1936 On the Continent

repeat the same inexplicable alignments. In all the region there are no less than 3,000 of these extraordinary megalithic monuments, some of which bear mysterious hieroglyphics.
    At Vannes, apart from the Hôtel du Commerce et de l’Epée, I would recommend a restaurant with an amazingly genuine atmosphere of antiquity, the Restaurant Gillet, Place des Lices.

BORDEAUX, THE LANDES AND THE PYRENEES
    Practically all the trains going to the Pyrenees and the Basque-land pass through Bordeaux, so it will be no trouble to you to spare a day to this very interesting town. I don’t mean that it is full of historical monuments or beauty-spots, but it will give you an excellent idea of an absolutely typical big French provincial town, the centre of an important commercial and agricultural region for many centuries.
    Bordeaux is one of the biggest towns in France, with a population of 250,000 inhabitants. It is a port town, and the port is usually an extremely busy one, for despite the fact that it is more than 50 miles from the ocean on the Gironde, the wine trade has made it the fourth most important port in France. A bridge of seventeen immense arches spans the 700 yards width of the river, and along the river banks there are more than 5 miles of busy docks. You have to cross this famous bridge to enter the town from the station, which, as in most French towns, is located at the outskirts.
The City
    The centre of Bordeaux consists, characteristically, of a few streets and squares only: the Place des Quinconces, with its casino surrounded by a large number of restaurants and bars, and the Allées de Tourny. Turning left from the Place des Quinconces, you will find yourself in the celebrated Bordeaux quarter of Chartrons where the big wine merchants live. They form the very exclusive and proud aristocracy of Bordeaux. Unlike this aristocracy, the people themselves in Bordeaux are a very gay and friendly lot, full of jokes and always poking fun at someone. This joking spirit is made even more charming by their sing-song southern accent.
    From the Allées de Tourny you pass through the Rue Fondaguège and reach the ruins of the Palais Gallien, a Roman amphitheatre of the second century, and theChurch of Saint-Seurin, with its fourth-century crypt. These are the only really old monuments in Bordeaux.
    On the other side of the Cours de l’Intendance, which cuts the town into two approximately equal parts, there is a twelfth-century cathedral well worth visiting, as well as the Museum of Painting and Sculpture containing more than a thousand works, mainly of the French school, and the Bonie Museum with a rich collection of Eastern and Far Eastern art.
    Among the first-class hotels I should choose the Hôtel de Bordeaux, on the Place de la Comédie, just off the Place des Quinconces, or the Hôtel du Chapon Fin, which lives up to its name by giving wonderful food. If you prefer somewhere cheaper, you should try the Hôtel Bristol in the Rue Franklin. There will be no trouble about finding a good restaurant; they all serve excellent food in Bordeaux. But, whatever you do, don’t make up your mind to try out all the wines of Bordeaux! You would be there weeks, and even then I doubt if you would have tasted them all. As far as wine goes, get one of the Bordeaux people to advise you. They know all about their own wines, and are certain to introduce you to many marvels you have never heard of before.
Gascogne
    Some 30 miles from Bordeaux begin the Landes, an immense pine forest planted to keep back the encroaching sand dunes of the Gascogne coast. The region is full of picturesque inland lakes, some connected up with the sea by a canal, the others isolated. The most celebrate is the Etang d’Arcachon, which has a very popular beach and rich beds of oysters which you can taste at the Hôtel Victoria, Boulevard de la Plage. Farther on is the Etang de Biscarosse, an important flying-boat base, and the Etang de Soustons with the ancient town of Vieux Boucau.
    Once you have crossed the Adour, you are in the Basque land. They are a strange people, the Basque; sober, sparing of words, always dressed in black, and of entirely unknown racial origins. Their language is hardly understood at all by anyone outside the country, and etymologists are still struggling to assign it to some definitefamily. Despite their reserve, the Basque people are most hospitable and remarkably clean. This cleanliness is particularly striking to anyone who arrives