Nimes, from the gastronomic point of view, is a i more civilised town than Arles. The dining-room at the Luxembourg Hotel, which is an Luxembourg I old-fashioned hostelry with a certain Hotel ! dignity of its own, resembles the banqueting hall of j some old castle. It has a groined stone ceiling, and all its decorations are in keeping with this. The table | d'hote dinner is an ordinary hotel dinner, but I was | assured that if I chose to order a dinner of local dishes there would be no difficulties made. The St. Gilles at this hotel is an exceptionally good wine — so good, indeed, that I had serious thoughts of bringing some to England to use as a table wine. At the Luxem- bourg the commercial travellers sit at a long table in the centre of the room, while the tourists — French, German, English, and American — sit at the little tables by the walls. Perrier is the local mineral water, that spring being in the immediate neighbour- hood of Nimes. The Restaurant Peloux is just across the street from the Luxembourg. The restaurant, three rooms thrown into one, is on the first floor, Restaurant which is reached by a dark staircase. Peloux The restaurant, however, is bright enough, its walls io8 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe being of buff colour. There is a 3-franc lunch and a 4-franc dinner at this restaurant, which is patronised by the well-to-do citizens of Nimes. I both lunched and dined at the Peloux, but while the cookery was quite satisfactory, there was nothing especially of note. The Cerons of the house is a very good white wine. Avignon - The Hotel de L’Europe is a very pleasant old-world hotel kept by three elderly ladies who wear black Hotel de silk dresses, who sit in a little office L’Europe just Gff the hall, and spend their spare time in knitting. The old head waiter bows one into the salon as if one were an ambassador, and when you arrive the man who shoulders your luggage and takes it up to your room is dressed in evening clothes and wears a white tie, just as though he were a waiter. The atmosphere of the place is steeped in good manners, and there is some old furniture in some of the bedrooms well worth looking at. The cookery of the house is the old-fashioned provincial cookery of hotels in the days when there was distinguished provincial cookery. It is not Provencal, for it is not redolent of garlic, and there is not too much oil used in it. It is too light-handed to be bourgeois, but not up-to-date enough to be Parisian. There is a good deal of pleasure to be obtained by a stay in this old hotel in an old town, and though the table d'hote dinner is set down to be at a ridiculously early hour, the old head waiter will see that it is served at any time. The Restaurant de Bagatelle is a little white villa with a big wooden shelter alongside of it on the island Restaurant de which divides the Rhone into two parts. Bagatelle The views from the island of Avignon and Villeneuve are beautiful. I breakfasted at this French Provincial \ Towns 109 little restaurant, and found that the trout were quite fresh and that the cook who made my omelette had a light hand. In the Place de l’Hotel de Ville and on the road to the station some of the cafes are also restaurants. The Cafe de France has a dejeuner of the day which I found quite eatable, and I also breakfasted satisfactorily in the little glass house attached to the Hotel Crillon.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Nimes, from the gastronomic point of view, is a i more civilised town than Arles. The dining-room at the Luxembourg Hotel, which is an Luxembourg I old-fashioned hostelry with a certain Hotel ! dignity of its own, resembles the banqueting hall of j some old castle. It has a groined stone ceiling, and all its decorations are in keeping with this. The table | d'hote dinner is an ordinary hotel dinner, but I was | assured that if I chose to order a dinner of local dishes there would be no difficulties made. The St. Gilles at this hotel is an exceptionally good wine — so good, indeed, that I had serious thoughts of bringing some to England to use as a table wine. At the Luxembourg the commercial travellers sit at a long table in the centre of the room, while the tourists — French, German, English, and American — sit at the little tables by the walls. Perrier is the local mineral water, that spring being in the immediate neighbourhood of Nimes. The Restaurant Peloux is just across the street from the Luxembourg. The restaurant, three rooms thrown into one, is on the first floor, Restaurant which is reached by a dark staircase. Peloux The restaurant, however, is bright enough, its walls io8 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe being of buff colour. There is a 3-franc lunch and a 4-franc dinner at this restaurant, which is patronised by the well-to-do citizens of Nimes. I both lunched and dined at the Peloux, but while the cookery was quite satisfactory, there was nothing especially of note. The Cerons of the house is a very good white wine. Avignon - The Hotel de L’Europe is a very pleasant old-world hotel kept by three elderly ladies who wear black Hotel de silk dresses, who sit in a little office L’Europe just Gff the hall, and spend their spare time in knitting. The old head waiter bows one into the salon as if one were an ambassador, and when you arrive the man who shoulders your luggage and takes it up to your room is dressed in evening clothes and wears a white tie, just as though he were a waiter. The atmosphere of the place is steeped in good manners, and there is some old furniture in some of the bedrooms well worth looking at. The cookery of the house is the old-fashioned provincial cookery of hotels in the days when there was distinguished provincial cookery. It is not Provencal, for it is not redolent of garlic, and there is not too much oil used in it. It is too light-handed to be bourgeois, but not up-to-date enough to be Parisian. There is a good deal of pleasure to be obtained by a stay in this old hotel in an old town, and though the table d'hote dinner is set down to be at a ridiculously early hour, the old head waiter will see that it is served at any time. The Restaurant de Bagatelle is a little white villa with a big wooden shelter alongside of it on the island Restaurant de which divides the Rhone into two parts. Bagatelle The views from the island of Avignon and Villeneuve are beautiful. I breakfasted at this French Provincial \ Towns 109 little restaurant, and found that the trout were quite fresh and that the cook who made my omelette had a light hand. In the Place de l’Hotel de Ville and on the road to the station some of the cafes are also restaurants. The Cafe de France has a dejeuner of the day which I found quite eatable, and I also breakfasted satisfactorily in the little glass house attached to the Hotel Crillon.

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