Luxury Living Special Section Inside Luxury Living
A Special Section of The Washington Diplomat
VOLUME 23, NUMBER 6
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June 2016
JUNE 2016
WWW.WASHDIPLOMAT.COM Summer Shape-Up
Intense Fitness Classes Prepare
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Middle East
BY STEPHANIE KANOWITZ
It’s not too late, though, to ensembles — we’re looking get in shape for the smaller summer 45-minute class promises to tone the especially hard at you, swimsuits. surveyed three classes at entire body. Participants We stand on a boutique gyms that pack a lot of power — a 70-inchspecially designed surfboard called the RipSurfer into an hour or less, zapping X board that balances on three calories while strengthening cles and pushing cardio. Bosu-like balls. Straps mus- hold it in place, Whether you’ll be riding but they can be adjusted the waves in stable as Costa Rica, creating your to make the board less class members’ abilities own Tour de France or just on a Tahitian beach, these REV Pilates, which opened advance. classes will get you ready. lounging late last year, offers two SURFSET classes. The types of Blend class incorporates more cardio and can burn up to 900 SURFSET FITNESS AT REV calories in one session, while Balance PILATES GYM is heavy on yoga poses and holding positions, co-owner Whether you’ll be riding Erika the waves or not this summer, this
Talks Between Taliban, Afghan Government Over Before They Began Peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban may be over. To some, they never really began. Hopes were high that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani could do what had eluded his predecessor: engage the enemy. But after a series of false starts, Ghani has drawn a line in the sand — backing away from diplomacy in favor of tough love. / PAGE 8
Bodies for Warmer Weather t
t’s June. That means two things: Summertime is here and 80 percent New Year’s resolutions of us who made to get fit are, well, not meeting the mark. Studies most of us throw in the show that gym towel on resolutions we’re likely regretting within a few months as the humidity grows — a move and the hem lines shrink.
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EUROPE
BELGIUM’S BAD RAP? Following the Brussels and Paris terrorist attacks that killed scores of people, Belgium has been slammed as the world’s most prosperous failed
Europe
Free from Soviets, Georgia Still Keeps Wary Eye on Russia This spring, Georgia’s 3.8 million people mark a quarter-century of independence from the Soviet Union. But with Russia still breathing down their necks and making life difficult for people in this turbulent part of the world, not everyone is in the mood to celebrate. / PAGE 12
state, an incubator of terror and ground zero for European radicalism. Ambassador John Verbeke says he’s more than ready to have a rational discussion about the country’s security failings, but he says Belgians won’t give into intimidation — or hyperbole. / PAGE 15
Culture
American Prints Get Respect “Three Centuries of American Prints from the National Gallery of Art” offers a sharp reminder of the power of print. / PAGE 26
People of World Influence
Diplomatic Spouses
Bulgarian Envoy Bids Farewell
German Rewrites Diplomatic Script
Elena Poptodorova performed her first assignment as Bulgaria’s ambassador to the U.S. so well that her government asked her to return for an encore. Now, after a combined 12 years, the popular envoy reflects on her posting in Washington during a critical time for her country, and for her personally. / PAGE 5
Huberta von Voss-Wittig runs a tight ship. The German journalist and mother of four has to if she wants to hit her deadlines while helping her children with homework and accompanying her husband to high-profile diplomatic functions. / PAGE 27