PLAYGROUNDS OF FRANCE

You are winging into France by way of its capital, Paris, city of history, romance, and culture, of perfume, champagne, and fashion. 2,000 years old and still the longed-for goal of the world's travelers. Paris, however, is not any more representative of France than New York is of the USA or London of England. Don't brag to the folks back home that you've been to France if you've never set foot outside of Paris, if you've never been to Brittany, for example, just a short hop away by plane. One of the most beautiful spots of France, Brittany is an ancient province with an old world atmosphere especially appealing to travelers from that very young country discovered by Columbus. With its coastline bordering the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean, Brittany has had its fishermen since the Celtic people settled there centuries before Christ. Typical of Brittany's fishing harbors are the bright-colored sails, the fishing nets stretched over old seawalls, the industrious salty fishermen turning in his catch at the end of day. Sardines and lobsters are common here, many of them destined for sumptuous dishes served up in elegant Parisian restaurants. Inland where soil is fertile, farmers and their women toil in the lush grain fields. Luckily for the tourist with a camera, Breton folk still cling to their traditional mode of dress. A far cry from a Christian Dior creation, but infinitely more picturesque. In the same style of gown her great-grandmother wore, the 20th century bride at a country wedding enters a 900-year-old church. On Brittany, an old Celtic proverb says, "A hundred regions, a hundred manners. A hundred parishes, a hundred churches." There are over 2,000 parishes, actually, each of which has its own type of headgear. And there are 48 different traditional costumes. It takes barrels of starch and hours of painstaking ironing to keep these Breton women so handsomely coiffed. The best insight into local custom and tradition are the great pardons, local feast days conducted by a parish. Most Bretons speak only their own Celtic language, and hundreds of their parishes are dedicated to the first immigrants who came over from Ireland. With religious fervor, Bretons cling to their ancient ways, living as if on an island which ages ago was cut off from civilization. France, as the French people will gladly confirm, has just about everything. By plane, it's a short route to one of their favorite playgrounds, the French Alps. From Grenoble to the shores of Lake Geneva and east to the Italian border, lies France's lake region, her snow, ski, and mountain climbing country. They're all on their way to Chamonix, resort deluxe, equally popular in summer and winter. A winter sports center part of the year, a summer attraction, too, the Alps are dotted with 150 pleasant vacation resorts which welcome thousands of tourists yearly. A pleasant summer diversion, a cable car ride to the top of a magnificent peak. History-minded travelers will recall that the French Revolution was touched off by riots in nearby Grenoble. That Napoleon once made his escape through these Alps, and more recently the French Maquis used to hide from the Germans deep on the trails of these glorious snow-capped mountains. For the early riser, a breathtaking view of dawn breaking over Mont Blanc, Europe's highest peak. Everything here for the active sportsman. Mountain climbing can be exhilarating and as safe as an experienced guide can make it. The recuperative powers of bracing mountain climate have been known since first the Romans crossed the Alps. Many an American doughboy convalesced in fashionable resorts here during the First World War, and later some of our own GIs on leave were lucky enough to make the French Alps excursion. She mountain climbs the easy way. Through a telescope, she watches a climbing party negotiate dangerous glaciers and crevasses. Some of the mountain trails are safe only for experts. Below these peaks in wintertime, the sunny slopes are thronged with happy skiers. Summer or winter, the French Alps lure the wayworn traveler with recreation and relaxation, infinite peace and beauty, and some of the most grandiose displays of nature to be found in all of Europe. Sunshine and champagne, palaces and villas, roulette and ruelles, gay blue water and brilliant skies. That's the Riviera, world's most famous playground. Nice, Cannes, Monaco, all of them names synonymous with glamour. Kings and movie stars, playboys and oil barons, maharajahs and millionaires, they have been coming here since 1830, the year an English lord stumbled on this paradise and spread the good word around back home. Of all the resorts, Cannes is probably the most representative of the Riviera's reputation. Great hotels, magnificent casinos, and a long white beach. Oh, well, there's always Coney Island if it's crowds you're looking for. They wear the absolute minimum of clothing, and they literally broil themselves in oil, the suntan variety. If you're under six and nude-as-minded, here is your place in the sun. Vitamin D is an inexpensive commodity on the Riviera market. The big thing on the Riviera is water skiing. For thrills and chilly spills, there's nothing to compare. But, you'd better be streamlined, sure-footed, and agile as an antelope before you dare to try it. Here's your chance to take a lesson from the experts. Crammed into a tiny strip of land along the Côte d'Azur is the independent principality of Monaco, looking for all the world like a make-believe stage setting from a gay musical comedy. Of its two cities, Monte Carlo seems to have been built only for the purpose of dispensing pleasure. Around-the-clock social activities keep the inhabitants of its villas, clubs, and hotels in a sophisticated dizzy. Water carnivals, fashion shows, auto races, tennis tournaments, open-air ballets, just part of a long list of elegant spectator events. And, of course, there's always gambling. There it is, the Monte Carlo Casino, the fanciest, most refined gambling den in the world. Contrary to the notions of tabloid newspaper readers, no one ever committed suicide here, and nobody ever broke the bank, either. A rather grim form of entertainment, and expensive, too. Water sports are definitely safer, to say nothing of easier on the bankroll. Capital of the tiny principality is Monaco, seat of the government, such as there is and what there is of it. The home of Monaco's colorful prince is properly opulent and the costumes on his footmen and guardsmen would put an American movie palace doorman to shame. The men of his regiment carry huge rifles with bayonets and when the whole shebang snaps to attention, they can hear the rattle 107 miles away in Corsica. Monaco's only industry is gambling, but she has one other reason for tremendous popularity. No income tax. Now you are sure it's a make-believe land. Smart and elegant, Nice is all that and a great old city besides. Her annual carnival rivals New Orleans' Mardi Gras in gaudiness and sheer gaiety. All for fun and fun for all. A 10-day binge which has been going on for as long as anyone can remember, the carnival is also a year-round industry to painters and decorators and it's entirely free to the public. In the last war, headquarters of the Riviera rest command under the Americans, Nice is remembered with much nostalgia by many of our ex-soldiers. Wherever they are today in Europe, men in uniform still want to take in Nice on leave. Two of them greet the great King Carnival. It takes 6 months to build some of the more ornate floats and another 6 months to dismantle and store them. In one way or another, the carnival spirit prevails in Nice the whole year round. The French love satire. American football makes an ideal target. Can you take it? It's all in the spirit of good clean fun. Oh, mais oui, of course you can take it and more of the same you hope. L'amour, vive l'amour. A toast to France, to her playgrounds, her wit and wisdom, and their gaiety. Ah, vive la France.