San Marcos (LSD 25) - Naval Cruise Book

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' uGlly Paris! Tours of the City were Conducted every day and our Pa1'fiCU1ar group was fortunate enough to obtain a guide of the weak- 'tin ofredha' ' h -- , ef Sex Consls 3 lf' m ef eafll' tWent16S and among other assets having a well rounded personality. oo-la - o ' t tin th 'd d . . . la. HOW In efes S 956 Sul 2 tours Can be! They seem to have so many points of interest connected with them! Although l'l'l9St of US will admit to not acquiring a great-deal of knowledge on these tours of the city, we did appreciate the excellent scenery . The day COUF consisted of visits to the Arch of Triumph, Eiffel Tower, Tomb of Napoleon, Palace of Versailles, Notre Dame Cathedral, and other sites of interest. The Cl1iSiHe iC00kinSl at Olll' hotel was in a class beyond compare and we all agreed that the attitude of the Parisiens toward Naval and Marine personnel was extremely friendly. There is an old adage the French have about Paris, that reads something on this order, you haven't lived until you've seen Paris . M0St,0f US f0l111d this to be very true, especially after just seeing a performance of the world renown Follies Bergere . We found 01-II' morale to be greatly boisted after witnessing this spectacular performance 5 however, the Follies Bergere is definitely not a burlesque show, as many probably suspected it to be. No, the French have a word for it, they call it an art , So an art it is. After all who's going to argue about it, or for that matter, whowantsto? However, I must say -- that they certainly do get down to bare facts . What there is about Paris one cannot explain, but there is an atmosphere about the entire city that makes one happy and full of jois de Vivre Qj oy of livirngl. Everyone who has been there senses it sooner or later. Perhaps it is the pace of the people, working when work is to be done and enjoying life to the fullest both at the same time. The Parisien philosophy of life seems to be, Live while you still are able , Let's live a little lt's later than you think . How true these words are and for some reason people seem to realize this fact when they visit Paris and they do live a little ------ quite a little, as a matter of fact. All in all, the Paris tour proved to be a great success and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves to the fullest extent. The weather was perfect, the food was good, and the people were friendly. What more could anyone have asked for? Leaving Paris early in the morning, the tour party took their last glimpse of the fashion center of the world and headed back to the good old Fighting two bits and reality.

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' l d assin many French towns and we had an opportunity to really see the wonderful country From Nice we went in an - p g side of Francef We saw bridges that had been destroyed by the Germans as well as many picturesque Church and farm houses along the route. The most well known points of interest in Grasse, are the two large perfume factories which produce 9596 of all the perfume's shipped out of France. We were taken through Frayonards' perfume factory and shown - step by step how per- ' - rth thousands of dollars. The fume starts from the petal of a flower to the finished product of world famous perfumes wo method is rather primitive but the results are very modern. ' b t irls - who took us to the saleroom - where perfume is After the tour of the factory - we were taken in tow y pre ty g sold in all sorts and sizes, shapes ' ' ' ' t later we were on our way and models. Purchasing four cans of Ioy' and thirty rmnu es to Cannes. ' ' ' ' trade. Hotel's made up all of the buildings along the beach - with Cannes is a pretty city - living mostly on the summer . ' f th well known Palm Beach occasion expensive dress shops thrown in - to break the monotony. Cannes is the home o e s . . . S Casino - which-in Europe is as famous as Monte Carlo is in the United tates. C and the tour was at an end It is an impossibility to describe the To Gulfe Juan was a short scenic drive from annes . beauty and wonderful things that were see ' ' 'll 1 a s remember it as one of the high-lights of the Mediterranean cruise. n on this tour. All hands who did take this tour wi a w y . ., s,,,.,.,,..MMNmvww.-4 1 5 i 1 I ,,,.,...1...--,, 130

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Switzerland Tour -five Officers, and men from TransDiv 22, seven Officers and men Switzerland Tour party was comprised of about thirty from the USS SAN MARCOS. We arrived at Fleet Landing, Golfe juan. France at 1630, Wednesday morning 28 May 1952 and we boarded buses for the station in Cannes at 0800. The train left for Lyons, France our transfer point. After a large lunch onthe train every- one sat back to watch the beautiful French countryside go by. We arrived in Lyons at 1730 that evening for an hour lay-over for Geneva, Switzerland, had dinner that evening at the restaurant in the train station, at Geneva where a seven piece orchestra played a number of Strause Waltzes and the male ' f the benefit of his American audience. vocalist sang, Mississippi or From there we went by bus to our hotel, a typical Swiss type chateau a few blocks from the main part of town and Lake Geneva. A The next day was spent touring the north coast of Lake Geneva by bus to Montreuz a small village on the shores of the lake where we ate lunch, took pictures of the village, the lack and the Swiss Alps in the background. ' ' ' f ld tones hundreds We continued on down the coast of the lake to an old castle ide Chillonj right at the lake, made o o s l t l toured the castle and took ' more pictures. of years old comp e e y b From the castle we returned to Geneva by a different road inland from the lake, taking in the Swiss countryside. Our evenings were free to window shop and take in the night life of Geneva. Next morning was taken up by a tour to the famous UN building where the Geneva treaty was signed on the south shore of Lake Geneva. All that afternoon and evening was free to shop and maybe purchase a Swiss watch that are known the world over as being the best money can buy. ' That ended the tour, the next morning at 0800 we' boarded the train for the return trip to Golfe juan, France and our respective ship's. 132