Europe 2025: Planning

Spring saw the start of a 20-week trip to Europe for me, focused on visiting and photographing cathedrals, primarily in the Balkans. The genesis for the itinerary began back in 2021 while I planned my Ireland trip, as I had booked a group tour which I later canceled. That provider kept some funds, and I had to decide on one of their trips or lose my deposit - a decision to be made by year end 2024. After looking at the options, I selected the latter half of May and a 2-week tour of Greece. That became my anchor for developing the itinerary.

Next, getting across the ocean: I’ve come to realize that I hate eastbound flights, particularly overnight, with multiple time zone changes. Retired, I have the leisure to embark on a transatlantic cruise, spending at least a week on a ship. On my target list is Bermuda, as Hamilton has two cathedrals, and thus far, every cruise that included it (and I booked) has had an itinerary change. This occurred again with my first two booking plans for 2025. I eventually wound up on the Emerald Princess from Ft. Lauderdale to Civitavecchia (Rome).

In the meantime, I began working backwards from Thessaloniki, the land tour starting point, working from maps generated using data on spreadsheets of locations and names of cathedrals in the several Balkan countries. Initially I thought I’d be moving by rail from Rome through Venice, but I found a cruise leaving Civitavecchia for Trieste, which included multiple ports on the Adriatic. Once booked, I continued to develop the itinerary from both ends of the calendar.

Croatia would be the true start, working down the coast, crossing into Bosnia and Herzegovina, then Serbia, Romania, and finally Bulgaria. Then the Greek tour would begin. In addition to the cathedrals in the cities where I’d overnight, I found tours, guides and booked private drivers to allow me to see many other cathedrals. This would be vasty educational, cultural and passion-filling.

The Greek tour was set, with several options where I could peel off to visit a nearby site. The group was a baker’s dozen, three of use being solos. It proved to me that I’m not really the group tour type. Once we ended in Athens, I planned to fly to Cyprus, with a driver and a guide booked so I could explore both sides of the contentious border. On my return back to Athens, I boarded a cruise ship for a 10-day Aegean trip which included stops in Kusadasi (Ephesus) and Istanbul.

When the ship returned to Athens, I would hop a bus and head north to spend a relaxing, peaceful week with my cousin’s husband and his brother, both native Greeks. This “down time” would be much needed, recharging my “tourist batteries”. Departing, I would head back to Thessaloniki before crossing to North/”north of” Macedonia. This took me out of the Schengen zone again - important as there is a 90-day limit per 180 calendar days for non-Europeans.

Two cities in Macedonia, then two more in Kosovo. More education about the cultural differences that color diplomatic alliances in the region. A private driver was booked to collect me and take me to multiple cathedral sites in Albania, with a second and third driver helping me explore Montenegro and more of Albania. Ending in Durres, I would board an overnight ferry to Ancona in Italy.

In Italy, the plan was to head northwest towards Torino to see the Shroud. I scheduled a rendezvous with Elisa, my Italian concierge, in her home town of Modena. Once in Alessandria, I’d use it as a base to see Piedmonte, before heading south to the Liguria coast and then west. After a day trip to Monaco, I’d cross into France and work my way west across the Mediterranean coast to Montpellier. A private driver would take me north to several cathedral cities before crossing over the Millau Viaduct, a bucket list item.

From Rodez I would see some of the massive “must see” cathedrals in the central part of France. A side trip to savor the countryside of a fictional character, then I’d head towards Paris. While I’d been to Paris in 2023 to visit the 10 cathedrals there, there were 6 more outside the Périphérique to add to my list. I’d fly home just slightly over my allotted 90-day quota, returning to Florida. And my cathedral count would expand to 1200.

Consolidated map of places to visit, per my itinerary

One last task I had to accomplish during first quarter: my 4-year-old passport was down to 15 blank pages, and with this and my 2026 trip bringing me to many new countries, I needed a "fat" (50-page) passport. So, once I returned from the Caribbean in late January, a new photo (with the winter beard) and application were sent off, and 6 weeks later, I had yet another passport.