Smalley (DD 565) - Naval Cruise Book

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i 3 1 3 is 'l i A 6711141455 Cotc D,Azur New Yearls Eve on the Riviera! Tliat's bet- ter than Times Square. You could even forget that you had been away from home for seven months. Real French champagne, plus gam- bling casinos, European jazz and can-can dancers-that was for the Smalley. When our liberty boats first passed those sleek sloops and private schooners in the Cannes yacht basin, close to our anchorage, we knew we had hit a port where people really knew how to live. Cannes offered a few cafes and restaurants, but its grandeur was mostly proclaimed by its exclusive hotels, such as the Martinez. Nearby Nice reigned as the most cultured French city of the Cote D7Azur with its ritzy shops, well- kept parks and intimate night clubs which most of the Smalley sailors hastened to enjoy. Some of the crew went directly to the beau- tiful ski resort of Auron which was nestled in the snow-covered Alps which could be seen rising majestically in great contrast to the bar- ren desert of Arabia which we saw only a few weeks before. Even though it was mid-winter, the sunny Mediterranean afternoons permitted pleasant tours around the famous Cote D,Azur. Bou- langeries, epiceries, perfume, and clothing shops were seen everywhere filled with an easy-going clientele which included school children, farm folk, sahled demoiselles and professeurs. After two days of sight-seeing, Smalley men were ready to celebrate New Year's Eve. Cafes and night clubs in Nice and Cannes were brimming with high spirits and good cheer. Le vin-superb, la musique-torride, les fem- mes-mais oui! Fun was expensive, but after payday in France-clcst la vie. XV hen we weighed anchor on the second day of january and headed for Cibraltar and our last leg home, we realized we were leaving one of the best ports of the cruise. To be sure, everyone had a whale of a time on the Riviera. NEW P K limit: XP . 'Sill lg l lv ix i ,g Q crsi sf BON lf. 46

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Merry Christmas to all the best food the Navy had to offer, and it was probably by far the most sumptuous and extravagant meal that these children ever had or will sit down to. There were presents for all and then a movie program of cartoons in the mess hall. During the morning the Piraeus Police Clee Club came aboard and serenaded the orphans and the crew. On Christmas Day a few lucky men of the Smalley found that they had been selected to fill invitations for Christmas dinner at the homes of various American citizens, both civilian and military who were residing in Greece. At the end of our stay in Piraeus when the last 50,000 drachmae note was burning a hole in our pockets, we repaired to the john Bull Bar, the uhellis kitehenv of the Piraeus water- front. Who will ever forget the john Bull? Here you could get a beer or a bruise. lt all depended upon what you were looking tor. Our four-day stay in Creece went quickly and it wasnit long before we were steaming back down the channel and out to the open sea. Our consolation, however, lay in the tact 45 l that we were well on our way home now and that in less than three weeks would be sighting the shores of the United States. Chow down ,yi

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Gzbmlfzzr Mediterranean Sentinel The New Year was four days old when Des Div 302 entered the sheltered harbor at the British rock fortress of Gibraltar. From the sea, the town looked clean and white in the bright morning sun and the red tile roofs of the houses gave depth and distance to the scene. The town crawled tortuously about half way up the southern side of the Rock and faced across the Straits toward Africa. Fortress town 47 Our stop was to be a short one and we remained only long enough to fuel. However, the few hours ashore were suflicient to peruse the town. A sentry standing post on top of the Rock could have seen a column of white- headed black ants suddenly swarm ashore and proceed toward the center of the town. Liberty had commenced. For the next several hours the neat, narrow little streets, flanked on both sides by two-story buildings, some with color- ful facades of tiled mosaics and Spanish style open balconies of wrought iron were crowded with the sailors of Destroyer Division 302. For those who had money left from their stay i11 France and had intentions of discovering bar- gainsf time was of the essence, for it was Saturday and in Gibraltar that means a half day. The camera clubfansv took things more leisurely though, and commenced photograph- ing everything in sight. At 1400 the Smalley began spinning her main engines and a few minutes later got underway. She was followed out of the harbor by the remainder of the Division. h