During the first years of her exile in Algeria, Ranavalona soon discovered the excitement of the socialite lifestyle among the elite of Algiers. She was regularly invited to parties, outings and cultural events and often hosted events of her own. However, homesickness was ever-present and the impossibility of visiting Madagascar contributed to melancholy and boredom. She would frequently take long walks alone in the countryside, along the beach, or through the town to clear her mind and lift her spirits. The queen was eager to see mainland France and especially Paris and repeatedly submitted formal requests for permission to travel. These were routinely denied until May 1901 when Ranavalona received the first of many authorizations to visit France. That very month, the queen moved into a small apartment in the 16th arrondissement of Paris near the Avenue Champs-Élysées and what is now the Place Charles de Gaulle, from which she visited the major sights of the city and was invited to numerous receptions, balls, shows and other events. She was widely received by high society with courtesy and admiration and was offered many gifts including a costly gown. During this first trip, Ranavalona visited the Palace of Versailles, was formally received at the Paris City Hall, and spent three weeks on vacation in Bordeaux. Finally, Ranavalona visited the beaches of Arcachon before exhausting her budget and boarding an Algeria-bound ship at Marseilles in early August. The details of her visit attracted much attention from the Parisian press, which expressed sympathy for the queen's fate and recrimination toward the French government for failing to provide a larger pension or accord her the consideration she deserved as a recipient of the Legion of Honor.