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the crew on the "Dixie" and admire them all.

We left Maignane at 8:23 after a lot of formalities respecting baggage, tickets, passports, etc. Nothing annoying, just ^[[time]] consuming. The water in the harbor was a bit rough so it took only 20 seconds to get into the air after we were facing the wind. There was a nice crowd of French people present before we left and they were interested in my being passenger No. 1. The papers had mentioned it, with my picture, after we arrived. They were most kind. (1:15 p.m.) After gaining altitude we turned and flyng due west we started to retrace our eastbound flght, going along the edge of the vividly blue Mediterranean Sea, then across France just north of the Pyrenees Mountains, snow capped and seemingly floating in the clouds for the air below was almost filled with great islands of white vapor. The glimpses below showed the characteristic French landscape. The houses clustered in villages where most of the farmers live, the land divided into fields of green brown and purple. We flew across the main part of France in a little over an hour and at 12:05 were at the shore of the Atlantic, flying over the very fashionable resort, Biarritz. The hotels and bathing beaches in full view directly below. Two of our passengers had spent a holiday there a few years ago and, of course, got quite a thrill out of seeing it from the air. The river Adour empties into the sea here and the line between the grey muddy water of the river and that of the ocean was very distinct for miles outside. We had a very nice lunch today. Champagne for those who wanted it, soup, meat, vegetables, French bread, the yard-long variety which the people carry under their arms from the bakers, hard crust but delicious, and for dessert, wild strawberries with clotted cream that were really grand. The Pan American Airways knows how to do things right. Mr. Trippe, President, Pan American Airways, and his charming wife are fellow passengers and are among the most agreeable people I ever met. In fact, it would be hard to find a nice crowd than what we have had both ways on this trip. One lady going over was rather eccentric and called attention to herself in unusual ways, but she left us at Marseilles and the remainder are very congenial. We are but a few miles north of the Spanish coast headed west over the Bay of Biscay. High snow-capped mountains are in sight on our left. The clouds have dissolved and there is a smooth blue sea beneath and to our right toward England as far as we can see. (2:00 p.m. Around the corner of Spain and at 2:30 p.m. rounded Cape Finisterre heading south for the west coast of Portugal. All of the details of land below very distinct with the sun on our right, the land to the left. A barren unfertile-looking land with few houses, high hills, rocky shore, with villages far apart, some terraced fields on the steep slopes. Almost over the lighthouse on the extreme point of the cape, which is high rock headland. The lighthouse is one of the important ones of Europe, being the landfall for all ships from the North, England, France and the Scandinavian countries headed toward the Mediterranean, Africa and South America. Passed over three steamers looking like small models, the first large vessels we have sighted. Along the coast of Portugal all afternoon. The country improving and villages more numerous as we neared the capital, Lisbon, arriving in the harbor at 3:37 p.m. and tied to the dock a few moments later. After passing the customs automobiles were waiting to take us for a drive about the city. And enjoyable ride for the city is much cleaner than Marseilles, the French port, although Lisbon is also a port city. Stopped at the Casino for an hour or so watching the various games of chance. The roulette tables were especially crowded, both men and women playing. The house seemed to be winning most of the money. I did not take any chances of changing my luck, it's good enough now. The Casino is in a park of its own, a splendid building facing the sea, formal gardens, gorgeous flowers everywhere. It is a favorite lounging place for the better classes. The attendants are all in glittering uniforms like major generals and after nightfall visitors must wear full dress. Back at the Avis Hotel at 8:20 p.m. where we spent the night. It is the most luxurious hotel I ever stayed at, the former home of one of the oldest families in Portugal. Elaborate carvings, coat of arms, tapestries on the wall, high beamed ceiling, a courtyard with statues and blooming flowers. A really magnificent place and perfect service, a number of attendants speaking English which was a help. Instead of a single room I had a regular suite, beautifully furnished. I felt quite important amid it all, but my glory lasted only a single night and I am really glad I don't have such surroundings always. It's too much like living in the Metropolitan Art Museum. At 9:00 p.m. the passengers and the Captain, R.O.D. Sullivan, of the "Clipper," were invited to a reception given in their honor as the first commercial air passengers to span the Atlantic. It was a brilliant affair. Many Portuguese officials and their ladies were present, the American Minister and, of course, the passengers from the plane. Almost everyone was in dress clothes and at the banquet that followed speeches were made and many toasts proposed. A plaque was unveiled with our names as first passengers and an inscription about the importance of the flight. This is to remain permanently in Lisbon. The rooms were beautifully decorated with flags, flowers and lights and it all was a most enjoyable affair. I was glad to have a part of it. After the dinner was over and the speeches were finished, we all went out on the terrace to small tables where coffee was served and we talked until long after midnight. The Portuguese people have been very generous and kind to us on both our visits.

July 3. Up at 6:00 a.m., packed, and after the customary breakfast here in Europe of coffee and bread, I met two of the sons of the former owner of the hotel. they talked English very well and they told me much of the story of their former home. They said that it was little changed from what it had been when they lived in it. They ad to sell to the hotel company because of financial reverses. They must miss their former grandeur. At 7:30 we left for the harbor and the plane. The beginning of the last day of our flight. I shall be so sorry when it is all over. One of the port officials whom I met when passing through Lisbon eastbound had an interesting map and some books on his country ready for me as a gift when I reached the docks. I appreciated his courtesy very much. Up in the air over Lisbon at 8:00 a.m. and down the Tagus river to the Atlantic. We will be in New York tomorrow morning, yet I can hardly believe it. It's a miracle. Another American plane was in the harbor and took off about the same time we did so we had company to the ocean. It was a ship of the American Export line on a survey for a possible competive air line to the Pan American. They have a colossal task ahead before they can attain what the P.A.A. has already accomplished. The P.A.A. has conducted surveys on all possible routes and their preparations have been going on for the past 10 years. More than four million dollars was spent before they sold me the first passenger ticket for an Atlantic crossing. They deserve success and the support of the American people for their initiative. The regular successful commercial airplane crossing the Atlantic means much to the people on both sides of the ocean in a cultural, social, commercial and political way. (11:00 a.m.) Two miles up, a few scattered clouds and the deep blue ocean far below looks very smooth, but it is no doubt rougher than it seems. Three additional passengers today for Horta, one a lady making her first flight and really enjoying it. A nice lunch, watching the clouds and sea, conversation passed the time all too quickly until 3:30 p.m. when San Migul Island, the largest of the Azores, came in sight above the clouds on our right. Over the other islands of a group and down in the harbor of Horta again at 4:23 p.m. Quite a crowd at the docks to greet us and among them a young man I met here last week. He had secured a nice large whale's tooth for me and would take no pay. I am glad to have it as they are difficult to obtain elsewhere. Walked up the streets with him as far as I dared and then back to the dock. An attractive little city for the holiday, but I would not care to live in it. Up in the air once more at 5:45 p.m. heading west into the sunset, a lovely sight. As we passed along the shore of the island, we were treated with a grand view of wall after wall around the small fields covered with blue hydrangeas as far as the eye could see. A wonderful sight from the air. The Island is sometimes alled the "blue island" and well deserves the name. Sea rough below but plane riding smoothly . We are heading into a west wind so that we may be delayed, too early to say. Passed around two rain storms. It was raining hard on the ocean to our right, but we escaped completely. (11:00 p.m.) For hours we have been flying over clouds as far as the eye can reach, no sign of the ocean beneath, just a vast plain of clouds looking like drifted snow. It is hard to realize that