In Just Three years

Three years ago we took a family vacation to Europe, our first trip there. I was appropriately outfitted with phone, computer, camera, tripod, etc.—everything a technophile would need.

When we returned earlier this month, I kept it light: iPhone and iPad only. And I probably would have been fine without the iPad.

• LAST TIME: Phone and data connectivity was spotty at best. It wasn’t even reliable in the accommodations. THIS TIME: Rock solid connectivity.  Fast, actually.  At one point, I made a FaceTime call in the middle of a Parisian street and had no difficulty at all.
• LAST TIME: Astronomical rates for international phone minutes and texts. THIS TIME: We loaded $1.00 on Viber for external call minutes from France to a U.S. landline. At a rate of $0.02 per minute, my wife kept in touch with her dad for the whole of 10 days for $0.66. Calls and messages between Viber users were free.
• LAST TIME: Photography was complicated. Not only managing the equipment, but later downloading and manipulating photos was a big job. THIS TIME: My handy new iPhone 6 Plus was a rock star. Each day I was able to edit, upload, organize and share images quickly and easily.

I wonder what a return trip in three years will be like?

France, November 2014. Photos by Mark Baker.