and snack. We especially loved the warm Greek raki (sweet alcoholic drink) Katrinakis with honey and cinnamon.

Although the sunset wasn’t spectacular, the view was.

It was cool looking down on the stadium where we had sat earlier in the day.

Athens was also incredible in the dark.