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Page 28 text:
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Our Gunnery Officer, Mr. Burson, captured the city's outstanding bargain in the form of a hand-combed, hand-woven, hand-stitched linen table cloth which had once adorned the table of the famous Medici fami- ly. This for the ridiculously low price of 6, 200 lire! Someone, how- ever, had thoughtlessly marked it, Chief Petty Officer's Mess-USS TARAWA . Then north to La Spezia, a modern industrial city and one of the principle ports of the Italian Navy. In all respects save one, we found La Spezia to be acompletely pleasant city. Regretfully, it is the off-key harmonica capitol of the world. When not practicing the double-tongue delivery of St, Louis Blues or Jumpin at the Savoy , many of us ventured to Rome, Pisa or Flor- ence with organized sightseeing tours. And many, of course, were the sights to be seen! Those who traveled to Rome were fortunately grant- ed an audience with Pope Pius XII. We departed from La Spezia, and following a grueling ten-day period of operations at sea, arrived in Cannes, France, to celebrate the Christ- mas Holiday. For everyone, it was a time of complete relaxation and enjoyment. We would, if necessity demanded, come aboard to eat a little, sleep a little or press a terribly wrinkled uniform. Tours of the French Riviera, Monaco, the Swiss Maritime Alps and Qsighj Paris re- ceived enthusiastic participation, but those ofus who remained in Cannes found no dearth of good, wholesome, red-blooded entertainment! Yes, it would be sinful understatement to say that we positively hated to leave Cannes. We then returned to Italy, this time entering the port of Genoa. Though it enjoys a history equaled by very few modern-day cities, Genoa takes greatest pride in having been the birthplace of Christopher Columbus. The home of this most famous explorer provided choice food for the cam- era bugs aboard ship! Finally, to Tarragona, aSpanish summer resort which antedates the Roman Empire and was once a Roman Province under the rule of Caesar Augustus. Remnants and ruins of the ancient Roman community, in a state of remarkable preservation, are to be seen throughout the city. But even in view of its time-honored historic significance, to the crew of the Willie Wood, Tarragona will always be synonymous with gracious hospitality. The townspeople demonstrate a cordiality unequaled in any other port which we visited. To further cement relations, hund- reds of Tarragonans were invited aboard the ship to visit and ask Qmill- ions of! questions. And thanks to our corps of brilliant interpreters, there arose no language difficulties. ANY thought might be accurately conveyed simply by beaming a sunday school smile and nodding one's head affirmatively. In reply, one might register delight, sorrow, am- azement, fright or agreement simply by beaming a sunday school smile and nodding one'shead affirmatively! Wonderful language, that Spanish. And so from Tarragona to Gibraltar, and the end of our Mediterra- nean cruise. On the pages which follow, you'll find a pictorial reCOI'd of the voyage. Of course, the many, many hearty laughs and hilarious situations which were so much a part of the cruise, defy both descrip- tion and computation!
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Page 27 text:
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THE CRUISE We departed from Norfolk shortly after noon of November 12, 1953, and in company with the USS TARAWA, held to an almost undeviating course across the wide Atlantic. Ten uneventful days later, we entered the Straits of Gibraltar, sighted the mighty Rock and acquired a sud- den glow of contentment with the prospect of a new association and, more important, relief from the steady tedium of shipboard life. As a place on the globe, Gibraltar is insignificant, yet historically it has been, is, and will continue to be of great importance. As a fort- ress, as a naval base, as a fueling station and a free trade emporium, it is known the world over. Though Gib was a source of temporary fascination, it was generally agreed by the men of the Willie Wood that aprolonged visit would inevitably produce serious psychological distur- bances. The citizenry of the Rock resists attacks of a dread malady termed Gibraltar Cabin Fever by the prophylactic consumption of e- normous amounts of Tombstone , a delightful beverage produced by the distillation of granite. We journeyed next to exotic - and necrotic - Algiers. This ancient stronghold of Moslem faith is now a divided city of unmistakable contrast: the inviting chocolate shops and delicate perfumeries of Rue de Prince merging with but completely hostile to the depressing squalor of Rue de Casbah. Daily tours of the city, including a visit to the curious Djedid Mosque and a hurried expedition through the notorious Casbah, were followed by nightly excursions to clubs and cabarets which featured a simple, folksy, rather fluid sort of entertainment. Our hearts were stolen las well as our watches and ringsj by a bro- therhood of devastatingly charming youngsters who devotedly set-out to make our visita memorable one! These lovable little fellows were con- stantly by our sides, ever willing to unveil local objects of interest, d above all, fav- provide a unique, commodious currency exchange, an 'th formal introductions to the budding young debutantes of society - uswi Alger. We shall forever be grateful to the senior class of Mohammed Spillane's Finishing School for the Criminally Precocious. From Al iers we sailed to Naples. . . our one-day stopover was all too 8 Short. The brevity of our stay prevented even a superficial investigation f the wonderful scenes in and around this colorful Italian city. But o we did nothing else in Naples, we encountered the most energetic, most ' ' dl Th 'r resourceful, most doggedly determined salesmen who ever live . ei wares were of every description, in ' ' ceivably be loaded aboard a Destroyer of the 692 Class. of the Italian language created not the cluded everything which might con- And our unrivaled ignorance slightest difficulty in conducting every sort of commercial transaction. Onthe contrary, most of these genial Italian merchants would deftly de- ' ' - t ocket, rub osit some sort of highly polished hardware in a pea coa p P their palms methodically and in crisp, flawless, Bostonian English ask, Ve1l, Joe, vut vill you give me for it ? ' I-an-M 'sg
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Page 29 text:
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