Because of financial problems, Clemens lived in Europe from 1891-1901, but this was neither his first nor last trip abroad. In fact, he was an inveterate traveler. From the age of 17 to the last few weeks of his life he was always discovering new places and revisiting old. He crisscrossed the Atlantic more than a dozen times and also saw Turkey, Palestine, Hawaii, Australia, India, and South Africa.

Whenever he went, Clemens always absorbed the scenery and played in his mind the part of the American Vandal, the rube traveler who pretends to understand things he doesn’t. The passages in this section come from all phases of Clemens’ life and show his love and hatred of traveling in all its forms.