The Innocents Abroad | Page 8

on a clear day, Mont Blanc and the Alps can be distinctly seen.
Passengers who may wish to extend the time at Paris can do so, and,
passing down through Switzerland, rejoin the steamer at Genoa.
From Marseilles to Genoa is a run of one night. The excursionists will
have an opportunity to look over this, the "magnificent city of palaces,"
and visit the birthplace of Columbus, twelve miles off, over a beautiful
road built by Napoleon I. From this point, excursions may be made to
Milan, Lakes Como and Maggiore, or to Milan, Verona (famous for its
extraordinary fortifications), Padua, and Venice. Or, if passengers
desire to visit Parma (famous for Correggio's frescoes) and Bologna,
they can by rail go on to Florence, and rejoin the steamer at Leghorn,
thus spending about three weeks amid the cities most famous for art in
Italy.
From Genoa the run to Leghorn will be made along the coast in one
night, and time appropriated to this point in which to visit Florence, its
palaces and galleries; Pisa, its cathedral and "Leaning Tower," and
Lucca and its baths, and Roman amphitheater; Florence, the most
remote, being distant by rail about sixty miles.
From Leghorn to Naples (calling at Civita Vecchia to land any who
may prefer to go to Rome from that point), the distance will be made in
about thirty-six hours; the route will lay along the coast of Italy, close
by Caprera, Elba, and Corsica. Arrangements have been made to take
on board at Leghorn a pilot for Caprera, and, if practicable, a call will
be made there to visit the home of Garibaldi.
Rome [by rail], Herculaneum, Pompeii, Vesuvius, Vergil's tomb, and
possibly the ruins of Paestum can be visited, as well as the beautiful

surroundings of Naples and its charming bay.
The next point of interest will be Palermo, the most beautiful city of
Sicily, which will be reached in one night from Naples. A day will be
spent here, and leaving in the evening, the course will be taken towards
Athens.
Skirting along the north coast of Sicily, passing through the group of
Aeolian Isles, in sight of Stromboli and Vulcania, both active volcanoes,
through the Straits of Messina, with "Scylla" on the one hand and
"Charybdis" on the other, along the east coast of Sicily, and in sight of
Mount Etna, along the south coast of Italy, the west and south coast of
Greece, in sight of ancient Crete, up Athens Gulf, and into the Piraeus,
Athens will be reached in two and a half or three days. After tarrying
here awhile, the Bay of Salamis will be crossed, and a day given to
Corinth, whence the voyage will be continued to Constantinople,
passing on the way through the Grecian Archipelago, the Dardanelles,
the Sea of Marmora, and the mouth of the Golden Horn, and arriving in
about forty-eight hours from Athens.
After leaving Constantinople, the way will be taken out through the
beautiful Bosphorus, across the Black Sea to Sebastopol and Balaklava,
a run of about twenty-four hours. Here it is proposed to remain two
days, visiting the harbors, fortifications, and battlefields of the Crimea;
thence back through the Bosphorus, touching at Constantinople to take
in any who may have preferred to remain there; down through the Sea
of Marmora and the Dardanelles, along the coasts of ancient Troy and
Lydia in Asia, to Smyrna, which will be reached in two or two and a
half days from Constantinople. A sufficient stay will be made here to
give opportunity of visiting Ephesus, fifty miles distant by rail.
From Smyrna towards the Holy Land the course will lay through the
Grecian Archipelago, close by the Isle of Patmos, along the coast of
Asia, ancient Pamphylia, and the Isle of Cyprus. Beirut will be reached
in three days. At Beirut time will be given to visit Damascus; after
which the steamer will proceed to Joppa.
From Joppa, Jerusalem, the River Jordan, the Sea of Tiberias, Nazareth,

Bethany, Bethlehem, and other points of interest in the Holy Land can
be visited, and here those who may have preferred to make the journey
from Beirut through the country, passing through Damascus, Galilee,
Capernaum, Samaria, and by the River Jordan and Sea of Tiberias, can
rejoin the steamer.
Leaving Joppa, the next point of interest to visit will be Alexandria,
which will be reached in twenty-four hours. The ruins of Caesar's
Palace, Pompey's Pillar, Cleopatra's Needle, the Catacombs, and ruins
of ancient Alexandria will be found worth the visit. The journey to
Cairo, one hundred and thirty miles by rail, can be made in a few hours,
and from which can be visited the site of ancient Memphis, Joseph's
Granaries, and the Pyramids.
From Alexandria the route will be taken homeward, calling at