St. Pierre Cathedral, Geneva Switzerland

Haunted house or ancient place of worship? I took this shot from the banks of Lake Geneva on a whim when I turned and saw the sun setting behind St. Pierre Cathedral. It was actually quite light out at the time, but for a few brief seconds as the sun fell behind the Cathedral, uphill and in the distance, illuminating it from behind, it created this wonderful illusion of a haunted mansion. While I know I'm technically not supposed to look into my viewfinder when the sun is shining so brightly, I squinted and hoped for the best. I was so excited when the shot came out this way because it creates such a juxtaposition - while it appears to be a haunted mansion, it is in fact a magnificent, beautiful, and quite ancient religious site, which fuses Romanesque, Gothic and Neo-Classical styles. Additionally, beneath this behemoth structure lies one of Europe's most extensive and exciting archaeological sites. A climb to the top of the North Tower afforded Brian and I a magnificent view of Geneva and Lac Leman, not to mention Mont Blanc and the Swiss Alps in the distance.

Eye of the Needle, Tignes, French Alps

"Man plans and G-d laughs." - Anonymous

My husband and I were just two days away from spending our two-week vacation in Winter Park, Colorado. We had been looking forward to spending time in our home there, and I was especially nervous/excited to try skiing after a rather upsetting season on the sidelines. However, when we checked the weather forecast, there was no snow in the near future and only three trails open! Frustrated, we starting thinking of other options. Even though it was last minute, we're both very spontaneous by nature, so no one was really shocked when we changed our plans and had a new itinerary within a day - off to Geneva, Switzerland for a few days then skiing in Val D'Isere/Tignes in France for eight days!

Needless to say, the vacation was phenomenal and one of our all-time favorites. There is something quite exciting (and perhaps adventurous) about such last minute plans - we never had a chance to think about anything, so the excitement was truly palpable. We didn't even realize how lucky we were- apparently the best early season conditions in over fifty years! We arrived in a blizzard and each day skied in knee-to-waist deep powder- fresh tracks everywhere! For me, there was nothing more exhilarating (and emotional) than being back on my favotie Stockli's and to be able to ski hard through insane powder and feel no pain....I am truly blessed and thankfully recovered.

This is one of my favorite shots from the trip- the "eye of the needle" on the Tignes side of Espcace Killy (the name given to both resorts together). It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day and I was following my private guide/sherpa (aka Brian) through some pretty interesting off-piste terrain on the other side of this beautiful rock sculpture.

Espace Killy - Val D'Isere and Tignes, French Alps

"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Muriel Strode

"There's no waiting for friends on a powder day. " -Author Unknown