Grand Tour 1932

[Letter 16] Pensione Dinesen Rome, Italy February 3, 1933 Dear Folks, My last letter was typed on the "Conte Grande" and mailed the following day from Cairo. A group of about thirty people, many of them ship employees, ha been signed up by a specialist in trips for ship crews.His name is Goldman and he knows his business. Well, we agreed to go and little Miss Kramer made it a party of four. The crowd left in taxis and caught the 3:00 o'clock train to Cairo, arriving there at about 6:30. Then we were whisked over to the Bristol, where we had dinner. The dark attendants and waiters with their light clothes gave one a queer feeling. The meals were very good. The next morning we were off early by auto to the outskirts of Cairo. The Pyramids are not in the midst of the desert but at the edge of the city -- surrounded by sand of course. Marcus and I each mounted a camel which was led by a dragoman; Dora and Miss Kramer preferred a sandcart drawn by a donkey. We wer...

[Letter 14] Aboard SS "Conte Grande" January 18, 1933 Dear Folks, Here I am in the Lounge at a round table, typing on ship-board. I believe letters 1 and 2 also were written on board a boat. There is half an hour or so before dinner and I am tired of resting and reading in the stateroom. I expect to mail this letter in Naples to-morrow. One of the things I mean to mention in a previous letter is the way the land is utilized. The land is terraced: that is, a long stone wall is built and then a horizontal "step" is made, say eight or ten feet wide and then another vertical wall. From a distance the hill looks like a flight of broad steps, the verticals being gray and the horizontals being green. Think of the vast amount of labor used to wring a little fertile area out of nature. Our friends at the Victoria were genuinely sorry to see us go. Madame Lange, the charming Lithuanian lady, was interested in improving her English and in enjoying a good game of bridge. She, h...