Sunday, 23 December

Lyon to Cannes

I woke up at half past seven, and had breakfast at eight fifteen. We were ready to depart at nine. A room for three and breakfast cost 3,200 francs. Baoqiao and other still did not appear, so after we had discussed the route we decided to leave a note in the hotel, telling them the name and address of the hotel where we would have lunch and stay in the evening. We departed at half past nine. The fog was still heavy and the car moved slowly. We arrived at Orange at one fifteen in the afternoon. The famous restaurant there, Le Provencal, was full. Therefore, our car kept moving. We did not arrive Avignon until half past two.  We had lunch at Hiely Lucullus, 5 rue Republique. The food was very good.  As the luggage was not with him, Sun Fo lost his temper many times which made Yu Junji quite embarrassed. We called the hotel at Lyon by using the telephone of the restaurant, but we learnt that Baoqiao and the others still have not arrived. We feared that they had encountered accidents on their way, so we telephoned the Chinese Embassy in Paris.  They had no news either.

We continued our journey, driving on at half past four. At half past five we passed through Aix-en-Provence. We phoned the Carlton Hotel at Lyon again from Thermes Sextius Hotel, knowing that Baoqiao and others still have not yet arrived.  It was unnecessary to wait for them there, so we continued our car journey. At half past nine we arrived at Cannes. First we went to visit Lin Yutang (15 Quai St Pierre). His wife introduced us to an American woman, Mrs Abbott, and took us to dine at Voile Au Vent (17 Quai St Pierre), a restaurant nearby. The food was quite good but rather expensive. It was paid by Yu Junji. Mr. Lin Yutang ordered a room for us at the Majestic Hotel. After dinner, he accompanied us to go there. This is one of the very best hotels here, and the decoration is certainly wonderful. The room was also of a good standard, but the reception was extremely bad. We were only three in our family and we needed to pay some 6000 francs. I stayed in Room 431, while Zhongxiong stayed in Room 411. As Sun Fo lost his temper today, we did not feel very well. He insisted on staying in Aix-en-Provence, so that Baoqiao and the others could catch up with us. If this was the case we would arrive Rome one day later. But Yu Junji said that his Christmas Eve Party schedule had already been changed once and he could not change it a second time. If Sun Fo insisted on the delay, he might have to take a flight to return to Rome first. Both sides were determined. Liu Kai tried to mediate but it was of no avail. After calling Lyon when we arrived Aix-en-Provence then Sun Fo agreed to proceed. As a matter of fact, what Sun Fo did was meaningless.