any one who has time to spare, and enjoys a
three-day drive through beautiful scenery, might well do worse than make
a bargain with a fly-man for the trip from the coast to the town on the
banks of the lake. When a fly-man does not secure a "monsieur" as a
passenger, he as often as not drives a brace of friendly waiters over
just for company sake. Thus any gourmet who knows his Riviera finds
himself surrounded by friendly faces at Aix-les-Bains. There are
excellent restaurants in some of the larger hotels, and you can dine in
a garden, under lanterns lit by electric light, or on a glassed-in
terrace whence a glimpse of the lake of Le Bourget under the moon may be
obtained; and there are at the big Casino, the Cercle as it is called,
and at the smaller one, the Ville des Fleurs, quite excellent
restaurants. These two restaurants are managed by first-class men from
the Riviera--the proprietors of the London House at Nice and of the
Reserve at Beaulieu, were, I believe, last year the men in command--and
the King of Greece, who is a gourmet of the first water, sets a
praiseworthy example when he is at Aix of dining one day at the Cercle
and the next at the Villa. The prices are Riviera prices and the cooking
Riviera cooking.

The Anglo-American bar, nearly opposite the principal entrance to the
Cercle, a bar where a whisky and soda costs two francs, always has its
tiny dining-room crowded. Durret's, also opposite the Cercle, a small
restaurant, is good and cheap. There are half-a-dozen little restaurants
in the street running down to the station, but the sampling of the most
likely looking one did not encourage me to try any further experiments.

To keep up the illusion that Aix-les-Bains is a part of the Riviera,
there is a Rumpelmayer cake-shop within two minutes' walk of the Villa
des Fleurs.

Many of the excursions from Aix have a little restaurant as the point to
be reached. At Grand Port, the fishing village on the borders of the
lake of Le Bourget, there is a pleasant house to breakfast at, the
Beaurivage, with a garden from which an excellent view of the lake and
the little bathing place can be obtained. They make a _Bouillabaisse_ of
fresh-water fish at this restaurant which is well worth eating and which
is generally the Friday fare there. At Chambotte, where there is a fine
view of the lake, Lansard has a hotel and restaurant. At Marlioz, near
the race-course and an inhalation and bathing establishment, the pr