European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 17, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                It French cramming for Success with Tion Book on tour its by Silke Stoltenberg Deutsche press Agenter in the Hope of making France s famously cantankerous hoteliers and waiters More Friendly the country s tourism ministry is teaching them manners. Not Only Are they being told How to say Good morning and Good evening in major world languages but they Are being Given tips on the special sensitivities of visitors from abroad. The friendliness Campaign dubbed Bonjour Good Day and featuring a Smiley face logo is designed to leave tourists with pleasant memories of their stay in a nation that takes in More Holiday makers each year than anywhere else on Earth. To help hotel staff taxi Drivers air France Villas showcased inside and out by Nancy l Ross the Washington Post Villas of Tuscany by Carlo Cresti and Massimo list i vendome press 480 pp., $85. At first glance this would appear to be just another handsome Book of Sand coloured houses with towers built around courtyards and Loggia and nestled in the picturesque rolling Hills around Florence and Siena Italy. The 54 palazzi pictured All of which appear to be in Pristine shape cover a period of 450 years from the first Villa built from scratch in 1485 Villa Medici at Poggio a Caiano to the 1937 Villa Vittoria Forte Del Marmi. Exterior styles Range from medieval to classical to baroque to gothic with even a moorish and an Art Nouveau included. Yet architect Carlo Cresti concedes that most Villa facades Are not very exciting or original. To distinguish their collaborative Effort photographer Massimo list i recorded on film the interiors of Many Villas closed to the Public that have never been reproduced before. Behind the Plain exteriors of their country houses the aristocracy created lavish pleasure palaces during the 17th and 18th centuries. Surviving frescoes on Walls and ceiling Many of them showing fashionable Grot Tesche fantastic figure attest to the importance of the Villa As status Symbol. In the 19th Century King Victor Emmanuel of Savoy turned the courtyard of his 16th Century florentine Villa into a ballroom covered with a skylight arid huge Crystal chandelier. Crest s narrative complementing the 450 color photos is an exhaustive meticulously documented history of not just architecture and painting furnishings and gardens of the Villas but also of the nobility culture and famous visitors reminiscences of them. As Early As the 16th Century English philosopher Francis Bacon advised readers to catch the tuscan Villas on trips abroad. Several centuries later novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne recommended a visit to the Villa Man Auto where Savonarola the reformist Monk who was burned at the stake had been imprisoned. Continuing in that tradition by informing prospective travellers which of the Villas Are open to the Public would have been a Welcome postscript to this otherwise Superb volume. Crew and Airport staff the ministry has put out a handbook on tourists providing common foreign phrases re spelled into phonetic French. The Booklet also sketches the likes and dislikes characteristics and eating and sleeping habits of foreigners Likely to visit France. The germans for example Are described As extremely demanding rather buttoned Down punctual and Dean. To French ears they speak too loudly and As customers watch that they get their Money s Worth. The 8 million tourists from Britain Are described As phlegmatic and notably unwilling to utter even the simplest word of , the Book warns Are viewed As rather arrogant while creeks Are thought to be undisciplined and noisy guests. For the Sake of fairness the handbook presented by military trading Center top Quality used cars and to Longmire Caa it Usan