Robert and Cima Balser

What If? Robert and Cima Balser

Bob, a professional animator from Hollywood, and his wife Cima, a would-be writer, decided to take a sabbatical to Europe in 1959.

With limited funds and a copy of Arthur Frommer's Europe on $5 A Day, they hoped to stretch their adventure to six months. Forty years later, they were still on sabbatical.

In this memoir, they draw upon postcards and diary entries to share how they lived out their lives as expatriates in Europe during the second half of the twentieth century, living the dream of a free-spirited life that so many can only long for. Numerous pictures help illustrate the story.

They enjoy French onion soup at the Eiffel tower, experience the culture shock of using bidets in "water closets," gorge on croissants, try getting used to two-hour lunches, and enjoy meeting fascinating and eccentric people along the way.

Take a step back in time with Bob and Cima as they do the unexpected, and dare to ask, What If?