ON THE CONTINENT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 5 October 1927, Page 11

ON THE CONTINENT.

TOURISTS FROM lIAWERA

INTERESTING COMMENTS.

In the course of a long and wellwri t,ten “diary" letter. Mr J. £. Cam lined, who, With Mrs CampneU, Bad tnirteen weeks ot Oantuientai sightseeing tome months ago, giv es some pen pictures of places they saw and people tney met. i'Ue fodowing extracts are taken from the letter: —

A glimpse into the centuries before Christ is given from France when he tells of a, visit uo a city called Carcassone, on the River Aude. ‘‘The Oite,” he -says, “is considered to be the finest feudal fortress in France, and is quite a town in itself. It numbers a thousand inhabitants within its walls, and ts surrounded by a double ba t of fortified ramparts with fifty pinnacled towers which surround them. It lis a really ancient town built 300 years 8.C., and comprising all styles of architecture from the Roman period to the end of the middle ages. It bears the insignia of all the races that have occupied it at different epochs. It presents a formidable and unique stronghold, such as we have not seen elsewhere. We knew nothing of its existence before we visited it: now it is something we shall not easily forget.” The children's Battle of Flowers” at Nice is interestingly described. He say.s: ‘ ‘We were, lucky in that our visit coincided with the date of the Children’s Battle of Flowers. This was something worth going a long way to see. No less than 546 decorated vehicles, carts, tricycles, and donkeys took part in the procession. Everybody—onlookers and exhibitors —throwing or carrying flowers, and the whole surroundings, gafy decorated, combined to make a beautiful scene. At night—every night in fact —the Casino, the opera, the' dancing and drinking cafes are scenes of harmless revelry. Interesting pen pictures are given of Florence, Rome' and Venice —with, a reference to the famous Lido beach. Inter alia, Mr Campbell says Florence, he City of Flowers, in this beautiful Tilley of the Arno, the birthplace of home and art, for, strangely enough, all the greatest sculptors and painters with few exceptions, claim Florence as their birth place. The Uffiai Gallery is said to contain the' most wonderful collection of pictures and statuary in the world, illustrated of the progress of art from the earliest times.” Of Rome he writes: “Rome, the city of the Consul, the Caesars' and of the Popes, once the capital of a powerful and brilliant empire, to-dav the capital of a State, rich alike in historical, arclue logo cal, and architectural features. The extensive area of majestic ruins which Ancient Rome presents, constitute' a, record of the long line of kings, consul® and emperors, veritable landmarks of history almost from its foundation to l its fall. Everything is full of interest from the most" ancient Roman Wall, built by Eomuhis to its greatest modern edifice, the magnificent- Cathedral; of St. Peter. Then St. John in Laterair, the mother of all churches, erected by Constantine in 324, and with it the Seal a Santa, the 28 steps of which came from the House of Pilate. The Church of St. Maria, in Ava Coeli, where the Bambino. a. carved image of a- child, supposed to be miraculous, is- to be seen. No visit to Rome would be complete without an exploration of the Roman Forum, with Nero’s Golden House the Palace of the Ve-stail Virgins, the' Rostrum of Mark Antony, Cicero, Clodrus, the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the Arches of Constantine. Titus and Septimus Sever ns. . . We spent many hours in the Vatican Museum and Gallery in the beautiful rooms filled with treasure® of art, and the 80-rghese Gallery of paintings and statuary. We were fortunate in receiving invitations to visit the Quirinail in the_ Royal Da-l-ace'in Rome while the King was an residence. We did nob set? him, o i? n course, but his. home m a jewel—3oo elaborately decorated rooms wonderful tapestries', paintings. China, etc. chandeliers and candelabra. “Venice, the ‘Queen of the Lagoon, to-day the famous canals which serve as highways for the, numberless gondolas, affording the greatest- part of the internal transportation facilities of the city, lend a charm to Venice which is enjoyed by no other citv. From one end of the Grand Canal to the other palaces, houses, public buildings, churches, rise out of the water, every building with a- history legend of romance attached to it. Among the notable structures are the Church of St. Marco with its glorious and priceless mosaics, the baptistry, treasury, sacristry, with the marble columns brought from. Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. _ The famous altar piece, the Pala d’Oro, wrought with plates of gold and set with pearls and precious stones; the Loggetta, the Library, the Doges’ Palace. Bridge of Sighs, Rialto Bridge, etc. We visited the palace where lived the 120 Doges who at various times ruled the, country from the Alps: to the Po River and to Dalmotia. . . On Sunday we went to the Lido, the seaside resort of the wealthy Venetians. Here we found a beautiful beach, hut. a sunn in the air caused a -scarcity of bathers. We could quite imagine what a gay place this would be in the season at its height. .We were loth to leave Venice; it was so different to everywhere else —no noise, no dust, no traffic to run one down,

no streets to cross- or trams to catch —just a great change from the others we had seen.”

Lugano, in Switzerland, was another place which was an absolute delight- to the tourist. “Stretching along the water’s edge—the picturesque lake of Lugano—are palaces and lovely villas, the slopes in the hills behind studded with vineyards, olives and orange groves. In the far background are the severe mountains of Boglia and Camoghi, completing a setting at once bold and majestic. . . At the Villa Carlott-a at Cadenabbia we were privileged to inspect a glorious garden, once the property and pride of a German grand duke, but confiscated to Italy. during the war. The acres of beautiful flowers and shrubs were at the- height of bloom, and the show of azaleas, rhododendrons, magnolias, primulas would be difficult- to excel. The artistry with which the garden had been planned and the shrubs' arranged to provide a perfect blaze and blend of colour was most apparent in the result. Nowhere in all our travels have we seen a garden to compare with this one. . . .

Lugano with its long promenade by lake, its beautiful avenues of green and flowering chestnut trees, a delight bv dav. an electrically lighted fairyland hv night; no place can compare with it except- perhaps Lucerne.” “Then we traverse the beautiful Rhone Valley, noting particularly the =uot-where an avalanche descended to divert the Rhone- River from its course, causing it to break its banks and flood the whole' of the adjacent country, bringing terrible destruction and loss. . . The water of Switzerland is being turned to good account, and in this country we find more electrically driven trains than in any •other we have visited . . . they are a delight, to travel in. Montreux, on Lake Geneva, is a favourite resort of English people, elderlv women with net dogs esnecialv. Near Montreux and beside the lake we -see that wonderful old castle the Castle of Chillon. the castle of the Savoys, who caused Ronnevardi to he chained to a column in the castle for six long, weary years because he dared disnute- their" authority. The liberty ‘which four feet six inches of chain would give him was all he was allowed until the Bernese stormed and took the castle and liberated him. ’Twas Byron who immortalised Bonnevarde in his well-known poem ‘The Prisoner of Chillon.’ ” Of Berne lie say-s-: This is a very charming city, built on an isthmus formed, by the River Aare. Those in authority have planted trees in abundance, and to-day they appear in the full glory of spring—the beautiful gardens all ablaze with tulips, wallflowers. primulas, daisies, pansies, etc., and the effect is charming. . . We return in time to -see- the town clock carry out- its manoeuvres at 5 p.m., visit a city fair, and make a complete tour of the city. A cleaner and- more tidy town it would be impossible to find. Concluding his letter he says; “Our 13 weeks of Continental sight-seeing is over. I can assure you it was a very wonderful tour. . . We made no arrangements beforehand for accommodation ; that we found when we arrived in the various places where we wished to sojourn. We always found someone willing to help us out of any dilemma we might get into, and everywhere we were treated with the greatest- consideration and kindness.We have proved to our complete satisfaction that the aim of most people in the world is to help rather than to hinder.” „