Mi Czech friends, David and Marketa, invited me to their wedding in Prague on was was my 43rd birthday, July 7th. Even though I was planning to stay in Brazil for the summer, I changed my plans and ended up celebrating my birthday at their wedding. It turns out that’s a pretty smart thing to do — you get a catered event with lots of people who want to party. I didn’t even have to pay for anything, and there was a champagne truck. I hope David and Marketa get married again soon have have a wedding on my birthday again.
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Reims, France

by Reid Peryam· October 01, 2022· in Europe, Travel· 0 comments tags: france, reims
After Croatia, I spend three days on the naturist (naked) island, Île du Levant for three days. Afterward, after a road trip through Bourgogne, Baune, and Dijon (highlight: I ate an entire bottle of dijon mustard — delicious — using a gas station sandwich) I settled into Reims, France, the capital of the Champagne region of France. I was supposed to stay 10 days before heading to Paris, but I ended up extending my stay on account of a heavy work schedule, an ugly sinus cold, and the happy, healthy routine I fell into in Reims. I worked from my Airbnb rental apartment that had the best city view of any I’ve had so far: a view of the cathedral and a beautiful fountain with a golden, valkyrie-looking woman on top. My gym had an oyster stand out in front of it and I made a habit of visiting each day after exercising. A local boulangerie owned and operated by a very sweet woman and her daughters captivated me — my daily breakfast order came to be “duex crossaints s’il vous plaît” as well as the only French that I spoke. Nevertheless,, the locals were gracious and made it a […]
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Split, Croatia

by Reid Peryam· September 22, 2022· in Europe, Travel· 0 comments tags: croatia, split
I’ve been traveling to Split so often, and documenting my visits here each time, that this will be the last time I write a website entry about it; what was once an exciting international destination feels unremarkable after many years of habitual visitation. This was the first time I was able to visit Split during the summer since the pandemic. Being unable to swim in the sea during the past few years has been really, truly difficult. I’m sure it must sound odd that plunging in the Dalmatian sea is a sort of ritualistic, self-baptism that I need to do from time to time. As I am enveloped in the dark water, I feel immediately purged and restored. That initial two-second chill after submersion (the heat escaping my body) is whatever dreadful spirit has accumulated within me, dissipating into nothingness. Being unable to release that from my soul had forced me to carry that extra weight inside me for too long. This time around my friends David and Marketa invited me to accompany them to the islands of Brač and later to Hvar (follow those links to see photos for each), during their customary island adventures. They also fed me […]
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Behold summer photographs from the north of Italy during my short stopover in Ledro and the towns surrounding Lake Garda.
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Madrid, Spain

by Reid Peryam· December 31, 2021· in Europe, Travel· 0 comments tags: madrid, spain
I first visited Madrid in February 2017 for just a couple of days. I remember enjoying the food, culture, and architecture -- it was the first time I had visited Spain; my instinct told me Madrid is a city that matches my style. It seems that the universe also desired that I return to Madrid. While living in the Maldives last year, I met many friendly Spanish vacationers who passed through the resort I was living on. Surprising to me, the Maldives is a popular destination for tourists living in Madrid and Barcelona owing to travel promotions from their international airlines.
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Split, Croatia

by Reid Peryam· December 28, 2021· in Europe, Travel· 0 comments tags: croatia, split
Again I visited perhaps my favorite place in the world, Split, Croatia. Whenever I fly through Europe it is increasingly difficult to not stop in Split on my way through. This time was spent reconnoitering with friends during a Christmas that would otherwise be spent alone. The visit also necessitated getting a Covid vaccinated as my forthcoming entry into Brazil necessitated it.
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Istanbul, Turkey

by Reid Peryam· December 21, 2021· in Europe, Travel· 0 comments tags: istanbul, turkey
The last time I was in Istanbul was in 2015. I had planned to stay for five weeks but instead spent most of that time at Oktoberfest and exploring Troy, Pergamum and Ephesus. Sorry I did you wrong in the past Istanbul, let me make it up Oktoberfest and exploring Troy, Pergamum and Ephesus. Sorry I did you wrong in the past Istanbul, let me make it up to you this time around; well as much as I can in two and a half days.
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While I was living in Split, Croatia, my friend Helena Lovrić and I stumbled upon a group of ladies playing the sport of bocce. In Croatia, bocce is not a sport that women play and so we felt inclined to talk to them and ask what the story was. It turns out that these sixty-something women have started a sort of feminist movement doing weekly activities typically reserved for men!
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When departing Croatia I wanted to segue to a destination within Europe that 1) I had never visited 2) was not conspiring in Covid regulatory policies inhibiting happiness. I had a handful of options throughout the Balkans that fit these criteria: Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. While I hope to visit all of these places eventually, the convenient option and availability of a short bus ride from Split to Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina simplified the logistics greatly. Traveling is fun when the next destination seems to volunteer itself for your consideration in such a way that you feel inclined to trust its judgement. I find that being ignorant of the geography, history, language and culture of the destinations that I visit sets the stage for efficient learning. By this I mean that unburdening oneself of the presuppositions of knowledge allows us to become empty slates upon which to record. For instance, being unable to pronounce “Herzegovina” prior to my arrival set a low bar of expectations of what I might learn from my visit; assuredly in my vacant, dry-sponge mind, this trip would be a success if afterward I had solved this single mystery. When I […]
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Split, Croatia

by Reid Peryam· February 27, 2021· in Europe, Travel· 0 comments tags: split
There is a lot of content on this website covering my visits to Split. It’s one of my international homes, and prior to 2020 when governmental Covid-19 restrictions inhibited international movement, I was in Croatia perennially five summers in a row. However, my streak ended in 2020 and that made me mad; so much for being a no-mad. I did manage to break free of the USA in mid January, 2021. Any port in a storm and Split is a most fitting port — having been a port city welcoming foreigners for over two thousand years. It was a great decision and I’m very glad to have returned after over a year away. The Dalmatian coast is known for the rocky beaches of the Adriatic sea, island life, sunshine and pomalo summers — but even in winter during a pandemic, unable to do my daily swims or beach-basking, Split felt better than the black hole of fear, anxiety, divisive politics and caustic media that has come to define the United States of America. In previous visits when asking Croatian friends what winter was like in Split, I was led to believe “very windy, very cold, but sunny.” Maybe I lucked […]
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