1982 A Grand Tour of Europe by Travel Gals

INTRODUCTION

This Journal is being composed in 2024 from a diary handwritten in 1982

In England in the Victorian era (and before), young men from high status families were sent on what was called a “Grand Tour” of Europe as the official ending of their formal educations. They were expected to learn about the arts, music, literature and history of France, Germany, and Italy in particular. The more interested and intelligent ones were also expected to pick up some fluency in the languages of the continental countries. These experiences and accomplishments would establish them as gentlemen of the realm.

Young women were not sent on such explorations unless it was to rescue them from an unfortunate attachment to the wrong sort of person. If they were from sufficiently affluent families, they might be sent to a “finishing school” to inculcate in them proper manners, ease at small talk, talents as hostesses for their husbands' business friends and comrades. They were not expected to travel on their own, even in their own home areas. Life had to come to them.

How lucky we four were to be able to plan and enjoy our own “grand tour.” We certainly learned so much from each stop and enjoyed every minute of every day. I cannot report that we became fluent in either Italian, German, or French, but we enjoyed trying to learn a few helpful phrases in all three. Since it is now 42 years ago, I doubt that we could recall much from our linguistics studies.

Though it was such a long time ago, I think that a report of our travels might be interesting, at least in an historical way. Remember, there were no cellphones, no internet, and no inexpensive travel companies to help plan such trips. We were all of limited money means, but we had the thirst to travel in plenty. So, what did we use to plan such an extensive foreign trip?

There was once an exceedingly popular paperback book called “Europe on Five Dollars a Day” by a talented man named Arthur Frommer. He published the book in 1957 And there were newer editions as the years went by. I just checked on Amazon and there is a l960-61 paperback edition that sells for $199.00 dollars used. My goodness how things have changed! In the early days, the book was much thinner and cost about $5.00. But Mr. Frommer and his travel wisdom helped us to a wonderful first visit to Europe and we did not have to break the bank to do it. I ought to check out the newer edition and compare today’s advice to what we gleaned then.

Without the internet, all reservations made in advance for hotels, events, and transportation were made by landline telephone, post cards, and international money orders obtained from the US Post Office. Post cards took at least a week to reach Europe. Another week for a return card to confirm availability and a third week to request a hold on the reservation. Then, the money order would be sent to confirm the transaction. With today's internet and appropriate websites, this month-long negotiation can be cut to a few minutes. Gracious!

So – off we go. We drove from Jacksonville south to Hollywood where we left our car at my sister’s home. We flew from Miami to London on Pan-American Airlines’ 747. Pan-American Airlines shut down in bankruptcy in 1991.

LONDON

Well, something probably has never changed: our first day in London was spent dodging rain showers and skipping over puddles and sweating in our raingear. But we were undaunted. Even though we were jet-lagged and still sleepy from little sleep on the plane, we headed out to see the sights.

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

This royal palace has probably not changed since before we visited and not much after we were first there in l982. Of course, today the impressive edifice is now the home of King Charles III. Elizabeth II was still on the throne when we were first there. The Golden statue of Queen Victoria shone through the rain and the broad Avenue Pell Mell was leading the way to the Queen’s house. The absence of the flag flying above the roof signaled that the Queen was not in residence at that time. She usually took her summer vacations in Scotland, and I think that was true right up until her death. The palace Guards were dressed as they still dress today with red coats and high furry busby hats. The old saying is the “Rome is the Eternal City” and I am sure that’s true, but there’s something that seems eternal about the UK as well.

ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL

Even Nazi bombs did not bring down Sir Christopher Wren’s mighty architectural wonder. On this visit, we entered the vast building without paying any fee. On a later visit to London, we found that a charge had been instituted. We listened to the amazing acoustics of the enormous sanctuary and heard the whisper all the way

across the roof. We climbed the tower and got the stunning view of the city spread beneath us. The subject of my English major in college was Thomas Edward Lawrence (better known as Lawrence of Arabia). I knew that he had been buried with honors in the crypt of St. Paul’s and I wanted to go down into the depths of the church to see it. And there it was. On a later trip to London, I checked again to make sure he had not been removed and he was still there, and I imagine he is still at rest there now.

THE TOWER OF LONDON

Another changeless landmark of the capital city of the British Empire. So much history, most of it tragic in this storied complex. A genial “Beefeater” guard gave us an interesting tour and related stories about who lived and died here, where the chopping block was situated in Queen Anne Boleyn’s residency, which tower housed the young princes supposedly murdered under the orders of King Richard III and other blood thirsty tales. He told us about the huge crows living in the Tower grounds whose continued lives are necessary to the British Empire. Tradition has it that if the birds desert The Tower or die out, the Empire will fall. Needless, to say our guide assured us that the birds are well cared for.

The Crown Jewels are housed in the Tower too and I am sure that our visit in 1982 was much more casual than today. We just wandered into the room and roamed around looking at the priceless crowns, tiaras, swords, etc. There was no rolling ramp that kept us moving at a steady pace while we peered in at the jewels. There was a guard, but he was quite inconspicuous. Today, there is much more security, and you cannot linger any longer than the moving platform allows. Many more guards are everywhere.

Where did we stay? I had used my Frommer and contacted by snail-mail the proprietor of “O’Callaghan’s Nightly Tourist Accommodation.” and sent an international money order in pounds sterling to secure two rooms for the nights we were in London.

What a shock Mr. O’Callaghan’s hostel gave us all. It was very old, creaky and, more surprisingly, it was full. This sprightly tiny Irishman showed us to the first room (supposed to be for Sharon and Betsy). It was at the end of a hallway and there was a lot of smoke seeping from the door. Even more surprising, even shocking, was what met our eyes as we entered the room. Several men of various ages were seated all over the furniture, beds, chairs, tables. How they could see the TV set they were all staring at through the dense smoke cannot be answered. Our genial host informed us

that the men would be watching the soccer game until probably 1 a.m. at which time two of us could take possession of the room. Needless to say, that was not acceptable.

Kay was shown a room about the size of a broom closet with an unmade cot the only piece of furniture and I was told I would share a room with a Canadian lady wrestler. It didn’t take us even five minutes to announce that we would not be staying here and that we wanted our money back at once. The little fellow hopped away and said that wasn’t possible and if we didn’t stay, we would lose the money. Mouths agape we stared at one another and then Sharon, who was at least a foot taller than the tiny Irish leprechaun and much sturdier, stomped down the hall after him and stood over him looking quite menacing and said “We will be getting our money back, Sir. And we want it now.” She looked intimidating to the three of us and we think she scared him speechless. The next thing we knew, he scampered off to his office and returned with the money: 12 pounds.

That decision sent us back out on the street, thumbing wildly through Frommer looking for a place close to Mr. O’Callaghan’s “house of horrors” but in the same price range. We found Merlyn Court nearly next door and it was quite acceptable. The only odd thing about this room for four was that the shower and toilet were in the middle of our large room encircled by a shower curtain. Convenient yes, but weird, yes yes! The room was available for our first night in London, so we had to find another place for the next night. Cattycornered across the street from Merlyn Court was the Henley House Hotel and they had room for us the next night. We all took turns using the strange shower and slept very well.

WINDSOR

We were up early the next morning to leave our luggage at Henley House for the day since we were headed to Windsor by train at 9:30: a 50-minute ride.

WINDSOR CASTLE

Another unchanging edifice proclaiming the majesty of the Royal Family. Windsor castle was the favorite home of Queen Elizabeth II. It has been a royal castle for 1000 years. Of course, now we know that there are two royal graves that were not at Windsor when we visited: those of Prince Consort Phillip and Queen Elizabeth II who ruled for 70+ years. On the official tour, we were taken into the St. George Chapel built in the 14th century by King Edward III. The ancient structure has been desecrated and the insides pillaged destroyed during the Inglish

Civil War. Age has taken its toll as well so many repairs and restorations have taken place over the years. The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took place in this chapel in 2018.

ETON COLLEGE

We walked through the attached Frogmore Gardens alive with roses and other colorful flowers and stately trees. The sunny day created a marvelous scene in the Garden. We were almost reluctant to leave that peaceful sanctuary, but we got hungry. We found a small restaurant near Eton and had a strange lunch of sausage and chips (Actually pretty tasty.) The school was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI, originally to feed the University which he founded afterwards: Oxford. The school now accepts students from all walks of life and there is even financial support for worthy students who cannot afford the stiff $ 55.000+ dollars per year. There are 25 separate buildings on campus to house the students since this is a boarding school. Young men from 13 to 18 each have a private room. Most recently, we know that Princes William and Harry attended this prestigious institution.

THE BARBICAN

We left Eton about 4 p.m. and went back to London to see a play at this fantastic entertainment venue. It was built on ruins created by the bombing during the Blitz of World War II. It is the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company but there is also a concert Hall for symphony and musical performances and a ballet theater. We saw “All’s Well That Ends Well” and for company we were seated in the same row as Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

As you would expect, the play was Wonderfully staged and acted, and it was funny too. No chance of falling asleep even though we were still jet-lagged. We got home at midnight and the door attendant let us in despite the time. “All’s Well that ends well”: Indeed.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY

One of the oldest universities in Europe, founded in 1096, second in age only to the University of Bologna in Italy by 8 years. Until 200 years ago, religion was the only discipline taught there. Now every subject imaginable is taught there and it is a worldrenowned scientific research school. The campus is beautiful with stately classic buildings and chapels not to forget the Spectacular BODLEIAN LIBRARY. We walked around and looked at Merton, Christ Church, Oriel, Corpus Cristi, Magdalene, All Souls

Colleges. Students enroll in one of the colleges (whichever one accepts them) and live in that college in private rooms. They can study any field they wish, and it doesn’t matter which college accepted them. The city itself is lovely with blooming flowers everywhere and those stately buildings with spires and domes reaching for the sky. All Souls College is generally recognized as the toughest to gain admittance and the oral exams can go on for 5 hours during seven days. On his tombstone, T.E. Lawrence’s claim to fame after all he did in World War I and afterwards reads Member of All Souls College Oxford.

KEW GARDENS:

On leaving Oxford, we went back to Paddington Station and took the train to the famous Gardens. They were not over-hyped. We walked all around and marveled at the huge trees from all over the world and the flowers and greenhouses. After all the walking we had already done, we were ready to enjoy a boat ride back into the city, but the wait was going to be an hour and a half. We were too tired and too hungry to care about a boat ride. So, we ate at a restaurant near the Gardens and got the train back to town center.

More to see in London: Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, Victoria Coach Station, Marble Arch, Hyde Park and Speakers’ Corner. No one was bloviating while we were there.

PARIS

Though we have not been back to Paris for any intensive sightseeing or exploring, I cannot immediately think of anything that has changed all that much since this visit in 1982. Thus, this part will probably be a listing of all the places we marveled at on this early trip.

BOAT RIDE ON THE SEINE

Yes it was going on back in l982 and from pictures I see from folks who have travelled to Paris recently and from advertisements about visiting Paris, this scene ride is still a strong draw, especially since it takes you past Notre Dame and other sites on the Ile de France.

CHAMPS-ELYSEES AND ARC DE TRIOMPHE

A self-guided walk down this most famous street in Paris. High Class shops, way beyond our pocketbooks but lovely for window-wishing. Broad avenue with lots of vehicular traffic bordered by sidewalks filled with people: tourists and citizens. Any picture you see today of this thoroughfare probably looks the same: unless there is some sort of demonstration or protest as there seems to be often in present day France. Then it is probably more full of police cars and military presence than tourists.

NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL

We entered Notre Dame, so much easier back then than now and, of course, the great cathedral had not experienced the catastrophic fire in July 2024. When we visited the edifice in 2014, we had to stand in a long line with a timed ticket. On this visit, we just walked in. The rain fell heavily on us, but no one left the line. I can’t remember now which visit was made perfect by our hearing the grand organ playing so loudly that the very columns felt the vibrations. What a thrill to hear a grand pipe organ in a medieval cathedral.

LOUVRE

THE Louvre was crowded but not nearly as much as in 2014. We actually got close to the Mona Lisa, Nike, and the Venus di Milo. And the glass Pyramid at the front of the entrance was not built until 1989. And the underground excavation of 13th century ruins under the pyramid was not started until 2 years after this visit.

Other chief sights in Paris that we certainly made sure to see were: Eiffel Tower, Montmartre & Sacre Cuore Cathedral, Moulin Rouge, St. Chapelle Church, Place De La Concorde, Luxembourg Gardens, Alexander Iii Bridge, Tuileries Garden (where a coke and a hotdog cost us $15 American dollars and we were flabbergasted), The Invalides to see Napoleon’s Tomb, the Pantheon, and the Rodin Museum where we thought we would be staying for the night because the waiter would never bring us the bill for lunch.

Another amazing thing about the Rodin was the ladies restroom. It was squalled and consisting of a concrete-floored room with a hole in the middle for squatting to urinate. Unbelievable to us because the museum was otherwise so clean and modern.

ACCOMMADATIONS

Frommer once again came through and we found a hotel on the Isle called the Henri IV. It was an older building but there were lovely views out of the windows, mainly letting us spy on everyday life around the Isle. I think our very small room was on the third floor. There were two double beds and a bidet for furniture. No chairs, room enough for one person to pass between the two beds, towels the size of our tea towels for drying dishes, TRULY). The bathroom was down the hall and up the stairs on the fire escape for the building. A wooden room was attached to the outside of the building, and it housed the toilet and the shower. Very Interesting Arrangement. As naïve as we were, we made the mistake most Americans make on their first visit to Europe, we thought the bidet was a toilet for liquid waste. We did figure out not to use it for solid waste.

Breakfast was included at the Henry IV, and it was usually coffee or hot chocolate and bread with butter and an occasional egg. The food was passed to us through a narrow opening into the kitchen. We sat at picnic style tables which was fine until the awful American family joined us for the meal. The four children were insufferable, loud, disobedient, rude to their parents and everyone else. The parents seemed to have no control whatever on the kids’ behavior and they only timidly remonstrated with them a few times during an interminable meal. If we hadn’t been traveling on the advertised 5$ a day, I think we would have forfeited the breakfasts included.

CHARTRES CATHEDRAL.

The trip was a one-hour train ride from the nearest train station, the Gare de l’este. We splurged on couchette seats and enjoyed the views from the train. The town is about 90 km. Southwest of Paris. Construction of the magnificent Cathedral began in 1194 and the doors were opened in 1592. The speed of construction was incredible. It displays Gothic, Romanesque and French Gothic Architectural styles. And most amazing, 80% of the building is original. Another of its glories are the walls framing multiple stained-glass windows from the earliest days. Amazingly, the cathedral was not bombed in World War II. Again, we were fortunate enough to hear the glorious organ music reverberating all around us.

VERSAILLES

As if seeing one superb building were not enough for one day, we went to Versailles in the afternoon. The palace and the grounds are enormous, and we were very tired already. But we made sure we covered as much as we were allowed to explore. It is truly gorgeous, especially the Hall of Mirrors. Gigantic statuary fills the gardens to delight everyone. Apollo in his chariot pulled by 4 horses is particularly memorable to me. I am pretty sure there have been many changes to this landmark of Paris.

You can see that we spent a lot of time on foot and saw as much as our legs could stand and continued to walk. We only took a couple of trains and very seldom did we board the Metro. It was good that we were all in our 30s and early 40s.

VIENNA

We took the train from Paris to Vienna (maybe it was the Orient Express, I don’t remember) at 8:45 p.m. We shared our roomette with two other girls, one of whom snored like a herd of rhinos. She also evidently had thermal regulation problems because she kept waking up in the night and opening the window beside her bunkbed and froze the rest of us out. We would surreptitiously arise from our lower berth beds reclose it. This went on all night, but it was better than sitting up in regular car seats during the entire train ride. We laughed later that the experience in an office where one person is going through the change and is constantly hot. So, she runs to the thermostat and cranks the A/C up. Then everyone else is freezing and quietly goes to the controls and turns it back down to below frostbite levels. We never knew what language the ladies spoke because we never tried to exchange a word and neither did they.

We all enjoyed Vienna, perhaps more than Paris, though that is probably heresy to speak aloud or in print. We walked all over this city as well except for one memorable trolley trip we took to a laundromat a little distant from our hotel/hostel. It was a little tricky to figure out to pay for the ride, but we thought we had it right until we realized that an older woman sitting across from us was staring angrily in our direction. We tried smiling but got nothing in return except for harsher glaring. We had no German language skills, so we tried to ignore her. But then there came a stop and the woman rose on her legs and started berating us in stentorian terms in German and shaking an angry finger at us. We were embarrassed of course, and all the other passengers just sat still and stared at the

show. When she left the trolley, she was still shouting at the top of her voice, and we never understood what sin we had committed.

One of the most endearing things we quickly realized about Vienna was its citizens’ love of dogs. People were walking their dogs everywhere in every sort of setting. Dogs went to church with them, sat in restaurants with them, wandered through stores with them. The only place we went that didn’t seem to attract dogs and their owners was the REISANRAD (a huge Ferris Wheel) in the Prater in the Leopoldstat section of the city. We saw the dogs in the park but no dog on the Reisanrad itself. Sharon and I were the only ones who wanted to ride the famous Wheel and we really enjoyed the views from the top and the pleasant feeling of “flying thru the air with the greatest of ease.”

Our hotel was the Ruthensteiner and it was much nicer than our London or Paris nightmares. The sights we saw and found interesting and impressive.

THE BELVEDERE, two palaces, gardens, and museum of Prinz Eugene. After he died, Empress Maria Teresa took the property and made it even more grandiose. We spent the whole morning on the grounds and in the buildings and it was amazing.

SAINT AUGUSTINER CHURCH: where we heard a marvelous organ concert and where we saw our first dog in a church. He was a very well-behaved medium-sized yellow dog. His owner was an elderly gentleman who greatly enjoyed the beautiful soaring music along with us.

STADT PARK: Here we heard an outside concert of Strauss Waltzes with tourists and citizens enjoying the lively dance music. We were very lucky in the weather in Vienna. It was sunny but breezy and perfect for outdoor entertainments.

VIENNA OPERA HOUSE: no performance but an interesting tour of the classical theater.

ST. STEPHENS CATHEDRAL: A medieval marvel of the city; it would be impossible to miss the church if you are in Vienna and it is worth a visit or even two. The roof design itself is amazing.

The HOFBURG and the VIENNA RIDING ACADEMY. We did get to see a show with those beautiful Lipizzaner horses who perform those incredible “airs above the ground.” This for us was a “do not miss” and it should be for anyone who admires horses. And of course, the Hofburg is a knockout what an amazing structure.

THE SCHÖNBRUNN: another of the riveting palaces that proclaim the glory that was the Hapsburg Empire. We spent a whole morning here as well.

CENTRAL CEMETERY: A place dedicated to the city’s fabulous musicians. We saw the graves and memorials to Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, Schubert, Brahms and Von Suppe. All the statuary is handsome and classic. Kay went on to visit Mozart’s home and was impressed by how well it highlights his life.

MELK MONASTERY: Took a boat ride on the Danube River to reach this famous and fabulously beautiful old monastery. The original monastery was founded in 1089 but was destroyed by fire. The present building dates from 1780. This Benedictine monastery is built in the Baroque style and has undergone several restorations because of other fires and some damage done by Napoleon, the Turks, and World Wars I and II. The amount of gold seen everywhere in the sanctuary is staggering and beautiful too. The monastery is noted for the number of manuscripts produced and preserved as well. Those monks worked tirelessly in their scriptorium, an important part of their service as monks.

INNSBRUCK

HIKING - Besides seeing the amazing scenery in this part of the Austrian Alps, we wanted to do some challenging hikes. We had learned that we could take a ride up both sides of the valley to do two different hikes. We called them the sheep walk and the cow walk because those are the creatures that were seen on the hikes. The hikes were not grueling but were very amazing because of the views and seeing the namesake creatures in abundance along the way. We rode down from the heights on each side using ski lift chairs: those rides were breathtaking.

THE ALPEN ZOO: especially gratifying to see was a mother lynx with three kittens too adorable for mere words. There were also pine and stone Martens, wolves, European Beavers, roe deer, bears, eagles, owls, falcons, vultures, ibex, moose, hares, wild boars with 3 babies, and European bison. Obviously, some of those species were familiar to us but others were new. We enjoyed seeing them all but especially the unfamiliar ones.

Our HOTEL in Innsbruck was funnily situated right on the route of the garbage trucks. Our corner room was right next to the collection station and the pick-ups started really early. We were rarely able to sleep beyond 6:00 a.m. But the room was comfortable and affordable: important at that point because we had begun to run low on money in Vienna.

ZUGSPITZE & THE BRENNER PASS: we drove around the area where the Italian, Swiss and German Alps meet and greet. When we hiked to Zugspitze, it was necessary to pass through customs and Passport control between Switzerland and Germany. Remember, this trip happened many years before the European Union During our drive-around we saw many charming villages with bright flowers and many inviting bakeries offering sweets and hot chocolate. Really good.

HEADING BACK

PARIS

We took the train from Innsbruck to Paris via the Alberg express. Left at 5:47 p.m. and arrived at 6:30 p.m. We stayed at the Henri IV again and went to visit the places we had missed the first time around: The Opera House, the Museum of Impressionist art, the Pantheon, Luxembourg Gardens, and some walking along the Left Bank. We were so tired that we went to bed very early because we knew we had to be at the Charles de Galle Airport early for the flight that would take us back to London. The Chunnel would not be dug for another 12 years.

LONDON

We walked around London trying to see what we had missed the first time around. So, we visited Piccadilly Circus, Leister Square, crossed the Hungerford and Westminster Bridges, Royal Festival Hall, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, and did the Jubilee Walk (Queen’s Walk). Entered Westminster Abbey, the British Museum, and even Selfridges for shopping.

We left for Heathrow Airport at 8:15, using the Tube to get there. The crowds were huge, but we made it on time to exchange money and board the plane after we almost missed the boarding call. The flight to Miami was uneventful and they finally fed us about 12:30 (whatever time zone we were in by then). Sister Kathy and Bro- in-law John picked us up at the Miami airport. As we drove back to Jacksonville, we decided to have a celebratory supper at a favorite steakhouse: Valle’s restaurant. It closed a very long time ago

1982 A Grand Tour of Europe

AGrandTourforFour

INTRODUCTION

LONDON

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL

THE TOWER OF LONDON

WINDSOR

WINDSOR CASTLE

ETON COLLEGE

THE BARBICAN

OXFORD UNIVERSITY

KEW GARDENS:

PARIS

BOAT RIDE ON THE SEINE

CHAMPS-ELYSEES AND ARC DE TRIOMPHE

NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL

LOUVRE

ACCOMMADATIONS

CHARTRES CATHEDRAL.

VERSAILLES

VIENNA

INNSBRUCK

HEADING BACK

PARIS

LONDON

CONCLUSION

Articles inside

1982 European Grand Tour