Macon (CA 132) - Naval Cruise Book

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k 1 1. l viUit Toulon is the oldest naval base in France. It had its beginning in the Sixteenth Century when Louis XII built a circular bastion known as the Grasse Tour to protect the Grande Jettee. It was known as Tholon and may still be seen at the base of the Grand Jettee. It was from Toulon that the Admiral Comte de Faing sailed to aid the Americans dm ing their Revolutionary War.

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Up the Boulcx ' ard St. Gerynain des Pres past the student restaurants and caves, you drove down the Boulevard St. Michel to the Luxembourg Palace and on to the Pantheon, the imposing temple which holds the tombs of Zola, Hugo and other great men of France. You were now in the heart of the Latin Quarter with its many colleges. You caught a glimpse of the most famous of these, the Sorbonne, which is a part of the University of Paris and is comprised of the College of Letters and Arts and the College of Science. Then the visit to the island in the center of the Seine between the Right and Left Banks where you viewed with awe the grandeur of Notre-Dame, the most famous of France ' cathedrals. The flying buttresses on the outside and on the inside the beautiful stained glass windows with the original glass of the twelfth century left an impression which will not be easily forgotten. Driving along the Left Bank with its picturesque book stalls you passed the court- yard of the Louvre Palace, now a museum of world famous works of art, among which you knew were the famous statue of Vetius di Milo and the Madonna of Leonardo da Vinci. You drove through the Place Bastille, site of the notorious prison which was torn down during the French Revolution, past the Opera House, and caught a glimpse of the Church of St. Mary Madeline which was planned by Napoleon as a temple to the glory of his armies, and patterned after Athen ' s Parthenon. Now your tour of Paris was drawing to a close. You drove up one of the twelve boulevards which begin with the twelve pointed star on which the Arch of Triumph is built. You stopped to view this world famous monument, built to perpetuate the glory of Napoleon ' s armies. At the Arch, the French parallel of our Unknown Soldier ' s Tomb, an eternal flame burns beneath the granite space upon which is recorded the great victories of France. To you it symbolized also the glory of Paris. Yes, you were impressed. Later when the sun went down in Paris, the lights came on and there to behold in all its neon splendor was Paris by night. Lido, Latin (hiarter, Moulin Rouge, Folies Begeres, Eve. The Blue Note. Caveaux Hniichettc, these are only a few of the night clubs and cabarets that have made Paris the city which lives by night. You saw the Apache dancers, the beautitul English girls at the Lido, the striptease artists at the Eve. Paris, you knew, h:ul c erything and you wanted to see it all in the short three days and nights tlie tour provided. You were content that you had when you returned l)y train to Marseilles and the MACON.

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Toulon is today France ' s chief naval port on the Mediterranean. It has ex- tensive port facilities and Has a popula- tion of about 125,000. It is a city of many industries including shipbuilding, lace making and other commercial industries. During World War II, in Noi ember of 1942, the French scuttled their fleet at anchor there to prevent its falling into German hands. Subsequent to this Toulon was severely bombed during the war until it was finally libcrnlcd in August of 1944. Surrounding the harbor of Toulon, both on the rocky beaches and above it on the rugged hills, are to lie found many picturesque villas. In the center of the city you found a large mimicipal auditorium where such leading French entertainers as Jacqueline Francoise are frequent guest stars. Yes, you were in France for your third and last visit. You ' d enjoyed France with its beautiful girls, cafe au lait, French pastries and fine cuisine, and Toulon was a pleasant stop before leaving France for the last time.