Italian tour: 3,000 miles with Lunn

[colour plate pasted to front cover]

[post card]

PASSENGER TO: PARIS [incomplete text] TRONCHET.

Italian Tour. 3,000 Miles With Lunn Monday. March 25th 1929

I left Aberdovey by the 10.30 train to join my friends in London.

Nothing of special interest happened, but I was amused by a discussion on India and Mr Gandhi, between a bearded and turboned young Indian student from Aberystwyth College, and a pertly English girl from the same university.

As there had been a provocative article in the Daily Mirror on conditions in India, I thought the girl had chosen a highly inflamable subject on which to talk.

Reaching Paddington at 5-10. I had a wild rush to catch the 5-15 to Reading.

Helped my friend Dinah pack by sitting in a chair while she hurled articles into a new trunk which when full was closed by sitting firmly on the lid.

Really Off!

Tues 26

Mrs Handley, her sister Miss Kevil, Di Handley & self went by 11.15 to Town.

Lunched Victoria Station Hotel, joined my Aunt Miss F. W. Barrett. On the platform a little dark man rushed up to us & asked eagerly for "Meesis Handley". They exchanged a flow of Conversation & Di & I gloomily said to each other that if that was our conductor we should have a thin time. Little we knew!

on the train we amused ourselves trying to distinguish fellow travellers. They all looked a weird lot & we could not decide which were the Lunn party. At Folkstone we got on the boat & "settled" the grown ups in deck chairs while Di & I explored the Vessal.

While having our passports Visid I saw a lady who seemd familiar, & she actually proved to be one of the Scotch party who was at Wengen when I was there for Winter

sports. She knew me at once & said they had all gone to Pontresina last Xmas.

There was a thick white fog in the channel & we crawled along on an oily sea with the Syrens blowing incessantly & answering blasts echoing from all arround. We were very late in to Boulogne & had a bad scrum in the Customs as our porter hurled the luggage down & vanished. He only just got on the Paris train & had to search the corredor for our cases, finding them finally far away & hauling them thro' the dining car to the fury of the waiters who eventually locked us out. The dark Conductor apparently was not to conduct us until Milan & we had a strange, mothy, Hag-ridden man with grey face and harrassed manner who was no help at all.

Had dinner. Aunt F. & I sharing a table with the lady who in the end roused the most speculation - a Miss Blake.