After a quick tour of Geneva, my dad took an afternoon train to Paris.
For Americans in the mid-century, Paris represented sophistication, art, vibrancy, and culture. Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Cole Porter, Josephine Baker, Oscar Wilde and other American expatriates (even Benjamin Franklin) had lived in Paris and written and created there. American troops helped liberate Paris in 1944 and were heroes at that time. Paris was a glamorous destination.
Oh, oh, tourist photo alert. Every visitor to Paris takes pictures of the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile. But in these 1950 shots, there is very little traffic. But the good news is that on one Sunday every month, year-round, the Champs-Élysées is for pedestrians only.
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| View of Paris from the Arc de Triomphe, December 1, 1950 |
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| View of la Tour Eiffel and Fame riding Pegasus at Tuileries garden gates, December 1, 1950 |
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| Île Saint-Louis and the Seine |
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| Notre Dame de Paris, the world’s finest example of French Gothic architecture |
The stonework looks reasonably clean in this photo. Possibly the government had already started cleaning and restoring monuments after the war.
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| Galeries Lafayette Haussmann (historic shopping galleria) |
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| The Hôtel de Ville in the 4th arrondissement |
After a week in Paris (many days with rain), my dad took the metro to the Gare du Nord and entrained on The Golden Arrow (La Flèche d'Or) for Dover. In In Graham Greene's Travels With My Aunt, one of the characters uses the Golden Arrow to escape to Paris.
London
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| The Household Cavalry on the Strand |
Back to USA
After six cold days in London, my dad took the boat train to Southampton and boarded the Neiuw Amsterdam on December 12. This elegant ship was built in 1938 and had served valiantly as a troopship from 1940 to 1946. He wrote that several days were rough (it was December on the North Atlantic!). My dad's last diary entry is December 17. He probably landed in Hoboken, New Jersey, a day or two later.
I do not know why my dad took a sea voyage rather than fly to USA. The early-1950s were the peak of the post-war tourist boom for Atlantic ocean liners. In that era, ship travel was sophisticated and glamorous. But it would not last. The inauguration of Pan American's Boeing 707 jet service across the Atlantic in October 1958 spelled the eventual doom to ocean liner service. Impatient tourists wanted to cross the ocean quickly. (And you all know what a grotesque experience air travel is today, especially in economy class.)
This ended the Grand Tour from Guam to USA. My dad was energetic - I can barely imagine covering three continents and dealing with that many tourist sights, odd foods, hotels, customs clearances, and bureaucratic issues in two months.
For funds back then, my dad and most tourists carried travelers cheques, which they exchanged into local currency. I used travelers cheques up to about 2000, some even denominated in French Francs and Deutsche Marks. But the almost universal use of credit cards largely eliminated the need for paper cheques. My dad also picked up extra cash at American Express offices, but I do not know how the transaction worked. He also picked up mail at American Express offices, which would hold letters for a traveler.
My dad did not linger in USA. After two or three weeks, he was offered a job in Athens, Greece. He packed his bags, bought Kodachrome film, and left for Athens on Pan American World Airlines.
Nieuw Amsterdam
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| Nieuw Amsterdam in 1949 after complete post-war refitting |
Source:
Collectie / Archief: Fotocollectie Anefo
Beschrijving:Vertrek Nieuw Amsterdam uit Hoek van Holland
Datum: 1949-05-31
Locatie: Hoek van Holland
Nieuw Amsterdam Fotograaf: Bilsen, Joop van / Anefo
Photo Notes
This is the Leica IIIC camera and 5cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens that my dad used on his long trip. This Summitar is coated and has 10 aperture blades. The coating is still intact, unlike many Summitars that were scratched over the decades.
My dad used the 1940s Kodachrome film in 35mm size. In 1945, the film speed was Weston 8 or G.E. 12. By 1953, Kodak listed the exposure index as American Standards Association (ASA) 10. At that time, Kodak sold their Kodachrome film with a processing mailer. My dad would have mailed his trip films to a Kodak laboratory (probably in Rochester) when he returned to the USA.
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Page 42 from Kodak Data Book 5th Edition Kodachrome Films for Minature and Movie Cameras |
Gawainweaver.com prepared a comprehensive summary of Kodachrome mounts and timeline.
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