On June 10, the Johns family took their maid Mary to Pier 88 on the banks of the Hudson River in New York. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 There they will meet up with Mr. Degano and together on the cruise ship "Normandy" to Europe.

The choice to ride the "Normandy" was a little surprise John had in store for Adele. He knows that this giant cruise ship in the world, which is currently the most advanced, luxurious and beautiful in the world, is the pride of all French people.

Since the signing of the "Treaty on the Limitation of Naval Armaments" by the naval powers at the Washington Conference in 1922, the "naval arms race" among the countries has come to an end. However, this competition did not disappear and was transferred to the private sector. The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and other countries have changed from building capital ships in competitions to building giant cruise ships in competitions.

Britain has the Empress Britannica and Britannia, Germany has two sister ships, the Bremen and Europa, and Italy has built the King, which Mussolini was proud of.

The French, of course, were not far behind, and given that the largest mail ship in the Atlantic at that time was 56,000 tons, the French decided to end the tonnage race once and for all. In 1930, they began construction of the 80,000-ton ship "Normandy".

Despite the worst economic crisis in the history of capitalism during construction, the epoch-making luxury ship was successfully completed with the support of the French government.

When the Normandy made its maiden voyage to New York in 1935, it won the Blue Ribbon (Speed Award for Transatlantic Passenger Ships, an honorary honor given to the fastest average speed of a transatlantic passenger ship. Winning a blue ribbon, especially on a maiden voyage, is the greatest honor for every cruise line and every cruise captain on both sides of the Atlantic). At the time, the French ship was flying up to 30 feet in blue streamers (one foot represents the speed of one knot).

In the years that followed, the Normandy and the British Queen Mary were the top contenders for the Blue Ribbon Award. The "interesting" competition between these two luxury giant ships has always been a hot topic of media coverage in Europe and the United States. For now, the Normandy is still the holder of the Eastbound Blue Ribbon Award (the Blue Ribbon Award is divided into two types, eastbound and westbound, which is faster than westbound due to the influence of the Atlantic current), and his eastbound speed has reached almost 32 knots, and it takes only four days from New York to Le Havre, France.

When Adele read relevant news reports, she said more than once that she hoped to take the "Normandy" back to her hometown in France one day. John, of course, was happy to grant his wife's little wish.

When John and his entourage of five people boarded the "Normandy", he, a well-informed "traverser", was also shocked. Neither the Costa cruise, nor the Olympic, the sister ship of the Titanic, which he had ridden in his previous life, could not be compared with the Normandy in terms of luxury.

Luxurious Art Deco throughout the ship, an indoor swimming pool with heated water circulation, an opera house and cinema with modern sound equipment, a marble-clad church, a garden with a glass dome, and air conditioning and heating throughout the passenger cabins, soft lighting and an in-room public address system.

Probably because of its luxurious and funky interior amenities and décor, it scares away many conservative passengers. This "most luxurious and beautiful cruise ship" was not very successful in operation. Ordinary travelers often think that this is a ship for celebrities and rich people, and consciously choose other flights, and the "Normandy" has rarely exceeded 60% of the passengers in recent years.

However, the small number of people is precisely one of the reasons why John and his family chose the "Normandy". John: They booked the Caen Suite this time. This is one of the ship's top suites and includes 4 cabins, 5 bathrooms, as well as a living room, dining and kitchenette, and a private balcony with a view.

They will also be served by a waiter, two maids and a top chef from the Hôtel Clieron in Paris during the more than four-day voyage. All silver cutlery and silver tea sets are art treasures designed by the famous silversmith Christopher & Co. at the invitation of Master Lanaire.

To John's satisfaction, the suite was also equipped with an advanced telephone and telegraph system, allowing him to remotely command American companies at any time, even on the Atlantic.

Of course, no matter how luxurious, comfortable and convenient the "Normandy" is, safety is always the primary concern for John. The shadow left by the "Titanic" on the entire American rich class is too great. A large number of wealthy people such as Astor IV, the head of the Astor family, and Strauss, the founder of Macy's, died in that shipwreck. The Astor family, known as the first family in the United States, has never recovered.

But these days, John couldn't find a safer way to get around than by high-speed cruise. Crossing the Atlantic by plane is really looking for death, and that's what only pilots who push the limits do.

Fortunately, John had never heard of the "Normandy" tragedy or anything in his previous life. The French writer Hugo did write a miniature novel "The Death of the "Normandy", and I heard that it was later selected into the Chinese Chinese textbook. However, the "Normandy" is a fiction, and it is completely different from the "Normandy" that John is flying now, so they don't have to worry.

A giant cruise ship is like a floating city. All the Johns need to do now is enjoy their lives in this maritime city.

Mary takes Ella to the children's playground, where the little girl quickly meets new friends. Mr. Degano chose to go to the small bar in first class to spend time. Adele went to the opera house to see the musical "The Unsinkable Molly".

This musical tells the legendary story of Molly Brown, the rich woman who bravely saved people on the Titanic. Mrs. Brown is the female nouveau riche who gave Jack a dress in the movie "Titanica". This well-known philanthropist, social activist and pioneer of the feminist movement was the former chairman of the Titanic Survivors Commission.

Interestingly, Mrs. Molly Brown lost two state legislature elections in 1909 and 1914 to Alvar Belmont, the former wife of John III and the mother of William, Harold and Consuelo's cousins, and the pioneer of the American feminist movement. You must know that at that time, American women did not even have the right to vote, and they can be regarded as the first women in American history to run for Congress.

As for "Technoman" John, he is more interested in the power system of this legendary giant ship. Accompanied by the second officer on board, he visited the ship's engine room with great interest.

In an epoch-making technological innovation on the Normandy, his high-power steam turbine did not directly drive the propellers, but a set of generators, electric motor units, and finally the electric motor to drive the 80,000-ton mail ship. Because the electric motor is different from a steam turbine that can only rotate in one direction, it can run in reverse, which solves the problem of "reversing" that has plagued ship designers for many years.

The power equipment of the Normandy is very well maintained, and in the engine room John can feel the power of the ship up close. Before the advent of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and VLCCs, these giant cruise ships were the longest, heaviest, and fastest ships of their time. It's no wonder that during World War II, high-speed cruise ships were the preferred target for military modifications.

Historically, during World War II, the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were converted into high-speed troop carriers, and the Japanese Kashihara Maru and Izumo Maru were converted into aircraft carriers. The converted Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth could not only transport 15,000 soldiers at a time, but also travel between Britain and the United States alone, ignoring German submarines.

Because at that time, the maximum surface speed of German submarines was only about 18 knots, the underwater speed was only about 10 knots, and even the fastest T3 G7e torpedo was only 30 knots. As long as these cruise ships run zigzags, not to mention submarines, even torpedoes and high-speed destroyers can't catch up with them.

In the engine room, John meets a middle-aged man in the uniform of a lieutenant admiral. This short lieutenant colonel has short black hair, and his appearance is somewhat mediocre, but his body is unusually stout, and his dark green eyes are very bright, and he can be seen to be a strong-willed and energetic soldier.

The lieutenant colonel had served overseas for many years and was the commander of a combat ship, as indicated by the "pay slip" on his left chest (a medal sheet, representing the curriculum vitae of an active-duty officer) and the yellow horizontal line on his cuffs.

During the conversation, John learned that the Lieutenant Commander Victor Henry (a tribute to Herman Walker's The War Storm) had served in Manila and had been working as a technical officer in the Naval Ordnance Bureau, and that he was going to Berlin to serve as a naval attaché at the German Embassy.

The same hobbies made the exchange between John and Lieutenant Colonel Victor very pleasant. Hearing that he was on his way to Germany with his wife, John offered to invite the couple to dinner in the private dining room of the Caen Suite. There, they can more easily exchange views on a number of "sensitive" issues concerning Europe.

Victor was a little surprised that John was staying in the Caen suite, he never expected a wealthy man to come to the engine room to observe the electric motor units. Still, he happily agreed to John's invitation.

Victor, a technologist by training, has never worked in diplomacy and intelligence. Although he speaks German very well, he does not know much about the realities of Europe and Germany. This appointment as a naval attaché was a big challenge for him. It would be nice to have the opportunity to learn a little bit more about Europe from a well-informed and well-traveled "billionaire" like John.