“With the itinerary planned by the globe-trotting Douglas Fairbanks, Mr. and Mrs. Irving G. Thalberg departed Los Angeles on February 15, 1928, bound for Gibraltar , Algiers, the French Riviera , Naples, Rome, Pompeii , Berlin, Heidelberg, Paris and London. The most important aspect for both Irving Thalberg and Shearer was that they had never seen each other outside Hollywood. It was enlightening for Shearer to wander the streets of a foreign city with Thalberg and to see how he reacted to surprises. in Algiers, for example, a wily guide ushered the well-dressed young couple into a brothel. “We were greeted by a very fat lady, who clasped us to her ample bosom,” recalled Shearer. “Inside there were girls wearing nothing but black silk stockings, red satin garters, and gaucho hats. The girls were evidently proud of what they were exposing between their extremities. A couple of them came over and sat down beside us as though they were completely dressed and started chattering in French. I don´t think it mattered to them what sex we were because the one beside me kept saying very sweetly: ‘Nize ladee. Nize ladee’. I found them charming but Irving did manage to get me out of there before anything took place.”