From Marseilles to Istambul, via Venice

Nancie had great fun exploring Marseilles with Gay and Deidre. They hopped on the trams and took the funicular railway up to the church of Notre Dame de la Garde which overlooked the town and could be seen by sailors far out at sea on the Mediterranean. It was the first Catholic church that she had been in and she was shocked to see the shops selling trinkets in the doorways and precincts of the church: a sight she'd never seen before.
In her diary she comments, 'The girls were very pretty.' They adored their Father and soon forged a great bond with Nancie. As a rule they were very well behaved but when their Mother was around their behaviour deteriorated and they could be quite disruptive.
While she was in Marseilles Nancie bought a French dictionary, which was to prove very useful in the years that followed. Not speaking French was a barrier to making friends of her own age and she was already feeling homesick. She was still only sixteen, after all.
At the end of their month in Marseilles they set off, on a slow train, along the Riviera , to Venice. At various stations along the route friends of the Holts met the train : Toulon, Cannes, Ventimiglia and Genoa. When they reached Venice they boarded a motorboat which took them along the Gran Canal to The Royal Danieli Hotel. This is still one of the most prestigious hotels in Venice, even today.  Nancie was slightly disappointed in the 'rather mucky-looking canals'! However, once inside The Danieli she was very impressed with the marble floors and staircases of the one-time royal palace. Every pillar and every wall was covered in fabulous mosaics.It must have felt like a dream to a young Scots girl who had hardly ever left her village, apart from trips to the cinema in Glasgow!
She was suitably impressed by the golden horses in St Mark's Square and the supports to prevent the inevitable sinking. On a postcard to her Mother, back in Scotland she wrote, 'Spent five hours here, today. It's a beautiful place. Got your letter all right. The weather is beautiful. We are just waiting on our gondola to take us back to the train. Will be in train 48 hours before arriving Constantinople. Cheerio just now.
 Love, Nancie'.
As they travelled further from home the chances of a letter from friends and family became much less so Nancie began to feel even more homesick.