It took me only a day to discover that everything nice I had ever heard about Paris was true. It is truly a romantic beautiful city. The trip to Paris from London involved taking a train. to Dover, then transferring to a boat to Calais and then another train trip to Paris. Al I'll say about the trip is that I would never do it that way again because the passengers were treated like cattle and British Rail is high up on my list of companies I would personally like to see go bank- rupt. The horrendous trip from London ended in the early morning in the Gare du Nord station in Paris. I should point out that train stations in Europe are not at all like those in Canada. The station in Paris is huge, of glass and steel and looking something like an old aerodrome with it's domed roof sections. Any tine of the day or night there are hundreds of people milling around looking for the right platform or seeing relatives and friends off on some trip or other. LONG ISLAND, N.Y. - It seems to me that Long Island is as good a place as any I know of where one can have a jolly good time. It is surrounded by waters from the Atlantic and there are many cute, little places - just Whitby Council recently approved a draft plan of subdivision calling for seven family detached lots on For- Getting off the train and knowing you are not going to be met can leave you feeling rather lonely and disoriented but If you keep you head and strike out with a plan you'll get by very well. My plan was to make extensive use of the.underground railroad called the Metro.- During my stay here I have not only used it but found it is one of the best ways to get around this huge city. In Canada we would call it a sub- way but in Europe a subway is a tunnel running under the road to allow pedestrians to cross the road safely beneath tie traffic. However, getting across traffic has not been a problem here anyway because even in the heart of the city I have not found traffic too heavy except around the odd monument such as the Arc de Triomphe where there seems to be an endless circle of cars coming out of nowhere and you may require the assistance of the Surete or the police to get across the four or five lanes of traffic in order to visit the monument. Of course the first monument to see is the Eiffel Tower and the subway will take you to within walking distance of it - or any other tourist attraction in Paris for that matter. The trick to knowing where you are going on the subway or Metro is to know the name of the last station on the line at either end..There are also a dozen different lines which connect at many stations so you have to determine which line you will use. It may sound complicated but a quick look at a. map of the system will tell you in no time where you should be going and the only trick then is to get a ticket and hop on. If you buy a book of ten tickets, it's cheaper and one ticket will carry you any distance on most lines. Each train is composed of first and second class cars and to ride first class you must have a first class ticket at a higher price. The doors of the cars slide open sideways but they have a large latch which you must lift up if you are closest to the door. On lifting the latch the doors will open by them- right for a visiting Canadian on holidays. First, I'd like to mention the famous Jones Beach. It has been turned into a State Park and every day the beach alone attracts thou- sands of sun worshippers. Swimning in the Atlantic, though the water is salty, is always fun. On weekends, I'm told, the Jones Beach is packed with people -- most of theni coming from New York City. For me, the beach was practically, on my doorstep - ten minutes to drive on Wantagh Parkway. I found that the beach inhabitants were mostly women with kids. They were having a whale of a time, while their husbands were slaving away. Most of them work hard for their money. It was then, perhaps, ironic that, when I turned on my car radio, a strident woman's voice came on Social services exhibition on weekend Information, displays and entertainment will be provid- ed at the third annual social services exhibit organized by the Social Planning Council of Oshawa-Whitby at the Oshawa Center Mal next Friday and Saturday. This year more than 30 government and volunteer agencies will present live and audio-visual displays, and give out information and pamph. lets. community. The Oshawa Little Thea- tre, Big Brothers, Right to Life, Family and Children's Services, are only a few of the organizations represented. Social workers, skilled volunteers and ordinary citizens, all working to im- prove services available in ie Oshawa-Whitby area, look forward to meeting the public and answering ques- tions at the social services exhibit. After examining potential access points, having regard for the intersection spacing requirements of the official The purpose of the exhibit est Road. plan, it is felt that ifa is to acquaint the public with All the lots must have a when access is required tot the work of each agency, to minimum of 50 foot front- properties south of the s show what help is available ages. ject property, said acc and where to go to get help .hould corne from Foi when it's needed. Council's planning depart- Road and not Garrard Roa As many of these agencies ment feels that "in order to are funded by The United enable future development "Development of Way, the social services exhi. south of the subject property proposed subdivision w bit also serves to show how access must come from either require approval by i United Wa funds help th Garnard or Forest Roads. public works department. 7' :4@@I/m and the ub- cess rest ,ad" the will the of a grading plan for each of the lots", the planning department recommended. It added that "services must be provided to the standards required by the departinent of public works for both the town and the region". Water Consumer Agriculture is the nation's major consumer of water. Of all the ground and sur- face water used in the United States, 86% is used by agriculture, mostly for irrigation. WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1975, PAGE 7 selves. The same applies when you want to leave the train so if you stand there waiting for the doors to open by themselves they won't and you .and the irate passengers standing behind you will ail carry on to the next station before you get another chance. Forgetting to unlatch the doors is not the best way to enhance the Canadian image in Paris. The cars are absolutely ancient but usable and the doors corne shut almost with the speed of the historic guillotine and heaven help anybody foolish enough to get themselves caught between those closing doors. The stations are bright with hundreds of posters, some a little naughty for Cana- dian morality, and many of the stations have washrooms although it will cost you about 60 centimes or 15 cents to do whatever it is you have to do. A short walk through connecting tunnels and up two flights of stairs, into the bright sunshine, which has faith- fully remained throughout this trip so far, and suddenly there in the distance is the Eiffel Tower, standing just as magnificently in life as it has in pictures and postcards I've seen for years. The stories I'd heard about the tower turning into a pile of rust are far from true and on close inspection I discov- ered the structure is well painted and protected from the elements and most damage is caused by tourists, not weath- er. It costs $3 to go to the top by elevator and stairs and if it is a clear day you can see for close to 30 miles in any direction over the heart of Paris. You can even sitdôwn and write post cards from the tower but it will cost you about 33 cents for postage for each card you send and that applies to all of Paris and not just from the Eiffel Tower. Next week l'Il shatter a few myths and tell you how easy it is to get around this beautiful city but most of ail I will tell you how cheap it is to get by in Paris and still live like a king or queen. Au revoir from Paris. demanding "equal rights for all women" and generally downgrading men, the same men who were providing them with an opportunity to be on that beach, away from sun-struck buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn or Bronx. Jones Beach has a different "look" in the evening. It is almost deserted, except for the more romantic types like me. As the waves pound the shoreline, the moon shines brightly above the ghost-like buildings. Music somewhere in the distance can be heard. Yes, there is some music on the beach, strictly for dancing purposes. Generally, the dance tunes are real old ones and the participants are pretty close to the music itself. Younger people, of course, shy away trom this type of music. Instead they head for the beach armed with beer bottles and plenty of Coke. Jones Beach, as any other beach on the Atlantic coast, attracts a number of skinny-dippers. The beach is unat- tended after dark and this, of course, invites some frolick- ing in birthday suits. But, it's all good clean fun. While visiting the beach, I met an interesting American girl. Later on she introduced me to some night spots on the island. Bayville was my favourite place. It is an afflu- ent area. In the evenings the tiny bars open and the rich and well-to-do corne out to play. One such place is called Sandbar Inn (if my memory serves me right) where the mood is just right for dancing and casual chit-chat at the bar. The place is, practically, on the water with many idle boats sitting in the bay. Even at night time one can see the Connecticut shoreline, dotted with myriad of lights from nearby marinas. As I had plenty of time to roarn around, I decided to take a quick trip to Manhattan, about 40 miles away from Hicksville. Once again I found myself on the infamous Long Island Expressway. Day or night, the road is always busy. Despite three lanes, the traffic moves at a snail's pace. American drivers are very inconsistent drivers. Some drive above speed limit and many drive below the posted 55 mile speed zone. The sligh test rain causes numerous accidents. Rush hours, the road is just one big parking lot about 40 miles long. Driving in Manhattan is something else. Cab drivers are the worst traffic offenders. Traffic laws are to be ignored, so it seems. Another ordeal is finding a parking spot in mid-Manhattan. Hopeloss, just hopeless. In my next column l'il tackle New York's crime scene which should include the famnous Bronfman kidnapping case. PAINT u • •WALLPAPER ... --- -... = - •••- - -- Up to 50/ OFF WALLPAPERS IN STOCK 20% OFF PITTSBURGH PAINTS 103 BROCK ST. 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