TRIP TO MONTE CARLO

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14987, 14 August 1919, Page 5

TRIP TO MONTE CARLO

AND - HOW IT WAS WORKED

A good story is r told .of how a- party, of New Zealand Mounteds on leave froni Egypt were in.' Marseilles, • and, wishing to visit Monte Carlo, found they could hot get passes, so "tried it on" with astonishing, and, as the narrative shows, most gratifying results to themselves. A member of the party, writing to his father hi Wellington, says :— -'T must tell you how three of us got-' to Monte Carlo. After putting ih a day or two in •Marseilles, 'we made up our minds to see Monte, Carlo, but we could hot get passes. Being so near and; yet so far from sucli a place was unbearable. .So one morning off we went to the stationto catch the 11 o'clock train. At th6 station we found that it was the ; 'train ■d e luxe,' and that' -it- was ' impossible 'to go without a permit. We tried to 'square the police sergeant, -bu£ it wasno good, and we- were just about desperate when the. unforeseen happened. A sergeant from the;.R.T.Ol's office came rushing along the ' platform and asked jUs if we were a party for the train,' and \ve answered yes. (So we "were!) We had two Australian friends with ' _si .'Well, jump aboard,' he said, ''everything is fixed, the fares . are^paid', *aj'so meals,, and there will be someone . io meet ypu at Nice" So we did not say much, but jumped aboard as quick as ; -we :knew how and got put of sight. It was. great; we did not know how long, we would rueign- Whether the, prdper party' was oh .the t.rain or otot we -had 116. moans of finding out, and when lunch qame round, and a. very swell waiter 9ame along to escort us: into the dinings car, we did not know what to do because' the other party might , turn up. So 'refused. But* in about, 10 .mirmtes .jjh- ; . other one came along ; and but '■Ithat everything had' been ordered .tjejvfore for us and paid.for. So'this time^ j we wfent, and with us", ah. Amelicani captain who was in our. compartment. ¥fe had already told. him the joke aod^lie j thought it was fine. Anyway we had, a great lunch, ' and .made much of it. At •Nice another police sergeant met its and gave us full particulars where to go and what to' do. We stuck^tp the train, to -'-Monte; were shown; all over the Casinp and everything of interest^ but no one; except those in 'civie' clothes is allowed to bet. Then we caught the 7 p.m. tr'ahr to'^sTice as arranged and; arrived : there at feiSOJto find a. lady guide there to direct iiSito ouk lodgings, also- to a restaurant', 'JWhere everything was ready for lis,. k-Nbw, I suppose ypu are wondering when We will get caught. After spending ihe 'night at Nice we left for Marseiljes and arrived, there just in time. to,«;get ithei train for What doyou^hink of that. for, a joke?. The real party, was to have been, Australians^and Ijew Zealanders, and the wrbjig party was, top.. Where the other party got to we can'£, make out, and we are still wondering who is going to foot the bill ! The trip from Nice to Monte Carlo is one of the most beautiful in the world!"