Back in December of last year, I took my daughter Miranda on what was the most ambitious (not to mention costly!) travel itinerary I had ever planned. A European trip that would cover six countries over 29 days utilizing a combination of trains, planes and automobiles. The ultimate European vacation (sorry, Chevy!).
It was a continuation of a trend that began with an unimaginable tragedy.
When my wife Madelyn passed away in September of 2018, I (we) didn’t feel that being at home for Christmas was something we were prepared to handle. We needed something grand, something that would make our first Christmas without her not suck so bad.
Christmas Day, 2018: Catedral de Santiago de Compostela
So I planned a multi-city, 18-day road trip to Spain where we spent Christmas with family in Galicia (where my mother was born) before flying home. Europe in December was absolutely wonderful, and it really helped ease the pain of Christmas without Madelyn. It also sparked an idea – why not travel every Christmas?
Well, a busier than usual December the following year and two years of Covid relegated us to spending Christmas with my family in New York (still great!) but in December of 2022, we were back at it as we spent three weeks driving up and down Portugal (with a stop in Galicia for Christmas), this time extending our trip to spend New Year’s Eve in Lisbon (which was fantastic).
New Year’s Eve, 2022: Lisbon
So when December of 2023 came around, the pressure was on to top the previous year’s winter vacation. And, dare I say, I reckon I did just that. How about six different European countries over 29 days via trains, planes and automobiles? That’s right. Written, produced and directed by yours truly.
Miami to Paris to Brussels to Prague to Vienna to Milan to Barcelona (where we spent New Year’s Eve) and back to Miami.
The Sainte-Chapelle, Paris
Why so ambitious? For one, my business enjoyed another very good year in 2023 (gotta enjoy it while I have it, no?), and my daughter had accepted a new job as a restaurant manager starting in January. Her previous job allowed her to take off large chunks of (unpaid) time but with her new job, it would be the usual two weeks of vacation.
Christmas Markets at the Old Time Square, Prague
I’ll just say this – it was the trip of a lifetime. And while the full gallery of photographs from every country is still a work in progress (more on that below), I did manage to create a recap video using the remarkable Xiaomi 13 Ultra camera phone that I purchased just for this trip.
The Xiaomi 13 Ultra features a variable aperture 1-inch main camera and Leica(!) co-engineered lens. And of course, I also had my Sony A7RV camera and a few good lenses but the Xiaomi has become my go-to camera when I want to get around without the bulk of the Sony attached to the 24-105mm f/4 G lens plus a camera bag carrying my 35mm & 85mm lenses every day. Enjoy the video below…
You can view the photographs from our trip over at the site of my “other half” Dan Perez Photography