Wednesday, August 14, 2024 In 1985, I found myself in Paris, covering the Paris Air Show for an aviation magazine. My essentials? A couple of reporter’s notebooks, a few pens, and a wallet filled with traveler’s checks—essential back then. Navigating the intricate streets of Paris, I relied on a paper map from my hotel, asking for “Avez-vous un plan de ville?” whenever I got lost.
Fast forward to today, and technology has revolutionized how we travel, making it much easier to navigate, stay connected, and share our experiences with loved ones and colleagues. Back in the day, if you wanted to make your family and friends back home envious of your travels, you’d buy postcards—those little pieces of paper with beautiful photos of landmarks like the Eiffel Tower. You’d write a short message, address it, and send it off, knowing it would likely arrive after you returned home.
I fondly remember sitting at a café with my wife, Susan, comparing the amusing messages we penned on our postcards. The only part I don’t miss? The trips to the post office for stamps. In 1988, while covering the Tour de France, I wrote my stories longhand in a notebook.
Although typewriters were available in the press tent, French typewriters were a challenge with their different keyboard layouts. So, after writing my story on the final day in Paris, I went to the post office, provided the clerk with my newspaper’s phone number, and was assigned a phone booth. There, I dictated my story to my editor over the phone—just like in an old black-and-white movie.
By 1999, technology had made significant strides. Covering the D-Day ceremonies in Normandy, I carried a 20-pound laptop and a bulky digital camera that could hold just 30 photos. Sending stories and photos required sweet-talking the hotel clerk into letting me use the dial-up internet connection—a slow and often unreliable method that left the hotel staff less than pleased.
Today, my cellphone stores over 2,000 photos and videos with ample space left. The convenience is incredible, yet it comes with its own set of challenges. Earlier this year, I cycled through the Burgundy region of France.
Unlike the old days, when I’d arrive in a town and search for a hotel or youth hostel, this time all my accommodations were pre-booked online weeks in advance. Instead of asking for a room with a shower or a paper map, I asked for the WIFI code—essential for today’s traveler. In 2019, during a visit to Fumel, I had an amusing encounter when the hotel clerk spelled out the WIFI code: “Cee .
.. elle .
.. eye .
.. em .
.. eight.
” I entered “c-l-i-m-8” into my phone, but nothing worked. Sensing my frustration, the clerk kindly wrote it down: “climat.” Aha! It turns out “eight” was “a-t” in French.
During my cycling trip in Burgundy, I faced a challenge finding my way without WIFI access. Fortunately, my nephew Justin had shown me how to download offline Google maps onto my iPhone. After some trial and error, I figured out how to use them, and with the help of the trusty blue dot, I easily navigated from the train station to my hotels in Beaune and Dijon.
.
