The channel ride of twenty-one miles was made by the Harrises without the
dreaded _mal de mer_. In the railway restaurant at Calais, Lucille
volunteered to order for the party, but she soon learned, much to the
amusement of her friends, that the French learned in Boston is not
successful at first in France.
The express to Paris is through Boulogne, an important sea town of
fifty-thousand inhabitants, which combines much English comfort with
French taste. From there hundreds of fishing boats extend their voyages
every season to the Scotch coast and even to far-off Iceland.
The scenery in the fertile valley of the Somme is beautiful. The route
lies through Amiens, a large city of textile industries, thence across
the Arve; the Harrises reached the station of the Northern Railway,
in the Place Roubaix, in northern Paris as the sun faded in the west.
Carriages were taken for the Grand Hotel, Boulevard des Capucines, near
the new opera house, which is centrally located, and offers to travelers
every comfort. The carriages enter a court, made inviting by fountains,
flowers, and electric light.
The first day or evening in Paris is bewildering. Early in the morning
the Harrises drove along the inner and the outer boulevards that encircle
Paris.
Pages:
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228