where to go? This is not
an easy question. The
hoi polloi 5 may go to Paris or Spain, but
such an obvious choice will certainly not do for anyone with a
little self-respect. There is a small international set that leads
the fashion and you must watch them. Some years ago they
discovered Capri, but now Capri is teeming with rich German
and English businessmen, so you can't go near the place.
Majorca was next on the list, but Majorca has become quite
ridiculous in the last few years: it is now an odd mixture of
Munich and Oxford Street, and has noth ing to offer (because,
needless to say, beauty and sunshine do not count). At the
moment I may recommend Tangie r, Rhodes is fairly safe too.
The year after that, who knows, Capri may be tried again.
Remember: travel is supposed to make you sophisticated.
When buying your souvenirs and later when most casually —
you really must practise how to be casual — you refer to any
foreign food, you should speak of these things in the vernac -
ular. Even fried chicken sounds rather romantic when you
speak of Backhendl .
5 It is possible, however, that the mania for travelling is
declining. I wonder if a Roman friend of mine was s imply an
eccentric or the forerunner of a new era in snobbery.
'I no longer travel at all', he told me. 'I stay here because
I want to meet my friends from all over the world.'
'What exactly do you mean?' I asked.
'It is simple,' he explained. 'Whenever I go to London, my
friend Smith is sure to be in Tokyo and Brown in Sicily. If I
go to Paris, Dupont is sure to be in London and Lebrun in
Madagascar or Lyons. And so on. But if I stay in Rome, all my
friends are absolutely sure to turn up at one time or another.
The world means people for me. I stay here because I want to
see the world.'
And he added after a short pause:
'Besides, staying at home broadens the mind.'
NOTES
1
to catch the bug from (colloq.)— to get infected.
2
to linger on — (here) to be still alive.
135
3
Welsh rarebit ['resbit] — melted cheese served on toasted bread
4
to stand a drink (colloq.) — to buy smb. a drink
5
hoi polloi ['hoi pa'loi] (Greek) — most people, the masses
6
Backhendl ['bAkhendl] (Germ.) — fried chicken