Arriving to France...


    Although our journey took far longer than I originally had hoped for, and the conditions left much to be desired, I managed to occupy my time listening to the conversations around me and though I often had every intention to participate, I soon discovered  ideas to be very ripe and realized I had much to learn and discover for myself. When we finally arrived in Calais, I arrived in France having practiced very little of my French but with many ideas revolving around my head. My journey had only begun a few days earlier and I had barely left our country land and yet so much had happened to me already.

    When finally in the port city of Calais Sir Frederick and I bid farewell to the ship and all its perils and our traveling companions and began our attempts to secure a means of transportation that would take us to Paris. Our route to Paris, through Beuvais and Chantilly could be covered in two ways: either by obtaining a private carriage that we could use throughout most of our journey, or there was also the alternative of making use of a carrose. This form of public transportation, much like the English stagecoach, required one to share the ride with up to five people and the cost was much lower however, it offered far less privacy and control over one’s itinerary.
    After much consideration of our options, and despite the greater control one had when traveling in his own private carriage, Sir Frederick and I chose to make use of the carrose as it was our plan to travel via a “water carriage” from Paris to Lyons and then a coche d’eau down the river to Marseilles. Thus, it seemed unnecessary to purchase a carriage that we would have to rid ourselves of upon our arrival in Paris. Additionally, as Sir Frederick enforced that during this journey I should embrace all the facets of foreign culture including language, history, geography, climate, crops, food, clothes, customs, politics, laws, art, architecture, and trade regulations. And what better way to accomplish this than to make the locals my traveling companions.

    It took some time to secure our space on the most adequate carrose so we had to spend some time in the town of Calais. I soon discovered the coastal town had very little attractive and was quite small, consisting of but only eight streets, with no more than four thousand permanent inhabitants (though certainly it was always filled with tourists passing by). Although there were some very bad inns, there were also a few notorious ones, the most known of which was the Hôtel d’Angleterre, known as Dessin’s, as it had been made famous by M. Dessin. Among other things, it is known to have the best food in Calais and always lodging several Grand Tourists. Many of us would gather during supper and though quite noisy, would always enjoy ourselves, with someone always calling out, “Wine! Wine! The very best! Du meilleur! Du meilleur!” 
Certainly the biggest shock in Calais was the people. Having been warned of the negative characteristics of the French, it was hard to believe such pretty women and lovely children all of whom very vastly polite and agreeable could be French. As we had all red Thomas Nugent’s Grant Tour (you do remember how I was instructed by father that I would not embark on the journey until I had finished the text) we were expecting them to be “fiery, impatient, inconstant, and of restless disposition,” the young “debauched and irreligious” and all “extremely talkative” especially the women (that they certainly were!). It was thus quite surprising to find them to be a “people of quick understanding and nice taste”
    After a few days in Calais it was finally our turn to begin heading towards Paris in our carosse. I was delighted to meet our traveling companions, Monsieur and Madame Mantionne and Mademoiselle Renoir and her governess Madame Tierri. They proved to be quite pleasant individuals and were all traveling to Paris to visit their families. Mlle Renoir was a student at a British school and was being escorted home by her governess Mme Tierri while the young couple was going to visit Mme Mantionne’s mother in Paris. Although Mlle Renoir spoke English quite well and the rest had some knowledge of it, Sir Frederick insisted we speak in the local language so that I could finally practice my French and work on my accent. Despite some embarrassing moments due to my lack of practice, the conversation was quite interesting and the time spent on the carosse was surprisingly enjoyable. We were in fact very lucky as travelers often complained of their traveling companions.

    However, despite the pleasant companions, there were certainly some strange customs to which I could not get used to, and don’t think I ever will. There were some particularly embarrassing conversations (certainly not related to my lack of mastery of the language). The descriptions provided of the debaucheries of the capital were certainly shocking, and the level of detail provided, especially with the young Mme Renoir would be unthinkable among British. And you will not be believe what the lovely girl did after stepping out of the carriage at a particularly inn where we were staying! Without pausing our conversation she discovered a lapse of stocking and deliberately adjusted it and tied the garter! Never in all of Britain would you find a lady who would show her knee to a strange man in that manner. And yet Mme was quite educated and of the finest pedigree. 
    Making use of public transportation afforded some benefits while depriving us of some privacy and autonomy. While we were unable to decide where to stop and make decisions about our itinerary we also did not have to worry about securing an inn for the night as arrangements were made for you and lodging and food was included in the price. There were thirty two and a half posts(stop points where you changed to another carriage) between Calais and Paris and that meant several stops during the day and with a total of 187 miles the journey lasted seven days. Although many of the inns along our route were highly questionable and several innkeepers were far from up to par for our high standards (although I must admit that the innkeepers of better, larger inns were in fact quite polite and competent) we were lucky to count on good company and even the questionable food was not as terrible as we were afraid would be. It must be noted that at least most inns provided a good variety of dishes to choose from and wine was in general far better than the wine available in English inns.
I must tell you now that everything I had heard about the journey from Dover to Calais became evident as we traveled through the fields and towns of northern France. I had never imagined so many beggars to be possible! Anytime the carosse made a stop for any reason we were always swarmed by sons and daughters of poverty. Though I reacted with surprise and was unsure how to deal with so many of them, my companions seemed to be accustomed to the situation. It must be noted however, that these were “the merriest beggars” and were quite grateful anytime coins flung from the window of the carriage, yelling in unison “Bon voyage! Bon voyage!” I couldn’t imagine these to be the same people that were so unhappy as to create the kind of unrest that afflicted the country, but I could certainly not blame them if they did take such attitudes after seeing the conditions in which they are forced to live.

     While I was reflecting upon all that I had seen this part of the journey ended and we were in Paris. However, I must warn you that the first impression of the city is not the best one as the first encounter upon entering the city is with the custom officials who checked every but of our luggage for forbidden articles and examined our passports (which I must mention you will have to get a new one when you arrive in Calais as your British one will not be valid once you enter the Continent) and the post-chaise. Additionally, you will be swarmed with individuals offering their valet services and thrusting through the windows the references written by their previous employers.    We bid farewell to our companions, promising to write to them and began searching for a Hotel, where we were only planning to stay a short period of time as we were hoping to secure furnished rooms for our extended stay.
The very best hotels could be found outside the old city walls in the most favoured quarter, the Faubourg St Germain and thus we found lodging in the Imperial, on the rue Dauphin. After getting settled in and while Sir Frederick went to look for a suitable room, he left me to buy new clothes, as no British can be seen around Paris without new clothes. I was instructed to be extremely careful as the French tailors were known for being great cheats and they particularly preyed on the young British tourists. After this feat was accomplished and I had undergone a complete metamorphosis with my fine new clothes, my dear bear leader and I set out to begin exploring the city.

    My first surprise was the noise and bustle that seemed to invade the whole city as one-horse cabriolets, driven by young men of fashion sped by and the velocity with which Parisians and tourists alike moved in order to avoid being run over by them. I would soon myself become accustomed to walk with such quick movements without even realizing it. It seemed to me that people were not only moving fast but were also living fast as Parisiams seem to always be in a hurry, answering your questions before you even finish asking them and quickly moving along.  This city of constant activity was also one of contrasts. While it certainly offered the magnificent churches and palaces, museums, the opera and countless artists, there was also poverty, and decay with disquietingly dirty streets. The Seine itself in several parts reflects this vile town as a filthy stream. However, although some of our fellow nationals found no attraction in Paris I thought it to be a wonderful city nonetheless, “the most magnificent, the most vile, the most fragrant and most fetid city” with an undeniable charm nonetheless.
The food that we found in the French capital was quite difficult to get accustomed to as it was far too highly seasoned. The wine, however, was even better than what we had encountered in rural France and I must say it is quite likely the best in Europe. The women however, have a great fault and that is the horrendous custom they have of painting their faces in such a hideous manner with the paint not even applied with any care or dexterity. I must admit nonetheless that many of them are wonderfully vivacious (though unfortunately far from all of them!)

    With all of the different attractions available in the city it became increasingly difficult for Sir Frederick, much like the rest of the tutors to impose a strict curriculum as us young men sought to explore the city on our own, and many certainly looked forward to the evening, when they could escape their tutors and make their way to one of the many fashionable brothels in the city. However, coffee houses, brothels and tavern were certainly not the only attractions and it must be noted that my dear bear leader was quite complacent in incorporating the grandiose of the city into my study .

    A spectacle you cannot miss while in Paris, dear cousin, is the royal family at the dinning table, although you should know that with the increasing tension towards them, they are making fewer and fewer appearances, and many tourists must now be content merely seeing them in the royal chapel. And make sure not to leave the city without visiting the Theater at least once as it as a spectacle worth seeing and quite different to those available back in Britain(I will also write you a letter on Entertainment while you are here in France, so do not you worry, you will have more details on that..
    Before continuing on with our journey Sir Frederick and I went on the rigorous day trip to Versailles and we chose to make use of the coche that left twice a day from the rue Saint Nicaise. I must warn you my dear Alfred that although a necessary trip, I, like most of the tourists was quite disappointed. We hoped to encounter all the magnificence of the “Sun King” and instead found “a lumber of littleness, composed of black brick, stuck full of bad old busts, and fringed with gold rails.” The apartments were quite dirty and people rove around the palace at pleasure.
Upon returning to Paris, we began organizing for our departure. As I told you earlier, having seen the norther portion of the country through a carriage, Sir Frederick and I decided we would travel the rest of the way in a coche d’eau.     After contracting with the water carriage we were soon down the Seine to Saint-Cloud and the Duke of Orléans’s palace which is surely one of the finest in the Kingdom. Continuing down the Seine, we traveled as far as Fountainebleu and then after a carriage ride we once again took a coche d’eau down the Loire from Orléan to Nantes were we lodged at the Hôtel de Henry IV which is considered to be the finest inn in Europe. As Sir Frederick wanted me to perfect my French before we moved on to the Italian States, we chose to spend some time in the town of the Loire valley, which have long been famous for the purity of their French and the many beautiful châteaux one could find along the banks. Thus the subsequent months were spent moving from one to the next, practicing the language and becoming familiar with the local customs. Although I must warn you that the countryside certainly does not offer the same excitement as the city, the landscapes were certainly magnificent and I must admit it was a nice break from the fast-paced life we led while in Paris.
The months flew by and soon it was time to head to Lyon and for the trip we chose to once again make use of public transportation and this time take the diligence to the city. Though certainly faster than the carosse, it was surely far more uncomfortable and sadly we had disappointing traveling companions who were neither pleasant nor interesting. I was surely glad when we arrived in Lyon yet soon discovered that it is not a particularly pleasant place to rest. However, despite the extremely narrow streets we sure found several quite good stores and spend most of our time shopping. Yet in spite of the shopping and the good inns, Lyon proved to be merely a stopping-place and most of the tourists we found, like us, were eager to continue on south to Marseilles and Toulon.

Sir Frederick and I soon decided to continue our journey on to the South of France and towards Italy. We once again embarked on a coche d’eau down the Rhône towards Marseille. I must admit the boats that traveled the Rhône were quite comfortable, with decks high enough to walk under. Some of them were pulled by horses while some other floated with the current. Along our journey we passed by several town such as Arlen, which was quite popular for its antiquities, so much so that it is often called a second rome, and Avignon where the tourists were often startled by the bronze-coloured sailors on the banks with very little clothing except for their trousers and the talismans that hung around their necks. Both of these towns were recommended as summer resorts for those British who could not stand the English winter and possessed the wealth to travel this far to avoid it.

After a journey of three days we arrived in Marseilles, and were greeted by the town’s main attraction, the harbor, for it was here that the King’s galleys were stationed. The city itself was a busy port where people could always be found swarming the streets. Worthy of noticing is the variety of the town’s export trade, which included, almonds, salted eels, anchovies, figs, cloth, cotton waistcoats taffetas and dimities among others.

As we continued our water journey towards Italy we encountered Toulouse and many of our travel companions were tempted to extend their time there due to the surprisingly low costs of lodging and food. Though Sir Frederick and I did spend a few extra days in Toulouse I must admit that at that time my dear bear leader and I were eager to leave France and continue our journey on to Italy. As we had no desire to battle with the Alps, we decided to continue on along the Mediterranean cost of France towards Genoa and travel via carriage towards Venice.

Dear Alfred, since I know these issues interest you allow me to tell you a little bit about the political situation of this beautiful Mediterranean peninsula, as Sir Frederick and I discussed during our journey from Toulouse. As you may suspect this area is indeed experiencing what I call the era of Enlightenment reform. Reforms that so far had successfully reorganized government administration, reordered state finances, founded a public bank, and placed a new cadastral survey. After Maria's Theresa's death in 1780 Joseph II became the only ruler of the Roman Empire until his brother Leopold II was just appointed last year as the new holy roman emperor. Leopold II had ruled Tuscany as Grand Duke. Leopold's government has promoted a new set of reforms such like the establishment of effective elementary schools and new discipline programs at the Palatine school of Milan and the University of pavia, his reforms have attacked the church property and its power, on the other hand his policies have encourage a new penal code which recently has abolished the death penalty (becoming the only state in Europe to do this). As there is no army to maintain, and as he eliminated the small naval force kept up by the Medici, he is implementing an effective taxation system to be applied exclusively for the improvement of his state. There are many public projects going on in this area such as the the drainage of the Val di Chiana which you will love to visit one day. But let me tell you that this government has found opposition from the clergy, aristocratic landlords and some official administrators who are wealthy and have political power to oppose rationalization and progressive policies states to ultimately manipulate the weaker and poorer and in this way gain more economical power and political authority. This progressive enlightenment culture of reforms has outline and expose the vast disparities between high and low, rich and poor and with what is happening in France I don't know how positive it is in the short term since is just matter of time that the revolutionaries ideas take over the poor to fight everybody above them including the good and wealthy government of Leopold to reach the so call equality among societies. But that will take some time cousin and for now everything around here is somewhat peaceful as we head into the beautiful Italian States and the channels of Venice.

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Figure 6 - Calais, France seaport late 18th century
Figure 7 - Paris, France Champs Ellysses; a popular outdoor attraction for social gathering
Figure 8 - Louvre gallery in Paris 1780s.
Figure 9 - Play houses in downtown Paris where popular plays and performances were presented to the public. 1785.
Figure 10 - A fancy-dress ball in the gallery  Des Glaces at Versailles
Figure 11 - French merchants offering their services to English tourists at their arrival to Paris 1780s.
Figure 12 - Royal palace of Versailles fronting the Gardens 1780.
Figure 13 - A sunday on the Royal palace of Versailles fronting the Gardens 1785.
Figure 14 - Chateaux, Loire Valley late 18th century.
Figure 15 - Marseilles  Bay  view.
Figure 16- Venice Channels 18th