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[Page 69]
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memory of the French soldiers who feel in that war.
We next visited the Church of St Denys (The Westminster Abbey of France) where all the French Kings and Queens were crowned and buried.
The next building we visited was the great Quai D'Orsai (where the Peace Conference was sitting) and we saw the Australian Prime Minister (Mr. W.M. Hughes) – the second time that I had seen him in France – President Wilson, Clemenceau, &c, &c drive away in their cars for the lunch adjournment.
That night we went to the famous "Follies Bergeres" – which is looked upon as rather risqué, but no one is considered to have "done" Paris without visiting this theatre.
The next morning went and saw the Madeline [Madeleine] Church. This was originally built by Napoleon for a Temple of Reason, but after his downfall it was converted into a Roman Catholic Church.
Then went and saw the Church of the Holy Name. This was the Church that a huge shell (fired by the Germans thirty miles from Paris) fell on, on Good Friday 1918 killing many people who were worshipping there.
The next place we saw was the famous prison of the Bastille, the storming of which is considered to have been the beginning of the French revolution.
The next morning was occupied in visiting the great wheel of Paris and having a ride on same. This was a huge affair built for the Paris Exhibition of 1897. Each compartment held about twenty people. The great wheel used to revolve slowly (forty minutes for a complete circuit) and when one was right on top a wonderful panoramic view of Paris could be obtained.
Had afternoon tea with some English people, whose address had been given me. They gave me a Bible (printed in French and illustrated) as a souvenir of my visit to them. That night we went to another concert.
Our next visit was to see the Eiffel Tower. This wonderful tower is immense. The base covers two and a half acres and its height is 975 feet. Planes have flown through its spans and on the first of the three stories is a resturant and theatre &c. We couldn't go up the tower as it was closed, being the headquarters of the French wireless stations during the war. Continuing along the boulevarde we approach the great resturant of the Trocadero, which is guarded by great animal statues. The Salles des Fetes will hold 5,000 people.
We then go to the Avenue Des Champs Elyssees [Elysees]. The Avenue, beginning at the Arc de Triomph [Triomphe], is one and a half miles in length and was begun by Napoleon in 1806 as a memorial of triumphs. The Arc de Triomph is the largest triumphal arch in the world and is adorned with wonderful sculpture. The body of the unknown warrior now rests in a chamber above and the Flame of Remembrance continually burns over the tomb. In graceful compliment to the British armies the chains across the gateway were removed for the first time since 1870 when in 1918 King George V visited Paris.
We then entered a beautiful tree lined street, which was named by the French Rue Edourd VII (after King Edward VII) and saw the