Thursday, February 23, 2012

Arriving






Ernest and Hadley sailed for Paris on December 8, 1921. They left from New York on the steamship Leopoldina, an old French Line vessel. It would be a ten day voyage to Europe.
Ernest suffered from a bit of seasickness, but was soon involved in the social activities on the boat and enjoying his adventure. It was his third sea voyage. He was impressed that this ship had elevators and a swimming pool and everyone spoke with an English accent.
Hadley learned how attractive Ernest was to other women on the voyage. She hated it, but accepted it, knowing Ernest's love for her. She also was getting her fair share of admirers on board. The Leopoldina had pianos on every deck, and hadley played for hours on end. Three Argentinians "are in love with her" Ernest wrote home.
When he discovered that a French woman and her child had been deserted by her husband, Ernest decided to organize a exhibition boxing match to benefit the woman.
Fellow passenger and boxer, Henry Cuddy, agreed to a three round match. Hadley sat in Ernest's corner and wiped his face with a towel between rounds.
Ernest would later brag that he won the match, but it was most likely a draw.
The Leoploldina made a four-hour stop in Vigo, Spain where Ernest watched the giant tuna jumping out of the water in the bay. He was fascinated by the thought of what a fight a fish of that size and strength would put up; what stamina it would take to land it.
The Hemingways arrived in Le Havre on December 22nd, and took a train to Paris.
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11 comments:

Abe Lucas said...

Great idea to open with that gorgeous travel art! I'd love to put a bunch of that stuff on my walls.

BTW, I like the "share" buttons you have embedded after every post; which gadget did you use for that?

Glad you're back (and hopefully feeling much better)!

Nikon said...

Hello CK, great to have you as a fan!
I love poster art, too - I 've used it quite a bit throughout the blog. There is a post about Hadley & Hem skiing in the Alps at Gstaad that has a great piece of art.
The share buttons are an add-on from someplace - let me look it up in my template & get back to you, OK?

Joe said...

A great post and I am also glad to see you're back. Keep up the good work, Paul!

Nikon said...

Thank you Joe!

debbie in toronto said...

sorry but have to make a correction...Bumby was born in Toronto not Oak Park

Nikon said...

I know, I never mentioned Bumby being born in Oak Park.
Is there a mistake somewhere else on the blog? Bumby's not mentioned in this post.

Trotter said...

Hi Paul! Sorry for the absence, but time has been at a premium here... ;)

And it was the the beginning of a beautiful friendship... ;)

Blogtrotter Two has reached April 2011; no trips, and posting delay is shortening... ;). Enjoy and have a great weekend!!!

Nikon said...

Hi Gil, great to hear from you.
Thanks for the visit!

Soulful Mama said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog & leaving such a lovely comment!

As soon as I saw the title of your blog I knew I had to follow ;-)

~ Clare x

Ash said...

Another beautiful post and images!

Nikon said...

Thanks for the visit & comment, Ash!