Meurice Hotel 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......

So this is where it all started. We all gathered in the Restaurant, with our vehicles lined up outside.
The teams were all given two eggs to keep safe for the week, and a set of challenges including a bingo card to collect photos of things we might see on the way.

The Road book was handed out, along with the t shirts, and we all lined up for team photos ...

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.

... 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.

... Ludwigsburg at 11.15. Just 144 miles later I could breathe a sigh of relief at Saarbrucken and the French border. The sun came out and at the first opportunity I stopped to see if I could get internet access to check the times of the L&D Lines ferries back from Boulogne. Well, there wasn't a sign of it either then or at the other three quick internet checking stops I made. So I gave up. At Rheims, I did a quick whizz around a ...

... of tunnels, stairs, and galleries that sheltered thousands of soldiers. Mons (Belgium) Mons has a huge plaza called the Grand Place, and yes, there are restaurants offering that staple of Belgian beer restaurants worldwide, moules with frites (a pile of mussels on top of fries - how I hate that word, making them all soggy - sorry, I didn't have the stomach to try them), but the place is full of kebab, pizza, French and even a Danish restaurant. The actual city is quite ...

... clubs. So I asked Tanya, "Our hotel is not near here, right?" To which she replied "Maybe, wouldn't that be exciting?" Tanya is more adventurous then I am. After some more driving around and more garbage everywhere we eventually made it to our hotel. I guess there was some drama getting us checked in. How the checking in process works, the group leaders and Mattais go into the hotel first and make the rooming arrangements. For some reason, the people in ...

... off. The ferry ride over was great. We took Sea France and the boat was very nice. On board there was two restaurants, two bars, lots of video games and gambling machines, a duty free store (which wasn't much of a deal but fun to walk around in) and an area at the stern where you could go outside. The trip took about an hour and fifteen minutes. Once in Calais we headed east.

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!!!