france

Having travelled from Dundee to Dover overnight and a smooth crossing on the Ferry we arrived in Calais, France. Nothing remarkable - looks like UK - except everyone is driving on the wrong side of the road!!

Our first stop was Dunkirk and a chance to try out our French - don't think we should have bothered! Eventually we made our way to the beach and the war memorial. Not quite what we had expected, quite unremarkable but nice to have had the chance to be there.

Then it was off to our first campsite at Eperney. A pleasant surprise - clean and spacious. The weather was fantastic and spirits high. Teatime! Where's McDonalds? And how do we order a quarter cheese with only pickle and onion?

Can't believe these toilets though . . . they've got to be tried to be believed. Not at all comfortable to sit on . . .
what do you mean you're meant to squat?

At least the scenery's nice, beautiful lake too . . . and the McDonalds was OK.

So onwards towards Taize. We decided to use the toll road for speed which was very quiet - we realised why when we paid the toll! Well it was hot and we wanted to get to Taize. Now if you ever buy a phone card in France make sure it is the correct one - I think they saw us coming.

We couldn't believe how cheap the diesel was - 30p per litre less than UK. And the villages we passed through were quaint. The locals obviously took a pride in their community with fantastic floral arrangements and very clean streets.

What we did in Taize, Paris and Disney can be found on other pages on this site. all good things must come to an end and so it was with our holiday. Back to old Blighty.

The journey home seemed long and the heat didn't help We stopped for a meal at Cite D'Europe - a massive shopping centre outside Calais . . . but most of it was closed - well it was a French holiday we discovered.

The Ferry journey home was smooth although the rain had started and lightning caused more than a little anxiety among some of our group. But we made it back safely - well of course you know that otherwise we wouldn't be telling this story. Typical eh? Glorious weather in France and it starts to pour when we get anywhere near Britain.

However the chance to catch up with beauty sleep was not missed as the back of the minibus was converted into a mobile hotel . . . well we cleared floor space and laid out the sleeping bags. We were all shattered.

But even when we got home 10 days after starting out the long desired sleep was not immediately on the cards . . . there was still the minibus to sort out - cleaned and the seats replaced.