In 1949, a twenty-six-year-old Iowa farm girl named Nita Farrier accepts a position as secretary to the Allied Occupation Force in Vienna, Austria. During her time off , she travels extensively throughout Europe, experiencing and recording in her journals the sights and sounds of Europe's most exciting cities.
From the Viennese opera where she observes audience members enjoying wine, sausage, and bread during the performance (all the while the performers' shoes are squeaking with every movement) to the homesickness that she felt acutely during holidays abroad, her journals describe her experiences in wonderful emotional and sensory detail. She was also a direct witness to many important historical events of the day, keeping minutes at many of the fourpower conferences.
The Grande Tour offers a glimpse into the daily life of post-World War II Europe through the eyes of a young civilian woman. Her keen observations provide firsthand insight into the events that followed World War II and European culture of that era.