Campanile - Calais

We awoke to the noise of trucks and early morning deliveries..Took Lucy for walk and packed van ready to hit the road again..Start? Yes!!

Breakfast at the Happy Chef opposite the Marina in Dover was very welcomed, and to be recommended. We will be checking out Uncle Sam's next time we pass through. Now down to the Ferry port for check in..

Ooh la la......

... br>The parade through Calais followed, with all the vehicles making as much noise as possible. The navigators were all frantically trying to work out where to go.
Unfortunately, we followed a group along the motorway, missing the correct exit. That was a mistake which we decided not to repeat again - we needed to have confidence in our own skills.

We ...

... we ordered 4 kebab pizzas????? which I missed out on as shortly after arriving at the restaurant, was throwing up outside!!

Joe had to take me back to the hotel, with a stop off to the burger van for a 2.5Euro burger!

Whilst i was being put to bed, about 6pm by the way, Kris had a menu snatched off him in the restaurant as he was laughing in to it (tash and kris were in absolute stitches all ...

... to a strangled cat heard accross the campsite. Dave Shayler had gone for a shower only to find a token was needed for warm water and the camp office was shut. The screaming carried on until we were all showered - apparently it was refreshing!

The snoring started very shortly afterwards.

... site. Duncan orders snails much to the disgust of the boys but they both try them. Our chance to be smug Mom and Dad.
We have had a lovely holiday, with some memories to last forever. Try as we might thoughts keep on marching on towards new adventures and the Isle of Man that lie ahead.

... downstairs, excited to visit Sangatte and see the beach, and the tire was inexplicably flat. So, like ya do, I got down on my haunches and started with the jack and the tire iron. John decided to call Peugeot Assistance (shout-out to those guys, they're freaking life savers) because he was angry at this point, and by the time the guy got to us, I had the spare on. He shooed me away and started tightening the screws and putting the rim back on. At ...

... and go down for a wine-tasting. Unerringly, I have chosen probably the most expensive wines to try - a friendly young man takes me through a half dozen of their vintages, and the wines vary from around 60 to well over 100 euros a bottle. I thank him warmly, climb the steps up to street level without a wobble, then go and buy a Jeroboam (1.5 litres) of 2001 vintage. The day becomes a bit of a blur of driving and wine-tasting (yes, I spit it out, but not always) and I visit ...

... my sudden and inexplicable Catholicism was interesting. I told her that I respect the significance of the rituals of catholicism, (plus, wiccan pray and light candles, too). On the way back to the bus I took my time and tried to buy some turkish delight for Jesus but the guy running the stand was so slow that I was worried about making the rest of the group late so I gave up. But, as we walked back to the bus, I noticed that there was no one ahead or ...

... my first transfer went all right, but the second one in France was a bit weird. Apparently, I'm a pot-smoking vagrant, because once the train was en route, three freakin French immigration officials searched interrogated me on my where abouts, and of course the second they heard Amsterdam, they demanded that they search my backpack. They also asked multiple times if I had been in the coffee shops, I said no, which was a white lie ...

We soon climbed out of the tunnel and raced towards the train's first stop at Lille. The land was flat, bathed in sunshine and looking decidedly and strangely 'foreign' !!!

We were served with a late lunch during this section of the ride. Well cooked and well served! Also with a nice glass of champagne!!!