Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1892-02-28
MONTE CARLO.
WHEELING MANS VISIT TO TIE FAMOUS
RESORT.
a, Yl,rs Spot Of the Riviera-lntsrssh1g De-
rigton Of q Journey From Nice
70 MsaOns.
u, c,rrsnordenes of 81 Sandau Rerist,r.

.,y, been scarce az Nice during the last
-.sy. and when the first ray of sunshine
III. across the writer's room one morn
~ he shook or the gloom of three days
threatening skies and placed himself
IA thlrj-ClaSS railway compartment,
,,r-i FOR Mentone. had never trav-
rsg tEird-claSS in France and was sur
sod so the comfort il affords. The
.-,rlrtmentS are large and provided
.--- cushioned seats, luxury the third
-.ss coupeS OF Germany DO not even
rs-. OF course, for long distances,
.sss, are not 70 be recommended, first
.-f sscond-claSS being preferable.
The railroad running along the river
.,ssrv follows the shore of the Mediter-
,-a-r but lnnumerable tunnels shut
.rm sight Of the traveller some OF the
--.--.est views. have since travelled
Els distance afoOt and by drag, and
awe seen how much the average tourist
-s,,ss who only travels through on his
grv 20 Italy. To the right lies the
tsr..sul Mediterranean. Scarcely
-rrra breaks the surface, dazzling In
,ss sunlight. It's deep blue is
IN striking contrast with the
.-7r.ass sky overhead, while
The distance their colors softly Goa
a,.a. Here and there q sail breaks the
-5-1t0uy OF the horizon. Looking
rom the window 10 the left continuous
-rsaus of tropical plants of all varie-
res. surrounding handsome villas, line
-e way. GeraniumS grow wild here,
and some form hedges surrounding gar
3ars. Huge csctii and century plants
-arh'ng enormous heights, and the
s-er often blooming, are found In large
-nters along the railway embaDk-
-sl.s,
An hour and half brings US to our
ss,.ratiOu, MeutOne, one Of the small
winter resorts on the Riviera. The
.y contains about 10000 inhabitants,
gr5 les amphitheatre-like around the
Collie de Ia Paix." A little beyond the
-r.hern edge OF the city rises the
over edge OF "Alpes MaritimeS," at
,scss almost perpendicularly, TO which
usat0ne owes its mild climate, for be-
751d this ridge appear the snowcapped
sass. which remind one of the awful
weather. the outside world is fighting
With.
Tradition dates the foundation Of
Va-tone in the eighth century, by
.-ates, who ravaged the coast and were
the terror Of passing ships. 1 never
s5ereved tradition except to the eX-
tent Of one question which 1 asked
waiter at the cafe, and have since pre-
a-rsd 10 diSbelieve the French waiter.
At the right OF the stream traverSing
as city lies the "Ville d'Hiver" or
Winter City. It's the modern part Of
Nan,0ne and contains the residence Of
ts strangers. The broad and shaded
Avenue de la Care" leads from the
station 70 the Boulevard du Midi, a
handsome promenade stretching along
le shore of the western bay. Every
,i,srroon q military band plays in the
public garden, little further on, ana
.1.s forms the favorite rendezvous OF
he iuvalids as we'll as the healthy
guests.
But more interesting to the American
Is the old town, which lies on the LETT OF
The river. IL IS built on the side OF a
lu. and almost in spite Of Natures laws,
s-i contracted into as small a space as
possible. This is characteristic OF all
te old towns I'm Southern France and
|-av. One would think real estate was
t.gh or q scarcity Of money existed, but
d the old DAYS it was done for protec-
ion against invading enemies. steep,
narrow streets winding in all directions
cad 10 a little terrace about half way
90 the hillside, which contains their
largest or principal church. 1t was
built some time in the Eighth century
and was enlarged In 1915. The earth
.quakes OF 81 have left their marks
1ere too, the church having sur
.terad severely. The customary beggarS
await us 10 the portal and in a plaintive
voice beg for aims. There are four OF
these beggars at one OF the doors OF
N8rte Dame, in Nice, who, according TO
the yalue of their respective places,
nav An annual rent. With Whit OF
aqu de cologne we fOrtify ourselves
sgaiust the army Of odors awaiting US,
. I'd once more plunge into the labyrinth
NJ bouSes. The streets get narrower
and narrower as we approach the top,
Ind az many places the houses are
f7rned by arches of stone overhead.
This is a safety guard against earth
rgakes. Clouds OF ragged yellowlSh
garments suspended from the windows
10 the upper stories shut out every pos
s.5Ie ray of sunshine which might othef-
wise have slipped through.
A cemetery overtops it all, and wnen
We emerge from the filthy quarters the
basrtbfuI sea breeze is refreshing, ana
the symmetry Of the gulf and city De-
low is relief to the eye. The ItaIlah
frontier is not far distant, and one can
see as far as Bordighera, with endless
villages and little inlets between
Our intention is to cover the distance
between Mentone and Monte Carlo
sioot. 50 leaving the cemetery we de-
ga7ded by a different route to the MOD
srr city again and commenced the CIR
cult of the cliff road, first passing
through orange and lemon groves tGen
gradually getting higher ana hlgneE
through vast olive plantations where
OCCASIONALLY we get glimpse OF the sea
through the branches. The dusty
boxing leaves OF the olive tree are Ia
striking contrast 10 the rich green Ioll-
age OF the orange tree, and this cannot
Tall 20 attract the strangers eye. some
one has fttingly observed that olive
tees looked as though the moon were
shining on them, for their weird appear
lHce 10 the sunlight has this effect.
At one time we leave the road lot
barrow ascending path leading TO a VII
lge above, and called RoQueorune' De-
cause Of It's close resemblance TO inc
lock upon which il is built, IKE o'Iu
cage or more like q hOneycom6 stuck 70
he utmost top Of one Of the noun
nilS. We rest here only long enough
% ilsDect the ruins of a medieval cas-,