In the Sunny South of France

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 4, 26 March 1927, Page 17 (Supplement)

In the Sunny South of France

Short Skirts and Shingles Still the Vogue in Riviera. . . An Aucklander in Avignon.. Why Widow’s Weeds are Popular . . . (WRITTEN FOR THE SUN BY MARIEDA BATTEN)

rpo write of the people after three A weeks' residence among them niay be to “scratch the people’s skins, then write of their souls.” Possibly 1 have done this, but I think I have learned something of the gay Marseillaises. On my first walk through the city I was much puzzled to see a very large number of smart women in heavy mourning. They were in black even to the shoes and stockings and from the smart little hat flowed a long thrown-back veil of silken crepe reaching to the bottom of the skirt. 1 wondered if some awful scourge had visited France and robbed half the women of their husbands, for their dress was a skittish variety of "widow’s weeds.” Questioning a French friend I was told that his countrywomen well know how becoming black is to their wonderful complexions, so when the most distant relative dies they gladly wear black and remain in mourning for as long as possible. Now that I have begun on the subject of dress perhaps you will be interested to kuow that the fashions are very little different from our own in New Zealand. Black patent leather shoes are in favour with a heel that would reduce New Zealand men to profanity. It is about three inches high, neither Louis nor Cuban, but a kind of half-and-half. It tapers down to almost a point little larger

crop to the nearly-buster. And all the women take especial care to keep their hair glossy, even sacrificing curliness to lustre. This gives them a very well-groomed appearance. Almost every woman, young and old, makes' up. The eyes are darkened round the lids, the cheeks rouged and the lips carmined. Personally I do not like it, tiut it is no use raising my small voice against it. The women like to do it, the men apparently like it too, and, as everybody knows, woman will have her way. Evening dress is very lovely, all the robes being of crepe de chine or georgette and beautifully beaded. At one ball I saw a girl wearing a monoile, but she did not manage it at all well and succeeded only in attracting attention to herself, very probably all she wanted to do. Being the chief seaport of France, Marseilles has a very cosmopolitan population. In fact the French themselves have wittily remarked that there should be a French consul there! The houses are very picturesque, they' are of stone, sometimes tinted a pale red, not pink, and all have bright green shutters, a colour between emerald and jade. I have not seen one rough-cast building here. The outside of every house is decorated, some with a row of brightly coloured tiles just under the eaves, others with a stone urn or vase at the corners of the gables

than the head of a clothes peg! Still they are worn and appear to be quite comfortable. Dresses are still short, even middle-aged women wearing them only a little below the knees. Hats are small and of felt or silk, black being the most fashionable. You see hundreds of fur coats, some very beautiful and others just ordinary rabbit, but every woman wears with her fur coat a brightly coloured silken flower just on the collar near the left shoulder. This adds just the relief that is needed. Before I left New Zealand I heard that short hair was going out in Europe. I can assure you that the rumour was untrue, for everybody here is shingled excep. the peasants. But there are cli kinds cf shingles from the Eton

in which grows a plant. Most of the houses have tiled floors or parquet as the French call them. You would expect these floors to be very cold, but the houses are so well warmed that one does not notice that there are no carpets. As I intended to say something about the people I will conclude by reiterating that the French are as clean as, if not cleaner than, we are in the home. Perhaps the fact that few houses possess bathrooms would account for the rumour to the contrary, but we find that to have a bath it is not necessary to possess a bathroom. Every morning a maid brings up a bath to my bedroom and gallons of hot water and as the floor is tiled 1 can splash as much as I like. When

I leave my room she tidies it and washes the- floor all over; in fact the floors of the whole house are washed every day regularly. The food is beautifully cooked and very delicious. Everything is served as a separate course. We start dejeuner with hors d'oeuvres, generally sardines and olives or tomatoes sliced in vinegar. Very little of this; then boiled haricot beans and small pieces of bacon; next a dish of potatoes boiled in their skins and eaten with butter. Now comes the meat course, very seldom roast beef, but stewed veal or mutton, occasionally poultry. Now, macaroni cooked with garlic! Very nice indeed. And the meal always ends with salad with a dressing of oil and vinegar and finally cheese. Wine to drink xvith the meal and coffee as the finishing touch. Yes, I must confess that I have become a wine-bibber in my old age. I cannot procure tea or anything I can recognise as tea, so it has to be wine and I am beginning to question with Omar Khayyam: "“I often wonder what the vinters buy, One-half so precious as the goods they sell?” Within easy distance of Marseilles are many cities of fascinating interest to tourists, notably Arles and Avignon. Perhaps the most imposing sight in the vicinity of Arles is the Point du Gard. This magnificent aqueduct is built of stone of a deep golden tint and spans the River Gard and its banks. There are three galleries, the one that rests on the ground being composed of seven tre mendous arches. On this first gallery of arches rests a gallery of eleven slightly smaller ones and the third gallery is composed of thirtythree still smaller arches. Along the top of these is the aqueduct itself. This antique bridge is Slsft. long and 145 ft. high, and to see it against the evening sky in that desolate country is a memorable experience. It was built by Agrippa, who was governor of the country bounded by Arles and Avignon, in the reign of Julius Caesar. A. bridge even more famous, of course, is that of Avignon, celebrated in the famous chanson. The city, of course, is chiefly famous for the enormous fortified Palace of the Popes, which was built in the thirteenth century. It is an enormous building with but one visible staircase, the rest being hidden in the walls which at some portions are 15ft. thick. The palace was the home of the Popes for many Years. An Audience Room is still on view draped with crimson silk. The main chapel charmed me most of ail. It is empty save for two tombs, but in colour it is pale gold and the high arches and this pure colour make it a thing of beauty. Marseilles.