 With money acquired from the sale of Stein's last Matisse "Woman with a Hat" to her brother Michael, she and Toklas vacationed in Spain from May 1915 through the spring of 1916.During their interlude in Majorca, Spain, Gertrude continued her correspondence with Mildred Aldrich who kept her apprised of the War's progression, and eventually inspired Gertrude and Alice to return to France to join the war effort.Toklas and Stein returned to Paris in June 1916, and acquired a Ford automobile with the help of associates in the United States; Gertrude learned to drive it with the help of her friend William Edwards Cook.