Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-01-08

chill north to the flowers and the
blue skies of the sunny Riviera.
know men who. really and truly. take
the day trains as less liable to this sort
of excitement. But. in fact, the dan
ger is nil. You have seen cable re-
ports of the hold-ups which have be-
come-well more common in Europe
than in America. Bat the masked
men are strictly business. Just keep
your hands high in the air and you
risk only loss of money. The young
Polytechnique student recently killed
tried quick draw to defend himself.
We took the Riviera flyer without
fear, having paid most of our money
for the railroad tickets and extra
luxury" tariff. You have to book
places nine days in advance. so great
is the rush to the snnny south. Paris
is frozen tight. There are fogs which
freeze the lungs, and heating facili-
ties are poor.
X x X
THE luxury train is worth the
extra for the lazy and the weakly.
Otherwise, the railroad auto-omnibus
arrives for self and trunks at $50
am. in the dark, freezing dawn. You
must engage it from the company
when you secure your reservation.
Trunks must be locked and ready
the night before. The janitor helps
the chauffeur get them downstairs
and on top of the omnibus. braced
with steel to stand their weight. In
the dark, freezing dawn you ride to
the Care de Lyon.
The train is superheated. In your
reserved seat of a numbered compart-
ment in a numbered car you glide
across all France in the daytime, see
ing the scenery. eating two meals on
the train, and arriving at Marseilles
to stop and sleep in a hotel at $3.50
pm.-if the train is not late. You
see the scenery.
The luxury train is worth its
price if you care nothing for scenery.
The auto-omnibus comes to the house
at $50 in the early evening. You
ride eastward down the Champs
Elysees. meeting all rich business
Paris going home to dinner.
At the Care de Lyon the same
weighing of the trunks. Three'of us
had 200 francs extra baggage-S40
pre-war, SIS American exchange of
the day. We paid porter to wheel
the hand luggage. six pieces-two
typewriting machines, count them!"
down the length of the long train,
twelve, fifteen cars, to No. 4. A Sec
ond porter found our compartment
with our names and number clipped
to each place. Together they slowed
the hand luggage in racks above our
= - al-;l &c,
had not much of that sort Of impede
menta. Pay out the tips-10 francs,
&c francs. francs. 8 francs. and then 5
francs:
On all sides various languages
This is the calais train" by accident.
Another leaves-"the Paris train
ten minutes later. English every
where. and Swedish. Danish, Dutch,
Russian, Polish-mingling with the
French. The long luxury train" rolls
out into the night at pm. First
dinner in the dining car is ready"'
The regular railroad ticket cost us
$50 francs apiece, which is $46 pre-
war; that is, normal value.
The extra tariff for this train costs
40 francs apiece, or $34 pre-war
value. And yet. such is the magic of
present-day exchange, this $50 for
each person is but $50 if you are an
American tourist having dollars to
sell for francs.
To old resident Americans like our
selves it is betwixt and between, and
rearer to the pre-war $50. I can
never get it out of my head that 5
francs is not 81 when I am spending
riStS OF n fee1 he
same thing very promptly.
& = x
DINNER in the dining car costs 20
- francs, prewar 81. or $3.50 for
American tourists. You get soup, fish.
one hot meat dish with vegetables.
cold meat and salad. cheese and fruit.
1t is cooked on the enthusiastically
cooked; no canned goods. But have
known women to refuse to take this
dinner because of the long. fatiguing
trip afoot while clinging, leaning.
stumbling on the rapid train through
eight or ten cars. if you have bad
luck, to reach the dining car. The
corridors are encountered by English
and French folks baggage. and all
kinds of people standing up who
sh ould be sitting down.
Dinner is over and we rush through
the black night seated in our COM
partments. A bunch of English are
talking in the next compartment of
systems to beat Monte Carlo. The
English are the steadiest gamblers of
the Riviera. Cant gamble at home,
you know" This long-legged speci-
men in loud checks is credited with
having won $4,000 last winter, and
his gentle, gray-haired lady mother
helped him do it.
An American family was complain |
ing 1--WE were on the Riviera last
winter" they said. '"rhey keep the |
hotel bedrooms too hot with their
rentral heating, and the public rooms !
too cold You risk a chill each time !!
you stick your nose out. The sun
light and the flowers are splendid. |
But tho wind blows dust in your eyes |
and nose"
Yet they were speeding't to 1t again |
Shis winter.
The porter is making up the berths. |
You have your private stateroom-l
you must have it if there be a lady |
in your party. A man and his wife, |
for example, find themselves in a |
stateroom COMPARTMENT for four
two upper berths and two lower |
berths-the usual thing throughout
the car, except the larger special"
reservations. Unless they want to