Grand Tour 1932

[Letter 15] Aboard the "Conte Grande" Alexandria, Egypt January 24, 1933 Dear Folks: This letter will not be mailed before tomorrow or the next day. We have been in a different port every day but one, so naturally there has not been much time for letter-writing. Nevertheless, I believe you have been getting more letters than you expected. We got to Alexandria this morning and waited a while for the Egyptian officials to examine and stamp the passports. These dark-skinned guards take your passport away from you when you get off the boat and give it back to you when you get on the boat. Rather odd. Well, that isn't the only odd thing to report. From Naples our ship headed for Phileron , a port of Athens the capital city of Greece. Cook's had a big group at five dollars a person, but we decided to take in the sights in our own way. We took the electric train to Athens and then engaged a taxi. Soon we arrived at the famous stone hill, the Acropolis and were climbing th...

[Letter 13] Hotel Victoria Cannes, France Jan 13, 1933 Dear Folks The reason for my writing two days ahead of time is this: The "Bremen" leaves Cherbourg on the 15th and gets to New York on the 20th. As I have very interesting news for you, I thought I would rush this letter out sooner. So, here you are! I omitted to tell you in previous letters about our " carte d'identite ". All foreigners who stayin France more than two months are supposed to apply for one. Dora and I went down to the City Hall December 7th and answered a lot of questions about my mother's father's name etc. Then we had to pay 100 francs each and were given our identification cards, each with a terrible picture on it, which we had previously taken. Some people escape paying the tax by checking out to Italy for one night and then returning. Of course they would have to do that every sixty days. On New Year's day we had a grand dinner. Again I dusted off my old Tuxedo. Well this ev...

[Letter 11] Hotel Victoria, Cannes, FRANCE December 15, 32 Dear Folks, These last two weeks have been the quietest we have had since we started our trip. On many of the days the skies were gray; occasionally it rained. We therefore did not undertake the trips we had in view. Several times I went down to the harbor and made use of my watercolors. Dora took a trip to Nice to reserve rooms for our homeward trip early in April. Being unencumbered by Marcus and me, she "did" the city thoroughly. The straight, tree-lined Avenue de la Victoire is crowded with people. Window-shopping is delightful -- and safe. Another day Dora accompanied three old ladies, fine old British specimens, to Monte Carlo . No, they did not go near the Casino. They went to reserve rooms (for the three old ladies) who are going there after Christmas. Later they will move on to Menton. The run from Cannes to Nice is nothing wonderful, but from Nice to Monte Carlo it is truly marvellous, says Dora. One pass...

[Letter 9] Hotel Victoria Cannes, FRANCE November 18, 32 Dear Folks In my last letter I did not say much about our trip to Menton , Monte Carlo etc. because part of the trip was during the rain and so, though were were thrilled by the wonderful views, we decided then and there that we must take that journey again, in perfect weather. On November 11the dining room and the public halls were decorated with the flags of many nations in honor of Armistice Day. There were rattles and other noise-makers on the tables. We seated the six children at a special table for dinner and they had a hilarious time. I was the only man at a table of nine. A desire for wine was natural on such a festive occasion and so two of the ladies had large bottles of champagne on the table. We abstained. There are quite a number of husbandless ladies here and it is hard to tell which are widows, as those who have husbands rarely mention them. Three old British ladies have taken Dora's fancy. They are very brig...