Etap Hotel Boulougne Sur Mer - Centre Ville les Ponts Boulogne-sur-Mer

Boulogne is a town that seems to have grown a lot. Its old city center is still surrounded by its old fortress walls. The city that sprawls outside of this is somewhat drab and uninspiring but within the walls there is a great feel for what it used to look like with its cobbled stones and old city hall building. We stopped at a small café to warm up and then we walked along the walls of the city enjoying the view of the city ...

... but after being unable to find a place to sleep in Boulogne or the internet we made our way once again back to Calais. This time we grabbed some food at a little seafood restaurant and then when we were out of ideas we went back to the campsite for another night. We were dirty but at least we had a place to sleep!
Calais gave us food and a place to stay so what else could we ask for!

... Dan and Charles. It's a beautiful little town and one I was keen to show Kim. It is has high walls that runs 3km around it (perfect for our run morning run the next day!) and is situated atop a hill, so very picturesque.

PS. Le Coq Hardi is the local brand of beer

... 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 ...

18th September

Staples 2 Naples – Day 1 – Calais to Sarnen.

Last night I was well fuelled up on continental 6% European blond beer! Real lethal stuff, it was served in 3 litre tubes, we had 3 of these between 4 of us!!

Not a good mix after just 1 hour sleep in 2 days!

After drinking this and signing up for the rally, with a few more beers, i was told we are heading for a ...

... 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.

We set off to France today for a new period in our life in Europe.
Work still chugs on, but with only 12 shifts in 42, we have plenty of time to ourselves.
We decided those "spare" 30 days should be spent in Europe.

I'll skip over the months of research and prep work and bring us up to today where we are now on the 4pm ferry instead of the 2pm ...

Boulogne Sur Mer is an historic and surprisingly interesting destination on France's Northern coast. Although quite ugly in parts, the city's Upper Town district is very charming and a pleasent place to walk around, explore and take pictures. I set off for Boulogne by bus from Calais with the two hour journey taking me along the scenic coastal road between the two towns passing along the way the famous cliffs of the so called Opal ...

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!!!