1922 Europe Journal, Part 5: Paris in the Spring

Disclaimer/Reminder: Please read and enjoy this blog and my grandma’s story. All images posted are very low resolution and watermarked. If you so desire a copy of an image you see, please contact me. I’ve found this a fascinating look back at history and events in both New York and Europe right after WWI. I continue to spend hours and weeks researching the places, events, and details, that she wrote about. My dream is to visit even a couple of these places and recreate some of the images and tours. 

Saturday, June 24

“We found our beds so comfortable that we didn’t get up until eleven. Had a grand rest.”

“After lunch we started out for downtown.  Tried the subway and got down o.k.” 

“As we strolled about, we would stop occasionally at a little shop.  Some of the girls bought some things, but I didn’t.  We went to the Tuileries.  Sat down in the garden and found that we had to pay for the privilege.  Looked at many of the statues and studied the arch at the lower end.  Erected to commemorate the victories of Napoleon, each side represents a different triumph.  At first we thought it was the Arch of Triumph, but after studying our map and using our heads a bit, we discovered the latter some distance up the other way.”

“Saw the monument erected by the schoolboys of France to Gambetta.  A short distance from it is one erected to Lafayette by the schoolboys of the United States.  Found the Louvre.  Also, the statue commemorating the last war, or rather one of them.  Each of the statues in the royal palace represented a different town or province of France.”

Le Monument de Gambetta

This photograph looks almost exactly like a pencil drawing postcard I found online. Her photo caption was "Looking towards the Louvre from the Tuileries."

“Next we decided to walk up to the Arch of Triumph, so off we started.  It was several miles, but was well worth the effort.  The Arch itself is a tremendous structure - erected in 1806 by Napoleon and finished by Louis Phillippe in 1836 in honor of the French Republic.  It is under this arch that the body of an unknown soldier, who gave his life in the last war, has been buried.  There were many floral offerings there today.”

“After our visit to the Arch, we took our first ride on the surface cars of Paris.  Happened to come across a man who understood English and heard us debating about the way to do it.  He explained it to us.  Had supper on the sidewalk in front of a restaurant.  At 8:45 we started on a trip about the city. Saw some of the things we had seen in the afternoon, but had them more fully explained.  Got back to the hotel about eleven and went to bed at once.”

1922 Europe Journal, Part 4: Arriving in France

Ruth and her girlfriends have now spent a week crossing the Atlantic from New York to Europe. They sailed on the Majestic (in the White Star Line, sister ship of the Titanic) as second class passengers.

Let’s continue the story on Friday, June 23, 1922, “... we arose at 6:40.”

“It was all very interesting watching different things come into view on the shore.  Land looked rather good to us.  The Majestic can’t come to the dock at Cherbourg, so we have to be brought in by tugs.  It was tiresome waiting for everything to be attended to.”

Arriving at Cherbourg, France

“By the time we got to Cherbourg, it was 1:20 [p.m.]  We got by the customs all o.k.  He didn’t even make us unlock our suitcases.”

“Left Cherbourg at 5:00 and reached Paris at 9:40.  Saw lots of ‘interesting’ things. The buildings are all stone, brick or plaster and such odd things.  The fields are small and cultivated in a very haphazard sort of way.  Saw lots of red poppies, they are about as common as our dandelions.  When we reached Paris, we had a ride in a Ford to our hotel, the Victoria Palace.  Got two rooms with two beds each.  25 francs per day for each room.  The beds are very comfortable.  The chambermaid comes in every evening and turns down the beds for us.  Our first meal in France was eaten on the diner (in the train).  It was strange in many ways - we had pea soup, egg omelet, meat and potato, peas, ice cream, cookies, cherries and green almonds.  Everything is served separately.”

Note: The Victoria Palace hotel does still exist and it looks beautiful. I’m pretty sure the rates have gone up a little in the last 91 years.