Our adventures overseas began in June of 1966, when we flew from the United States for Europe and United Kingdom. We had just completed our junior year at Purdue University. With just one year left before receiving his BS in Civil Engineering, Eric had applied for an internship with an engineering consultant firm in downtown London. The destination was determined because we also wanted to reconnect with Eric's English relatives while his mother was in the UK to help us. We also wanted to spread our wings and discover Europe!

We flew on Icelandic Airlines (the best bargain at that time) to Luxembourg, and took a train to the French Riviera. These were the days when luggage did not have wheels and when proper ladies took a hat along for special occasions--a fact that Eric disputed from the very beginning. Needless to say, my white straw hat with black ribbon streamers and our heavy suitcases added to our adventures over the summer. Frommer's "Europe On $5 A Day" was our guide, and we prided ourselves on getting by for $5 a day for the two of us most of the time.

When we arrived in Nice, we used Frommer's guide to find an inexpensive hotel near the railroad station. As soon as that was settled, we headed for the beach and took our first dip in the incredibly blue Mediterranean Sea.

Neither of us had anticipated a beach of stone rather than sand. In spite of the discomfort, with university exams and travel behind us we were exhausted enough to fall asleep on the stones. The cool evening air and setting sun woke us up. It seemed especially cool to us because of the intense sunburns we had earned on our first day at the beach. The train ride a few days later from Nice, France, to the coast of the English Channel was a painful one.

We crossed the Channel on a ferry. This trip had already included many firsts for me. While Eric had traveled to England with his family as a child, I had never been overseas. In the first week I had experienced my first train ride and my first boat ride. We arrived in Southampton amidst a the proverbial English rain. Those were not the days of email or easy telephoning between countries when you stayed in cheap hotels or slept on trains. Besides, we were novices and didn't know much. Each day was an adventure. We got to Southampton on a dark and rainy evening. I sat on the suitcase while Eric called his relatives. Cousin Derek came to pick us up. Another first. I had never ridden in such a tiny car or in one with the steering wheel on the righthand side of the car.