Little Pilgrimages Among French Inns

Author : Charles Gibson
Publisher : Watson Press
ISBN 13 : 1443770906
Total Pages : 500 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (437 download)

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Download or read book Little Pilgrimages Among the French Inns written by Charles Gibson and published by Watson Press. This book was released on 2008-10-27 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PREFACE THIS volume is the outcome of several summers, or portions thereof, that have been spent in picturesque paits of France. An extended stay has permitted me to examine into some of the history and legends of this delightful country, to obtain some experience of the character of its inns, and to acquire - I trust - something of its atmosphere. A number of notes were taken on the spot, and these have been allowed to mellow in the memory, so that in writing of them there is a touch of reminiscence which may not perhaps be out of place in a volume of this sort. I desire to state that this pilgrimage is Among French Inns, not one made to them exclusively. Advantage has been taken of this fact to deal rather broadly with the places visited in the present narrative. But is it a narrative some one may ask, and perhaps rightly. All it attemptsto be is a form of history, purporting to be that of an excursion made by a number of types of character that are frequently to be met with when travelling on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. If any readers of the doings or sayings of the characters in this book should claim a resemblance to themselves, they are undoubtedly wrong. No such resemblance exists none could exist none was ever intended to exist The characters of the story that is woven into the pages of these travels are not individual portraits. They are only attempted reproductions of types, at once amusing in real life, and food for contemplation and thought. I would counsel my friends to look for them when they travel in these regions, for they add greatly to the pleasure of the trip. To those who are led to make a pilgrimage Among French Inns, we would say a word or two in regard to the practical side of so poeti- cal a trip. If these inns are, in certain rural districts, more primitive than those of England, they are never without good cheer in the way of food and drink. The cuisine in France is different altogether from the cuisine in England - as different as can be. Each has its good points but in the cuisine of the Frenchman there is a subtle art which nothing can take from him. In the bedrooms, feather beds abound linen sheets, windows that open sidewise, and let in draughts in cold weather. Go to the inns in summer or spring, rather than in winter. The rates are not expensive, and the extras less abundant than in the larger hotels. The early breakfast of coffee and rolls is, let us say, in the neighbourhood of a franc, about twenty cents in American money. The dinner, or luncheon, from eleven until one-thirty, table dhote, is from two to three francs. Dinner is in proportion. For those who do not wish to make an expensive trip, the second class, in travelling, is preferable. Third class, as a rule, is to be avoided in the country districts. To those who are fond of scenery, the railway journeys, especially in Normandy, will be a source of unmitigated pleasure and delight. I have attempted to give a slight idea of this in these pages, with how unworthy a pen I myself am only too well aware. There will be little use in expecting the coachmen of the public carriages to be polite. They rarely if ever are. They bully and cheat the unwary traveller whenever occasion crops up...