Monday, 24 December

Dull, rain

I woke up at half past seven. At a quarter past eight I had breakfast. At nine we were ready to leave. But Yu Junji suddenly disappeared. The room in his bed had not been used either. We waited for him at the main sitting room. We waited him for long but he still did not show up, so we walked outside to buy tiny souvenirs. Yu Junji did not return until eleven, saying he went to a casino last night. He saw Lin Yutang concentrating on his study of “tunnel”. At two the casino was closed, so he proceeded to Monte Carlo to carry on the gambling, and wanted to see if he could find Baoqiao and others there. We certainly did not believe it. He immediately went to small shops nearby to buy some tiny souvenirs for everyone of us. Liu Kai joked that this was a “peace offer”, which was really useful in pacifying us. Even Sun Fo and his wife did not burst out in temper because of these souvenirs.

We departed at a quarter past eleven, and we arrived Menton at half past twelve. We had lunch at a tiny hotel near the sea, then continued the trip at three. When we passed the border, as Yu Junji was with us and I had diplomatic passport, therefore the procedure was simpler. Yu Junji went with us to Ventimiglia to exchange for Italian currency.  Everyone of us was only allowed to exchange 5000 francs. The difference was so slight that it was really unworthy to exchange here. The scenery of the Riviera of Italy is quite good, but for cleanliness it is certainly behind France. Nevertheless, it was a pity that it was already quite late and the sky was dull and rainy, the roads were winding and rugged, our cars moved quite slowly. We stopped at Savona to have afternoon tea. At nine we arrived Genoa. Yu Junji said tonight was Christmas and that we should celebrate together, therefore we went to Olympo, Capurro Grattacielo, via Dante, to have dinner. This is the best-known restaurant in Genoa.  It was on the highest floor (Floor 31) of the highest building. Yu Junji paid for it and the food was quite good. I happened to suggest that we could hurry a little bit, so that we could go to Rome tomorrow, so that Yu Junji would not miss the appointment. Sun Fo lost his temper.  He said that there was no need for Yu to accompany the staff of the embassy.  It was so embarrassing. I felt bad for it and Zhongxiong was angry about it too. We were unhappy with Sun Fo.

Then we went to Hotel Columbia Excelsior, Piazza Acquaverde. This was the best hotel there. I stayed in Room 319, while Zhongxiong stayed in Room 351. The cost was some 80 lira. When we arrived at the hotel, Sun Fo asked me about the itinerary of tomorrow. I said since we had arrived on Italian territory, I would no longer be responsible, and I asked him to discuss it with Yu Junji and others. They all knew that I was discontented with Sun Fo. Therefore, Yu Junji said that we would depart at eight sharply and those late comers would be punished.