| Show FRAINCE NEW AW V M M 0 AM A L 4 21 M bt A A smile from the proposed canal route in france prepared by notional geographic society washington LP t C WN U service WO french cities bordeaux and TWO tort carcassonne assonne the former a great port and the latter a sleepy ancient inland town are literally in the way of 0 the canal which france Is planning lug to dig from the atlantic ocean to the mediterranean sen sea thus affording a new waterway to the bedl from botn the west bordeaux will be the atlantic terminus of 0 the canal which will include portions of 0 the garonne baronne river and t the he canal du slid midi which was built la in the canal will be about aso miles long lone and will cost approximately bordeaux Is seldom in the headlines in peace times but let parts paris be threatened from the north or the east and bordeaux would doubtless resume its old place in the he spotlight during the franco prussian war when the enemy occupied paris and again during the early days of the world war before the germans had been stopped in their initial rush on the french capital the machinery of government was hastily transferred to the great commercial city on the left bank of the garonne baronne Ga ronne at the time of the french revolution too the used bordeaux a as their chief headquarters geography Is bordeaux trump card not only in time of war but in tine time of peace as well although a seaport the city Is GO CO miles from open sea on a river that provides adequate docking facilities but Is still not deep enough for warships of 0 heavy draft A few barges judiciously sunk across the channel would block everything else at any time desired far down in the southwestern part of france the city has prospered almost undisturbed since it first came into prominence as the capital of aquitania secunda of the romans komans bordeaux however should not be regarded only as a governmental pinch hitter bitter it Is a thriving commercial city the fourth in population in france and has a foreign trade exceed among french ports only by marseilles and havre with the province of burgundy in the eastern part of france the district around bordeaux shares the wine producing honors of the country the yanks remember bordeaux bordeaux Is largely terra incognita to the average tourist none of the large transatlantic lines from north america terminates here although there are many smaller companies cs especially pec ally lally those connecting france with south america nor is it on any heavily traveled route to other parts of europe bordeaux cann cannot ot benefit by way traffic as can marseilles nice or lyons travelers to spain and to the shore resorts around biarritz Biar ritz generally pass through throng h the city without stopping the american doughboy however knows bordeaux when the united states went into the world war the railroads in the northern part of france were greatly overworked and choked with traffic the northern ports too were menaced by the submarine the brest southward conditions wore were better brest st Naz nazaire alre nantes bordeaux and cayenne bayonne thus spring suddenly into front page headlines of american newspapers docking facilities even at bordeaux were rather poor at that time it was necessary for american engineers virtually to reconstruct some of the ports in the spring of 1917 only two large ships could berth for unloading at the same time in bordeaux but a year later there were places for fifteen vessels bassen baasen a small village six miles down the baronne from bordeaux was given fine docks and warehouses A great deal of the supplies and ammunition of the A A E P F were landed here bordeaux was one of the few cities to benefit by the war commercial but attractive despite the tact fact that it la is largely a comme commercial iclal city bordeaux Is in many respects very attractive the main part ot of the city curves around the lett left bank of the garonne baronne river which at this point describes a wide semi circle low white houses take the place of the tenements so characteristic of other french cities while the public buildings are grouped in the center of 0 the city along public gardens or line the imposing quays ot of the waterfront ter front the whole city Is surrounded by a cir circle cleof of boulevards the cathedral of st andre started in the eleventh UIe century Is considered one of the best proportioned gothic churches in southern france the pont do bordeaux one of 0 the bridges connecting the city with the right bank of 0 the garonne baronne Ga ronne was long iong considered among the finest in the world many of 3 the magnificent eDt private homes ot of the city were built when the great merchants of 0 bordeaux were at the height of their wealth and power and are comparatively modern modem around bordeaux are smiling hills and fresh valleys covered with vineyards the vines they protace ice have made the district famous and have hava sent the names of medoc graves sauternes st Em edillon illon etc around the world nearby also Is the little town of cognac which has lent its name to the most potent of french liquids it is the center of the brandy trade ot of the district south of bordeaux stretch great pine forests and regions of waving grass like those of our southern atlantic states carcassonne assonne Is two towns carcassonne assonne straddles the river aude about EG miles southeast of toulouse travelers arriving at the railway station in the so called new town on the west bank of the aude scan the panorama for a city of 0 antiques but it Is not found ou on that side of the river the new town Is only about three hundred years older than early american towns some of the inhabitants of the old town across the river revolted against the king of france and were driven out of the old town walls they were allowed to settle on the site of the new town that was in 1247 A beautiful shaded parkway near the railroad station introduces car massonne cas sonne but a few steps beyond the tha traveler ls Is hemmed in between walls of stone and brick buildings rising sheer from the sidewalks the streets run at right angles forming solid blocks the monotony of which Is relieved only by a few squares and small parks and a wide shaded boulevard the place carnot Is a combined market place loafing place and meeting place in carcassonne assonne famous walls of the old city cross the river aude enter the gates of the old town and you are on a site which was occupied by a settlement somewhere back in the mists of history you may cross the aude by a modern bridge or with the tha ancient ramparts ram pants ahead of you you might prefer the old thirteenth century span the frowning gray walls of the old town were impregnable when battering rams were the high explosives of attackers there are two walls with about 28 feet between them one glance at these ramparts ram pants convinces the traveler that one historian was right when lie he said that only famine or treason within the walls could cause the capture of the town the walls form an irregular oval about the old town and have only four openings one opening la in each wall is large enough to admit horses borses and wheeled vehicles and each Is guarded by a series of turrets and towers the other openings are mere holes in the walls wide enough tor for only one man maa to squeeze through inside narrow cobbled streets street breathe an atmosphere of many centuries ago there Is the venerable st nazaire cathedral with stained glass windows depicting bible scenes and the chateau where high walls once echoed with the gay revelry of carcas cassanna sonna feudal lords these old structures look down upon streets almost deserted for the life of car massonne cas sonne today Is in the new t eswa awn where the wine trade one of the old trades of tho the city still flourishes |
