As I think I mentioned before, the Tyler family has a strong pack-ratting gene. Things that "may come in handy someday," things that are of unique interest (to the pack-rat, that is), and things whose origin we can't remember but we know there's a reason we kept it; all of these are potential items for the collection.In cleaning out the log house, we discovered such a collection of napkins. One of the Tylers, somewhere, sometime, thought that for themselves or posterity these would be important to have. For this generation, they are story-seeds, leaving us to guess the story behind the fragile pieces of paper.
The napkin above is from the "Hotel du Lion d'Or," or Golden Lion Hotel. Is it from Paris, perhaps--a favourite city of the two past generations of Tylers? Could it be from my grandmother's first trip there as a college student, placed under her first glass of French wine?
This next piece is a serviette from British Caledonian airways, founded in 1970 and ceasing operations in 1988. Did Grandma and Grampa fly to Britain to visit Betsy on this airline? In a strange little napkin-twist, one of British Caledonian's subsidiary companies from 1970-1982 was "Golden Lion Tours." Coincidence?
Ahhh . . . The Hog Penny Pub. Where everybody knows your name. One of Grandpa and Grandma's favoured travel destinations was Bermuda. (I remember visiting their home and seeing the map of Bermuda composed of seashells, hanging on their bathroom wall.) Founded in 1957, The Hog Penny still serves clientele who like good beef and good beer. And they claim to be "the inspiration for the "Cheers" pub in Boston.
Now, I don't think that badgers in general make good bunk-mates. But apparently there is (or was) a chain of hotels in England called Badger Inns. Maybe badgers are kinder in England.
Japanese food in Paris! An oddity, perhaps, when my grandparents were galavanting around there. Now, I'm sure, there is plenty of food from every nation there.
Here is a napkin from a tourist shopping district of Aix-en-Provence, in the south of France, just north of Marseille. From the fonts used in the lettering, I'd say it's late '60s to mid '70s vintage.
And last but not least: from the Grand Hotel de France ("France's Great Hotel"). It's right near the Lyons train station in central Paris, close to the river. At present, it's only rated at 2-stars; so whoever snagged this napkin must have been travelling budget-style. (Then again, that's also the Tyler way. Is there a connection between travelling on a budget and pack-ratting?)
That's the last of my photos from the Tyler cabin adventure . . . until next year, anyway.~emrys
3 comments:
It's worth mentioning that these were all found among others in the napkin bin that would have likely been pulled out at a meal time...And these were just never used? It's a mystery!
How ironic that they still exist. The napkin from Aix-en-Provence comes from the area near where your father washed dishes in a bistro when he lived there between college and medical school. When I was there with Nana in 1998, I took a photo of it, as well as the fountain where the students still gather, and he shared many terrific stories. Next time we get together, I'll pass his stories on to you. Lots of love.
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