- 1 hour ago
Tom Read Wilson's Magnificent Journey - Season 1 Episode 1 -
Paris
Paris
Category
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FunTranscript
00:00Grand tour of Europe.
00:03Young aristocratic lords and ladies set off across the continent on a cultural rite of passage.
00:09They departed as callow youths, with the aim of returning to Britain refined, stylish, and schooled in the birds and the bees.
00:19I'm Tom Reed Wilson, and at the grand age of almost 40, I'm in need of a transformation.
00:31Oh yeah, if you die, you die.
00:34I'm on the brink of being terribly grown up, so before that happens, I want to flood my senses with adventures of a bygone time.
00:41Who needs yoga when you've got etiquette?
00:43So, with a heart full of wanderlust, an old guidebook, my trusty Vedica, and a suitably vintage lens, it's the way Catherine Hepburn did it.
00:52I'm following in the posh footsteps of yesteryear, by horsepower, manpower, firepower, up in a balloon, boys, and the occasional modern convenience.
01:06There's Florence!
01:07From gay Paris to Rome, the eternal city, will the magic of the grand tour work on me, as it did on the powdered and privileged youth of the past?
01:19My time traveler!
01:21Gosh, yes I am!
01:22So get ready to twirl through the continent.
01:25This is getting rather naughty.
01:27This is my grand tour.
01:30During the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, young nobles like Lord Byron and artists like Joshua Reynolds were sent off on a sort of posh gap year.
01:46And it wasn't only men.
01:48A few families also sent their daughters, such as writer Lady Mary Montague, adventurer Lady Hester Stanhope, and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, whose novel Frankenstein was inspired by her travels.
02:01It was a little bit like a finishing school in a way.
02:04It stood them in awfully good stead.
02:07And now, today, real savoir vivre, knowing how to live and how to be, is something that belongs to everybody.
02:16It's not for high society.
02:18So now it's my turn.
02:20I'm nearing 40, so I should have left aeons ago.
02:24But you're never too old for a huge dollop of cultural enlightenment and adventure.
02:29So I'll be gallivanting across France and Italy, over mountains, across lakes, and meandering through cities.
02:40But I'm starting my journey where most grand tourists began their adventures.
02:46I'm in Paris.
02:50Oh, it's never looked more beautiful.
02:53It is my favorite city of the world.
02:55This was the first major destination for the grand tourists after they left England.
03:02But I've been very, very lucky.
03:05About six hours ago, I was in my little flat in London.
03:08Whereas for the grand tourists, by the time they reached Paris,
03:11they had had what some of their diaries call a very uncomfortable passage with contrary winds,
03:18which sounds like trapped flatulence, but actually was their crossing of the chapel.
03:21In the days when the grand tour was in full swing from 1660 to 1850,
03:28Paris was the absolute epicenter of art, culture, and refinement.
03:33But it wasn't the Instagram dream it is today.
03:37It was a funny time for the Seine in the 18th century.
03:40They finally put a ban on drinking from it, knowing it was making people very ill.
03:45I mean, animal waste, human waste.
03:47It was sort of a fecal soup.
03:49Thankfully, the Paris sewers have been modernized somewhat since those days.
03:54So the Seine is a trifle more fragrant today.
03:56And it's not the only thing that's changed since the grand tourist time.
04:00Behind me is probably the most iconic part of the Paris skyline.
04:06But of course, for the grand tourists, it was a stonking great hole.
04:10None of them would have seen it because it wasn't finished until nearly the end of the 19th century.
04:14Even before the Eiffel Tower, this area close to the Seine was the cultural and intellectual heart of the city,
04:22and the preferred place for grand tourists to stay.
04:26I've taken lodgings at the Villa Pantheon, and I have my very own room with a view,
04:30just as Lucy, played by Helena Bonham Carter, had on her grand tour as she opened her window to Florence.
04:37Oh, what a view.
04:43This great panorama, I can see the whole of Paris.
04:47In the movie, Judy Dent to Maggie Smith's characters have very different opinions on a famous guidebook.
04:53No, Miss Bartlett, you will not look into your Baedeker.
05:01Well, there's no one to stop me looking in my Baedeker,
05:05which is a guidebook brimming with tips and tricks on how to navigate the continent.
05:11I found a passage which is sort of a pithy summation of what the grand tourists, I think, were looking for when they visited.
05:18First of these guidebooks was published in 1836, and they offered advice on culture, language, hotels, key sites to visit, and so much more.
05:29Paris has long enjoyed the reputation of being the most cosmopolitan city in Europe,
05:34where the artist, the scholar, the merchant, and the votary of pleasure alike find the most abundant scope for their pursuits.
05:44Well, for this latter-day grand tourist, and an inveterate votary of pleasure,
05:52that gives me enormous hope for what lies out yonder.
06:02So in order to explore out yonder, I'm going to travel as many a grand tourist would have on their arrival in this great city.
06:10Ah, you must be Philippe.
06:12Hello, Tom.
06:15C'est beau.
06:16This is one of a handful of 18th-century-style carriages left in the city,
06:20just like those used by the grand tourists of the past.
06:23It's manned by Philippe and his trusty steed, Otis.
06:27Oh, this wonderfully comfortable bonquette.
06:29Yeah.
06:30The grand tourists would have jotted down experiences like this in their letters and diaries.
06:34As a bit of a cinephile, though, I've chosen to capture my memories on this old Super 8 camera.
06:40Just a few visual souvenirs.
06:45It's the way Catherine Hepburn did it.
06:46It was a tremendous rite of passage, Paris, for the grand tourists, in myriad ways,
06:58in terms of style, in terms of etiquette, in terms of skill set, in terms of sex.
07:05French has always been the language of love, but 250 years ago,
07:11French was the language of diplomacy and polite society.
07:14Even British passports were written in French for the first half of the 19th century,
07:19so any stay in Paris would have included learning local etiquette
07:22from a true blue-blooded French aristocrat.
07:26Thank you very much.
07:28You're welcome.
07:28Hello, Comtesse.
07:39It's Tom.
07:40Merci.
07:42I'm on my way to meet a real French Comtesse for a lesson in etiquette,
07:48about which I know absolutely nothing.
07:53Wish me luck.
07:58Enchanté, Comtesse.
08:08Enchanté, Comtesse.
08:09Chic en noir.
08:13Comtesse Marie de Thilly comes from one of France's oldest families,
08:18dating back to the Middle Ages.
08:20She's even related to a member of Queen Marie Antoinette's court.
08:24You have a very noble heritage.
08:26How should I really formally greet you?
08:30Alors, you can do what we call a baseman.
08:33We have to stand up.
08:34Right.
08:35Because it's not possible to do that when you're sitting.
08:38Right.
08:38So, you shake my hand, you turn it, bound.
08:45Never do like a kiss.
08:48A pretend kiss.
08:49No, never.
08:51More.
08:52More.
08:52More.
08:53More.
08:53And then, then you look at me.
08:56And then, become fully erect.
08:57Bonjour, monsieur.
09:00The baseman appeared in 19th century society, evolving from a medieval show of loyalty into
09:06a symbol of gallantry and refined manners, and something every grand tourist was expected
09:11to master.
09:12Oh, it's very good for your hamstrings, too.
09:15I mean, who needs yoga when you've got etiquette?
09:17But even more important for these young aristos was passing muster at the dining room table.
09:25Tom, will you have a cup of tea with me?
09:28Oh, contests.
09:29So, the French whey is without sugar, without milk, because a Parisian woman is always on
09:39diet.
09:42But, I'm happy to say, we're not on a diet today, it seems.
09:47No, today is the opposite.
09:49We have some, what we call in France, millefeuilles.
09:53The millefeuilles, or a thousand leaves, is a classic 17th century French pastry, and
09:59with oodles of layers, notoriously tricky to eat.
10:04Un, deux, trois.
10:06Oh, I had a palpitation.
10:09Oh, golly.
10:10You eat a dessert with a fork, and the spoon are for babies.
10:15I see, we've graduated to more complex instruments.
10:20Yes.
10:20We have a 17th century Brit to thank for that.
10:23Thomas Corriette is credited with bringing forks to England, after encountering these sophisticated
10:28items on his tour of Europe.
10:31Oh, gosh, I've got a bit of leakage.
10:33That is awful.
10:35Please, don't put your elbow like that.
10:40Too high.
10:40Keep it as if you ride a horse.
10:45Mmm, don't say too much, hmm, that's too good.
10:51Don't start your gusts to three groans.
10:54I just smile and say, very nice.
11:02Trying not to moan.
11:05That's the hardest part.
11:08I agree.
11:11Tea with the Countess has certainly taught me one thing.
11:14I still need a lot of refinement.
11:17My elbows, I had never realized in my life before, are all over the place.
11:23I'm like some sort of poultry.
11:26All of these details have reasons behind them that tie into the court and tie into history
11:32and tie into the world that the grand tourists saw.
11:35Alongside refined elbows, grand tourists needed to be quick on their feet.
11:41Might have had a satch full of turd.
11:43Handy with a blade.
11:44If you die, you die.
11:47And once they left Paris for the out, have a very well-educated head for heights.
11:51I'm in Paris, the enchanting city that beckoned the grand tourists with its sophisticated charm and wondrous allure.
12:10But unlike me, those tourists of yesteryear were already steeped in the language and inspired by French literature and art.
12:18But my own love for the city and a bygone era began with one of my absolute favorite films.
12:25Oh my, that's it.
12:26That's it.
12:27I'm convinced that's the very spot where Audrey Hepburn landed in that opening song.
12:34The most wonderful musical, Funny Face, was shot right here.
12:40And Audrey Hepburn rooted herself to that very spot, opened her arms and said,
12:47Bonjour, Paris.
12:49Bonjour, Paris.
12:52I just adore Funny Face.
12:53It sold the dream of this amazing city to me when I was young.
12:57Audrey Hepburn said, Paris isn't for changing planes, it's for changing your outlook.
13:06And I feel like that.
13:08It's left a kiss, sous le cœur.
13:12And I'm busy creating my own homage to cinema of old with my trusty Super 8 camera.
13:18It allows me to take a moment to bask in the grandeur of Paris and let its magic seep into my soul.
13:28For me, that is visual heaven.
13:40But young travelers like me didn't wander Europe alone.
13:44They had a tutor known as a chicerone, or bear leader, whose job it was to oversee their education while attempting to keep them on the straight and narrow.
13:52And I'm meeting a modern-day bear leader of my own.
13:57You must be Sophie.
13:59Hi, bonjour.
14:01Bonjour.
14:01How are you?
14:03Oh, I'm so well.
14:05You're my bear guide.
14:07I guess so, yeah.
14:09We're going to discover the city together.
14:11Sophie Gashny is a Parisian history expert.
14:14Let's have a petite promenade.
14:18And there is Our Lady, Notre Dame.
14:21Exactly.
14:23According to my guidebook, the 800-year-old Cathedral of Notre Dame was a messy architectural gem.
14:30Now, Sophie, I have to tell you, this building brings back a lot of memories for me.
14:35Really?
14:35Tell me.
14:36Well, when I was knee-high to a grasshopper, I sang here as a treble.
14:41It's okay.
14:41So many memories.
14:42Oh, so many memories associated.
14:45And I see the little gargoyles out there.
14:48Yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:49Les gargouilles, we say in French.
14:51It's coming from le gargarisme, you know, when you make the noise.
14:55Yes, we have gargles, which is from the throat, isn't it?
14:58Exactly.
14:59And actually, it's called like this because those little monsters are here to drain the water from the building,
15:06but also to purge all the bad spirits.
15:09Oh, I see.
15:09So they're like really elaborate guttering in a way.
15:12Yeah.
15:12Yeah, exactly.
15:13They are majestic.
15:17Coming home with sketchbooks full, the grand tourists fired the Gothic revival building craze
15:23that created St. Pancras Station, Inverary Castle, the iconic Big Ben, and many more.
15:29I mean, in terms of architecture, it was also like very, very innovative, you know what I mean?
15:35Like, Notre Dame has always been a treasure since its creation.
15:39Not every bit of architecture in Paris was a treasure.
15:42200 years ago, much of the city was cramped, dank, and smelly.
15:47The Seine was a pestilent swamp and effluent ran through the streets.
15:52There was no sewers, and people were throwing the dirty waters from the window.
15:58So being where we are now, it's a little bit high risk.
16:02Exactly, yeah.
16:03We need to be careful, maybe.
16:04Might have had a thatch full of turd.
16:06Yeah.
16:07I see.
16:09But the posh young Brits escape the stinking streets to stay with their posh Parisian friends.
16:15Oh, look at this.
16:19Like here, in the Musée Lambinet.
16:23We're plunging into the 18th century.
16:26Oh my goodness.
16:28We have gone back in time.
16:31And so imagine for like the grand tourists, one of their goals during their trip was to visit this kind of place.
16:37Because by discovering like all the culture in France, they also wanted to discover the social life.
16:43Yes.
16:43That included, of course, letting their very well coiffured hair down.
16:49And now, are you ready for a little party?
16:53Oh, Sophie.
16:55The average age of a grand tourist was 21.
16:59And most of them came from a strict background of formal parenting and boarding school.
17:03So this may have been the first chance they had for some joie de vivre.
17:07Bienvenue dans le salon doré, the golden room.
17:14And so this harp has been made by the luthier of Marie Antoinette.
17:23Marie Antoinette was the wife of Louis XVI, the last king of France.
17:28She was notoriously good at spending money, including having her own luthier or harp maker.
17:33This is extraordinary because I know Marie Antoinette had a burning passion for the harp.
17:40She even had a nickname, the Queen of Harps.
17:43Yeah, exactly.
17:44So it's perfectly possible that she strummed that very one.
17:49It's 100% possible.
17:50Well, I myself am a quiver like a harp string.
17:56Marie Antoinette's passion for the harp fueled a golden age for this instrument,
18:01thanks to the grand tourists who took this cultural craze back to Britain.
18:04They wanted to live their life as the French people were doing it.
18:08The grand tourists also wanted to learn from the French about the pleasures of the flesh.
18:13A petit dalliance or two was a rite of passage.
18:16And here, as you can see, you have the bed.
18:19During the 18th century, the pink color was not related to women.
18:25Actually, men really, really loved to wear pink.
18:28It was like, not a gender color.
18:31No matter the gender, it seemed pink made the boys and girls wink.
18:36What I find very heartening is how dense those pink silk curtains are.
18:42Whatever happens behind them can very safely stay behind them.
18:46And I imagine there was quite a lot of excitement.
18:49However, many came home with a great deal more than a harp and a sex education.
18:54They returned with the delightfully named French disease, more clinically known as syphilis.
18:59Hopefully, my grand tour will remain disease-free.
19:05Rather naughty.
19:06I can't help but feel inspired.
19:09While plenty of wild parties went on within the city,
19:12they were tame in comparison to those held west of here,
19:15in one of the most famous palaces in the world.
19:18This is the Palace of Versailles, home of the last French kings and queens.
19:29And an audience with the royal family was the holy grail for any self-respecting grand tourist.
19:35Gosh, it is dazzlingly beautiful.
19:39All the great dramas of French royalty played out here,
19:43and modern classics too, like my favorite, Funny Face, Midnight in Paris,
19:47and of course, myriad movies about the Queen of Harps herself, Marie Antoinette.
19:52So this was Louis XIV's baby.
20:00Exactly.
20:01It was his grand design.
20:02Exactly.
20:03Louis XIV arrived here in 1682,
20:06and basically the king stayed here until 1789.
20:17Their side was designed to reflect the king's power,
20:20and the nearly 2,000 acres of formal gardens
20:23frequently played host to extravagant parties.
20:27What happened is that with Versailles, there was no limit.
20:30And the tourists who were coming to visit Versailles
20:33wanted to experience this,
20:35the luxury of the French lifestyle.
20:38And no one did luxury like Louis.
20:43I've just spied Apollo.
20:45I've just spied Apollo in all his glittering glory.
20:5013 sculptures weigh nearly 30 tons
20:58and 35,000 sheets of gold leaf.
21:03The priceless fountain of Apollo, the sun god,
21:06is the ultimate example of the power and wealth of the French monarchs.
21:11It was the centerpiece of Louis' legendary garden parties,
21:14which included magnificent firework displays
21:17and sumptuous royal banquets.
21:19It sounds like the garden was like a vast open-air theater in a way.
21:23Exactly.
21:24And also what's interesting is that you were going to Versailles to party,
21:28but also to be seen.
21:30So you had a real plume in your chapeau if you were invited to it.
21:34Exactly.
21:36The Baroque garden so impressed the English grand tourists
21:38that many of them took the style back across the Channel,
21:41where it can still be seen in the grandest stately homes today,
21:44including Hampton Court and Blenheim Palace.
21:47Oh, and there may have been another reason for their fondness of pruned bushes.
21:51These hedges that kind of divide the garden into little pockets,
21:57I mean, was that significant, important?
21:59People wanted to escape from, like, all the eyes around them
22:03and wanted to do whatever they wanted.
22:06They could over there.
22:07I see.
22:07It was really a way to, like, sneak out
22:09and to leave your love affair or whatever.
22:12Yes, it could be a little bit more entre nous.
22:15Sadly, there's no tumble in the bushes for me at Versailles,
22:18but as my journey continues, I begin to feel the grand tourist peril.
22:22Oh, don't be heroes.
22:25Their pleasure.
22:26Oh, I say, that's like a glove.
22:28And their pain.
22:33Everything's retreated.
22:42The Palace of Versailles, just outside Paris,
22:45and a few hundred years ago, it would have been the place to come
22:48for anyone who was anyone on their grand tour.
22:52It must have been incredible to actually come here.
22:55Yeah.
22:55And when the king and queen in the Dauphin were in residence,
22:58you could just go to the chapel and go to a service and see them.
23:02And without a doubt, one of the best times to visit
23:05would have been when the king was hosting one of his magnificent carousels,
23:09vast shows that were like a combination of a military parade and a ballet
23:13held at the palace's stables.
23:16Bonjour, Rembrandt.
23:18Oh, it's Rembrandt's bottom.
23:21Over 300 years later, the tradition continues,
23:25and my bear leader Sophie has scored me a royal box for tonight's performance.
23:29Bonjour.
23:30Bonjour.
23:30In it, there's fencing, archery, of course, horse riding.
23:35In short, all the skills the grand tourists learned.
23:40And the show's about to start.
23:46The show is staged by the National Equestrian Academy of Versailles,
23:51with one striking difference from its predecessor.
23:54The entire ensemble is made up of women.
23:56When the grand tourists came here in the 18th century,
24:00there were over 2,000 horses here,
24:04which is one of the reasons the gardens are so good.
24:06They had endless manure.
24:09But it wasn't the dung the grand tourists were here for.
24:13It was the dainty footwork.
24:15The Versailles horses and their poised guernier stride
24:18became the cornerstone of modern dressage,
24:21and any young noble able to master it
24:23proved they were a true thoroughbred.
24:26That was the most hypnotic, mesmeric thing I've ever seen.
24:49It was like an equine kaleidoscope.
24:52It was just dazzling.
24:55It was just dazzling.
25:1018th century Versailles wasn't just leading the charge on horseback.
25:14It was also at the cutting edge of fencing.
25:16Young grand tourists were eager to hone their sword skills here,
25:21not just for sporting prowess,
25:23but in case they were ever challenged to a duel.
25:27I'm behind the scenes at where I saw the magnificent spectacle
25:31to learn some fencing.
25:34Now, the playwright, Molière,
25:35whose plays many grand tourists came to Paris to see,
25:38said the secret of fencing consists butting two things
25:43to give more than you receive.
25:46I'm going to try and follow your advice, Molière,
25:49but I have a feeling I might have rather a wobbly foil.
25:52Disputes in the era of the grand tourists
25:58were often settled by the sword,
26:00so a good teacher could be the difference between life and death.
26:03Today's class is being led by Mars defensor Marie-Clemence Perron.
26:08Bravo.
26:11Thank you very much.
26:12Would you mind if I gate-crash a bit and learn a skill or two?
26:17Yes, with pleasure.
26:19It will be dangerous,
26:21but we have to fight with elegance and with panache.
26:27I'm not very good at that, but I will try.
26:29You need a weapon.
26:32This is a rapier.
26:33A rapier.
26:34La rapier.
26:35The rapier is a lethal dueling weapon
26:38popular with European elites since the 16th century.
26:41It was a favourite of Edward VI, son of Henry VIII,
26:44the perfect blade for anyone who wishes to be both cultured and deadly.
26:49I'm just not sure that's me.
26:52I'm one of the world's meeker, milder souls,
26:57so I'm bewitched by the elegance of it.
27:01I'm not sure I've got the combat in me.
27:04But if I'm going to emerge from this grand tour
27:06a sharper version of myself,
27:08ready to duel at any given moment,
27:10then into the fray, I must go.
27:13En garde.
27:13Très.
27:14Marcher.
27:15Marcher deux fois.
27:16Romper.
27:17So I need to be more ahead.
27:19Oh, crass.
27:20Quickly.
27:20Whoa.
27:21Cartes.
27:22Yes.
27:23Cartes.
27:23Oui, super.
27:24Bravo.
27:25Bravo.
27:25Oh, gosh.
27:27My heart's going like the clappers, Marie.
27:29So you can learn very quickly.
27:31I spill that.
27:34En garde.
27:35Spotting my Zorro-like potential,
27:37Marie picks up the pace.
27:39Redoubler.
27:40Seconde.
27:41Prime.
27:42Seconde.
27:42Prime.
27:42Septim.
27:43Gosh, they're thinking fast.
27:45The alacrity is extraordinary.
27:48And it is like a dancer.
27:49I can feel it happening all about you.
27:50We can make pass-a-pass for your first fight.
27:58And if you die, you die.
28:01Marie demands I defend my honor with expert swordswoman Fanny.
28:06Prêt.
28:07En garde.
28:08Allez.
28:17Yes, good time.
28:18I'm not quite dead, but I am quite out of puff.
28:28I know wonder you're all so trim and dynamic.
28:31Thank you so much.
28:34Au revoir.
28:35Au revoir.
28:37That was extraordinary and not at all what I thought it would be.
28:42It all happens with tremendous speed and agility.
28:45And one thing I've learned is how fit the Grand Tourist must have been.
28:49As Marie said, you do it well when you have oodles upon oodles of panache.
28:55And I think if you had to leave Paris with one thing in your arsenal,
28:59you would want it to be panache, wouldn't you?
29:03So, with a little panache, my Parisian transformation is nearly complete.
29:08Oh, thank you, Philippe.
29:10Alors, on y va.
29:13On y va, Tom.
29:13I think, crucially, and maybe the Grand Tourist felt this,
29:21I've shed a layer or two of Englishness here in Paris.
29:26And I think that augurs quite well for the next leg of my journey.
29:30Yes, I feel as though I'm braced for adventure now.
29:35I might be braced for adventure, but I'm certainly not dressed for it yet.
29:39Paris was and is the style capital of the world.
29:48And as I'm going to have to traverse the Alps as I head to Italy,
29:52I'm hoping to procure some robust outerwear.
29:54Don't get distracted by chic things with lovely paisley linings.
30:00That's not what you're here for.
30:02I'm after a sort of a vest for, a very dense, hardy jacket for scaling an Alp.
30:12Although I'm hoping to be kitted out in sensible but stylish woolens,
30:16the Grand Tour is spent lavishly on everything from silk stockings to sleeve ruffles.
30:21I've got to say this in hushed tones, but the poet James Cawthon said,
30:28by some malignancy of hate, we take our fashion from the land we hate.
30:34They were Catholics here.
30:36They were Protestants back home.
30:38And it was a bit of a kind of loggerhead situation.
30:41And yet, they still recognized it was the fashion capsule of the world, even then.
30:46Luckily, I'm a total Francophile, so I don't know about the Grand Tourist's problem.
30:52May I?
30:53Eventually, the perfect piece catches my eye.
30:59Oh, I say, that's like a glove.
31:02So, I need to give you some argent, don't I?
31:05I'm afraid.
31:06I'm suited and booted and ready to embark on the next leg of my Grand Tour.
31:15Taxi?
31:19This is a bit of a bittersweet moment for me,
31:22because I have to say goodbye to my favorite city.
31:26But being able to look at it through the retinas of a Grand Tourist has been very, very special.
31:31So, these skills that they acquired here stood them in awfully good stead
31:37for the next part of their journey, which was awash with peril.
31:42The next stop on my Grand Tour is ANSI, known as the Gateway to the Alps.
31:49Traveling over 500 kilometers by carriage would take me at least a week,
31:53and I don't have time for that, so I'm on le train.
31:58Excusez-moi, que je l'ai. Merci.
32:01It must have been a very, very taxing journey south for the Grand Tourist.
32:09There were still highway robberies in those days.
32:13According to my Baedeker guide, ANSI was recommended as a pleasant resting place.
32:19Reaching ANSI, I suspect they were able to decompress, unwind,
32:25and I think after Paris, it'll be a balm for the soul.
32:34Situated about halfway between London and Rome, ANSI is known as the Venice of the Alps.
32:41After treacherous journeys and city life, this just evens your tempo.
32:47Scattered along the shore of Lake ANSI are numerous hotels, including the Abaye de Taloire,
32:54which is well spoken of to quote my guidebook, so that's where I'm staying.
32:58It's got quite a guestbook.
32:59Napoleon III, Paul Cézanne, Bruce Willis, and now, well, me.
33:05Oh, magnifique.
33:09Je vous en prie.
33:10Excellent dégustation.
33:11Avec plaisir.
33:12Oh, how lovely.
33:16Hello, you.
33:17This historic Benedictine Abbey, founded in the 11th century, was transformed into the
33:28first hotel on the banks of Lake ANSI, back in the 1800s, ready for all those grand tour
33:34visitors.
33:35And one very famous grand tourist, John Ruskin, said that mountains are the beginning and
33:45end of all natural scenery.
33:49And in this case, it's very, very true, since the mountains gave birth to Lake ANSI.
33:58Writer and visionary critic John Ruskin wasn't the only famous Victorian to be uplifted by
34:04the Alps.
34:05Queen Victoria herself loved to dip a royal toe in alpine waters, which gives me an idea.
34:15Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy.
34:19It is unbelievably serene.
34:27Lake ANSI was formed of alpine glaciers 18,000 years ago.
34:34And think what that meant for the grand tourists.
34:37They'd left the very mucky Thames in London.
34:40They'd left the rather generous of sewage Seine in Paris.
34:44And they come here.
34:46And this water is incredibly pure and incredibly rejuvenating.
34:51Taking the waters was thought to improve the circulation and treat all manner of ailments.
34:57In for a penny.
34:59In for a pound.
35:00And at the grand age of nearly 40, the last thing I need is an ailment.
35:05Woo!
35:07Woo!
35:08Ah!
35:10Ah!
35:12Well, it's not warm.
35:15Oh!
35:17Everything's retreated.
35:18Every cell is singing.
35:27It's lovely in its own curious way.
35:32Ooh!
35:37Ah, to be at one with Mother Nature.
35:41Mmm.
35:41And the revitalizing effects of the Alps certainly sparked the imaginations of the grand tourists.
35:51Very near here, a very famous grand tourist, Lord Byron, dared two of his friends, Percy B. Shelley and Mary Shelley, to write the ultimate horror story.
36:04And I think Mary Shelley was the winner with her magnificent gothic horror novel, Frankenstein.
36:14It's the story of Victor Frankenstein, an ambitious scientist who creates a monster.
36:22Wrecked with guilt, he flees high into the Alps, where he meets his murderous creation.
36:27Ah, here is the passage.
36:31A flash of lightning illuminated its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity,
36:41instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy demon to whom I had given life.
36:50Mary Shelley crossed the Alps her monster lurked in several times in her life.
36:55It's now time for me to do the same.
37:00My climb will bring me even closer to Mother Nature.
37:03But I think I'm alright.
37:05Whoa!
37:06As I take on the highest mountain range in Central Europe.
37:12Do you want some shade?
37:13Uh, want my nose?
37:14Oh!
37:15Yeah.
37:15Oh, look now.
37:25I'm in the French Alps, reliving the experiences of the Grand Tourists of a bygone era.
37:37Oh!
37:38Percevitous.
37:39Mountain guide Alain Dujardin is showing me one of the routes over these daunting peaks the Grand Tourists would have taken.
37:47Routes that were thick with danger.
37:49Alain, every time I hear a crunch, I think it might be a wolf.
37:53One of our very famous politicians, Horace Walpole, his dog was eaten on his Grand Tour.
37:59So, there were great legends about the threat of the wolves.
38:04Back in the days of the Grand Tourists, over 15,000 wolves roamed the French wilderness.
38:10I find myself suddenly trying to remember my fencing lesson.
38:14Alain, how many wolves would you say there are now?
38:17Now, I would say that there is around a thousand wolves in place.
38:20Gosh!
38:21Does that mean that it's at all possible we might see one here?
38:25There is a possibility.
38:27Last year, two of them have been spotted two, three kilometers from here.
38:32Sure enough, it isn't long before we stumble on a perfect wolf hideout.
38:37Alain, look at this cave!
38:38Look at that!
38:40It's terrifying, and that would be a fantastic lair, wouldn't it, for a pack of wolves.
38:47If you want, you can walk to the back.
38:49That's like a red rag to a bull.
38:51Let's go!
38:53Very, very steep.
38:59Careful, it might be slippery.
39:01It is a bit slippery, but I think I'm all right.
39:04Whoa!
39:06You see?
39:07Second attempt.
39:09Here we go.
39:10Un, deux, trois.
39:11No sign of wolves, just two grazed knees and some blushes.
39:16I have to say, just looking into this cave is deeply spooky, and it does sort of chill my marrow a bit.
39:23Despite the dangers of the Alps, the Grand Tourists were desperate to reach the romantic ruins, Renaissance art, and massed walls of Italy.
39:33Today, it's easy to cross the Alps in style and comfort, but 300 years ago, before roads and tunnels, Grand Tourists like John Constable and writer Lady Federica Mansfield had no choice but to go up and over on foot.
39:55And it wasn't for the faint-hearted.
39:57With hundreds of miles of rugged mountain paths, it was a remarkable physical feat.
40:03Oh, this is very good for the pins.
40:06I can feel it.
40:07It's wonderful.
40:08But for some wealthier individuals, there was an easier way to make the crossing.
40:12Undoubtedly, the best option is four strapping hunkatrons and a sedan chair.
40:21Boys, I promise you a coupe of champagne at the top.
40:25Un, deux, trois.
40:27Allez, hop!
40:29Oh, bravo, les gars!
40:33Burly locals would sometimes carry Grand Tourists like this for 10 hours a day.
40:38For some of them, claiming to have climbed the Alps was a total corn.
40:42I can see the triceps throbbing.
40:47Do you want some shade?
40:50Hiring local porters to carry a sedan chair might seem like an easy option.
40:56I am dazzled by your strength.
41:00But it's not necessarily a safe one.
41:04Grand Tourists were often given a chunk of bread meant to sustain them should they be buried in an avalanche.
41:09And if we're to reach our goal, we too must navigate some very dangerous terrain.
41:15Oh, don't be here, Os.
41:18Oh!
41:20Are you okay?
41:23Yes.
41:23Yes.
41:23Oh!
41:25Oh, turn it down.
41:27Oh!
41:29Now, I'm not just making these lovely men drag me up this mountain for nothing.
41:33Somewhere ahead of us is one of the most beautiful natural treasures of these lofty peaks,
41:38Cascade du Pas du Roque.
41:39I can hear it!
41:42Oh!
41:42There it is!
41:46Oh!
41:47Oh!
41:48What a pale!
41:49France has made me gasp in wonder time and time again.
42:02It's also given me new respect for the Grand Tourists.
42:06They help turn the once feared Alps into a vast playground for modern-day tourists like me.
42:13Oh, blimey, that was some alpine ascent.
42:19Now, next stop, Italy.
42:24Next time on my Grand Tour, I'll be skimming the waters to one of the most famous villas in the world.
42:31Even I can't take a bad photograph here.
42:34Descending deep into secret passages.
42:37Oh, I see.
42:38This is the beginning of the secret way.
42:40And twirling through the carnival in Venice.
42:42It's wildly romantic and really quite arousing.
42:53It's wildly romantic and really quite arousing.
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