Living off the money and gifts he received from admirers, Grant and Julia began to travel after his presidency ended. After visiting his old home in Ohio and his mother in New Jersey, Grant left for Europe where he enjoyed “seeking out obscure nooks of cities where he could watch them incognito” (864). During this time, Grant resisted alcoholism, and he was still greeted as a celebrity when he appeared in public. The Grants met Queen Victoria, and during their meeting “Julia turned unusually feisty” (867). Next, they went to Paris. Riding on the Vandalia, a US man-of-war, they took a tour of the Mediterranean, including the ruins of Pompeii and Constantinople. Also, they met King Umberto I of Italy and Pope Leo XIII. Afterward, the Grants arrived in Berlin, where they met Otto von Bismarck. Grant reflected with Bismarck on the Civil War, describing his feelings at the start of the war as seeking only to preserve the Union, but it later became about ending slavery: “He now interpreted the four-year war as providential, since a shorter war might have ended up preserving slavery” (875).

From Germany, they went to see Czar Alexander II of Russia, Emperor Joseph I of Austria, and Emperor Joseph Franz I.