San Marcos (LSD 25) - Naval Cruise Book

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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

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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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Capri l ll t . -- Amongsevirg enfce Cen 'gms offered to NaVY and Marine personnel, while in the port of Naples, Italy, was one to the 'Ilo ar1. ar1s'dl - scenlc S 8 P P 1 W1 2 y known as a vacation spot, and attracts tourists and celebrities from all over the ' d h b ' ' - . world. The islan ' as een the lnspiration for several fine poems and love songs, and although l doubt that anyone in our tour party Put It to Writing, Iam sure the island in f 11 u spired many with amorous thoughts of sharing its beauty with others than e ow servicemen. 0900 - The tour started at from the waterfront at NaP1CS, and as we went aboard the excursion boat that was to take us to Capri, Several COmmentS Were heard aboutisailors taking boat rides on their day off. However, this boat boasted a feat- ure unknown to naval vessels, in the form of a well stocked bar and while some were drinking in the beauty of the panor- ama of Naples, others less impressed were content in just drinking. The boat was crowded to capacity, and included not only military personnel, but tourists land natives ofthe Naples area. The latter's understandable attitude of indifference turned to awe as we passed the aircraft carrier USS CORAL SEA and other units of the U. S. Naval might anchored in the harbor, and reached its height when a helicopter from the CORAL SEA hovered a few feet from the boat for several minutes before taking off in a dash for Mt. Vesuvius. The famous volcano Vesuvius dominates the scent around Naples and the boat ride to Capri offered a clear and beauti- ful view of the volcano to enjoy and photograph, Upon arriving at Capri. our tour party left the excursion boat and went aboard smaller five passenger motorboats in or- der to visit the beautiful Blue Grotto. The trip to the Grotto took us past some of Capri 's most rugged coast line, where in places. sheer cliffs, several hundred feet high, plunge perpendicularly into the sea. The action of the sea against these vertical surfaces has carved many caves, the most beautiful and unusual one being the Blue Grotto. Upon arriving at the entrance to the Grotto, one must transfer to even smaller boats as the entrance is very small. When inside the Grotto it doesn't appear to be unusual, but when you reach the back and look toward the entrance, the Grotto takes on a beauti- ful shade of blue. This is caused by sunlight admitted through the cave entrance beneath the stu-face of the water, and then reflected through the blue water of the cave to the surface. This is surely one of the worlds most beautiful natural beauty spots, and is Capri 's most important attraction. The next phase of our tour took us to one of Caprils fine hotels, the obj ect of visit being dinner. Of all the events of a tour, no doubt this one meets with the complete approval of all hands more often than any other. The fare included a delicious plate of spaghetti followed by steak with all the trimmings and a choice ofawide selection of fine Italian wine. After dinner we werelfree to use the rest of the day as we liked. Some explored the island farther by carriage or on foot, others made use of the fine swimming areas, visited the numerous gift shops, or just relaxed inthe shade of a t:ree or bar until it was time to return to Naples. Similar tours to Capri were held on several occasions so that anyone who so desired had an opportunity to take part. No doubt all those who did visit the island, left with the feeling that it had been a day well spent at one of the world's finest vacation spot. . 1 3 3