The Invention of the Grand Tour

Life lessons from the first explorers on the road to elsewhere

I HITCHED A RIDE TO LONDON in the fall of 1978, where I purchased a one-way ticket to Dunkirk, to begin my own invasion of Europe. After a night train carried me to the harbor, I assumed my position on the bow of a Channel ferry, pretend-captain of my fate. The clouds reflected the light and promise of the Continent, seventy miles away. 

I felt, at the t…