He qualified in 1834. After working for around a year, he spent the next two years travelling mainly on foot around Europe, with another medical student, William Croser. They both spoke French and Italian very well. They journeyed to Paris, Strasbourg, Baden, Switzerland, over the Simplon Pass, Milan, Genoa, Rome, Bologna, Pisa, Florence, Venice, Trieste, Vienna, The Tyrol and back to Paris. All the time, in addition to seeing the sights, they visited numerous medical establishments, and at Pisa they petitioned the university, sat the examination for doctorate of medicine, passed and were granted diplomas on 14 September 1836