Euro Daze

I jump at any opportunity to visit Europe and probably always will. Here are photos of me in EU, on my first AND most recent visits...1979 and 2023...19yrs of age vs. 64 years...San Raphael, France and Rome, Italy. There were some basic differences in these trips:

On my first night in continental Europe in '79, I and my comrade slept here between giant columns at the front of the Gare du'Nord, Paris.

Here, BTW is the Rome hotel ('pension') where I stayed a couple of days in '79. Its about 1000 feet from the Roma Termini train station...I made a point of finding it on the last trip.

Dealing with currency on the first trip was difficult...there were no ATMs and each state had their own bills, coins and exchange rates. We used AmEx 'travelers cheques'...which each of us carried in a waist belt....I didn't even SEE Euro currency this time, almost all transactions were accomplished with tap-cards or 'apple wallet'.

Making calls home was difficult in the old days. Generally we'd search out a bank of payphones...because it was actually common that one in a bank of 5 or 6 phones would be 'broken', allowing free international calling....Again, 'pocket-brains' make communications a non-issue, these days. BTW those 'calls home' in '79 were all 'collect' calls!...

For recording those late-70s sights...My mom gave me this, 'Instamatic', film camera...and I carried about 15 rolls of film, from home....and.... pocketbrain.

When we had to find and get to some place we needed to see....

Journaling and note taking, then and now....

Getting news in EU on that first trip was about a +24 hours average deficit for us in '79...which is to say we were regularly a day behind the rest of the world in getting news. That problem doesn't exist now, anywhere in the world. I kept a very close, daily eye on the Mariners progress, this trip. But I have to mention the International Herald Tribune here. I still have very fond memories of this EXCELLENT, English-language newspaper, which was our information super-highway in '79...any time we found one, we'd seek out a place to sit, and we'd devour every page. Likewise, when Christine and I lived in Hong Kong the 'Herald-Trib' was our go-to, as well. Always a terrific news source!

Carrying our gear...Its a good thing we were young and strong. I think my military duffel weighed about 60-70 lbs...I brought wheels and carbon-fiber this time.

all-in-all...I wouldn't change a single thing about either of these magnificent trips! Arivederci Roma...see you soon, I hope!

t.