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Published: February 6th 2006
Me and a local
I had to pay for this photo so I'm posting it!Ed:
A couple of months back, Mon suggested we should hire a car and take a weekend trip up to France. It’s taking us more than 3 months to finally get a weekend where we were all available (what with our travels, Mon & Chris getting married, and Bec and Ben organising their Christmas dinner and their other thousand commitments!)… But last weekend we finally were able to go on our adventure.
Matt volunteered to hire the car (as KPMG has a contract with Avis for cheap deals), and Mon was in charge of looking into places that were must see in and around Calais, and I would book the ferry between Dover and Calais… I’m not sure what role Bec had… I think it was to make sure she was just available for the weekend :-)
In true form, even before the trip began there were hitches. Bec, in her hectic scheduling, had forgotten that she’d arranged for a ‘surprise’ for Ben on the Friday we were supposed to depart! (Bec has smartly worked out a way to get Ben to do things he doesn’t want to do - arrange them as a ‘surprise’ for which once
Friends Club
All ready for the adventure he finds out what it is - he can’t refuse because his wonderful wife has gone through all the trouble of arranging something special! Very Smart Bec!)
After much emailing to and fro, it was agreed that we would now depart on the Saturday morning, but that we would all sleep at Mon and Chris’ place the Friday night in order to leave together bright and early (or dark and early as is the case in this country).
That Friday night, Matt I picked up the rental. Again, that was a saga, working out twice as expensive than we thought with all the added extra fees (and no KPMG dioscount)!
After driving around London (to St Johns Wood to get Bec’s bags, then to our place to get our bags) we made our way to Mon’s in London Bridge. We were supposed to have an early night but when you get four social workers, a doctor and an accountant, there’s never a lull in conversation and we didn’t get to bed till after midnight. That night we also found out that Mon had forgotten to find out what’s to see around Calais!
Well, the following morning
White Cliffs of Dover
Not bad for a pic taken from behind glass... we managed to make our way out on our adventure by 7am… Amongst our rush we realised we left the map of France behind! Oops!
Two hours later, we arrived at the ferry terminal which is right next to the White Cliffs of Dover which are totally incredible. Whilst grabbing some breakfast, we missed the call of our ferry loading and ended up missing our ‘priority loading spot’. This wouldn’t have been so bad if we hadn’t decided to pay an extra six pounds to be the first in and out of the ferry! Doh!
The ferry ride was fairly uneventful - partly due to the fact that Matt has started to read Da Vinci Code and couldn’t put the book down…And I was reading another Dan Brown book - Angels and Demons. That’s right - shock horror - I’m reading! I don’t know what this country is doing to me… First the tea, and now books! I’m having identity crisis!
Upon reaching Calais we soon realised it was quite an ugly and boring little town. Half the people that come over on the ferry basically take the trip for the cheap cigarettes and wine, so pretty
Bunker in Boulogne
Matt exploring the setting for D-Day much after they find their purchase they get right back on that boat. After finding a tourist centre, it was obvious that most people come in and ask for the quickest and most scenic way out of town - they had a little map with instructions on how to get to the coastal road, and they were ever so polite about it! Who says the French are rude and unhelpful?
So along we went exploring Normandy, driving past cliffs, some that had bunkers still standing from WWII, others that also still had imprints from bombs dropped ago. We went from little town to little town, all with green and yellow pastures and little French houses - was so gorgeous! We drove towards Coquelles, then down to Boulogne (where we explored some empty bunkers)… We then drove through a little town whose sole claim to fame is building cute little boats. They are so proud of them that every second house has one included in the designs of their front gardens! Then headed on to Le Touquete, where we stopped for late lunch. We figured when in France do as the French do - so we went to a Creperie
Bar in Rouen
The only photo with the whole gang! and had crepes (…and some wine).
It took us a bit to find our way out back to the motorway… what with all the signs in French and what not… plus the fact that I had finally braved to get behind the wheel and was too busy concentrating what side of the road I was supposed to be in!
After finally on the highway, we had a debate whether we would head towards Amiens or Rouen (Chris didn’t think we would make it in time to Rouen…. However he fell asleep whilst holding the map and so we ended up in Rouen anyways!). We got there just before 7 that evening. I’m not sure what any of us were expecting, but Rouen (pronounced Rua) was certainly a bigger town than the map indicated. Considering it once competed with Paris as the capital of France - would give you some idea of the size of it. We were greeted by this huge Tour de Beurre, which were the tall towers of its main cathedral. As we drove around we realised there was plenty to do and see, and after checking into the central Mercure, we headed towards the main square
for dinner - Place du Vieux Marché.
On our way we walked past the Gros Horloge which was an astronomical clock, and also past the modern church of Saint of Joan of Arc - which looked like a life size replica of the Rebel Ship from Star Wars. Here we discovered that it was in Rouen that Joan of Arc was tortured and burned at the stake.
After some exploring, we found this quiet, little side street restaurant and settled for a french meal. Matt and I couldn’t resist to try the local specialty - Le Petit Duck (ie The Little Duck) - much to the dismay of our vegetatian travelling companions (sorry Mon and Chris!). The duck was absolutely scrumptious! And we got served 2 whole ones each! Yum! The dessert wasn’t bad either - we all just shared a couple of crème caramel which were mouth watering - and I don’t even like dessert! I lost count of how many jugs we had of the local wine, but by the end of the meal most of us were pretty merry!
Afterwards we went into a bar for a few drinks. It was okay - except
Cathedral
Just to give you a sense of the magnitude that it was very smokey and it appears they only had one CD and kept playing Michael Jackson’s greatest hits on repeat! We also made a failed attempt at the dance floor… but by then half our tour group was ready for bed! After we got to our hotel - we agreed that we would meet at the foyer at 10am the following morning.
The next day everone but us had slept it! Whilst we waited we went explored the town on our own - checked out the Palais de Justice, which was only half restored so one part looked amazing and the other not so. We also walked down to the river Seine, and also got a closer look at the Cathedral.
After we all regrouped we went for breakfast to this cute Patisseire which has baguettes, and rolls and cakes and hot chocolate. We sat on the square and watched as the people rushed to mass into the cathedral.
We then headed towards some markets, and Chris and Mon spotted a medievel house which had wooden panelling and had very rustic feel about it. We entered through a pair of old gates and found oursleves
Rouen Town
So medieval! in a courtyard with a cross in the centre. Chris then pointed out it was a buriel site for victims of the plague… so Mon, not wanting to disrepect the dead, ushered us all out rather unceremoniously!
We then got the markets and it was buzzing with people and stalls. It was mostly a food market, but sold everything from fish to strawberries, and easels to blank dvd discs. All couples went their separate ways and when we reuntied realised everyone was holding a french stick!
Realising time was catching up with us, we decided to say our farewell to Rouen, and headed back up to Calais though the inland route.
Along the way we stopped for petrol, and Mon decided she wanted to clean the car windows. Upon picking up the squidgy, she realised it had frozen in the bucket! But persistant little Moni, decided to start bashing it against the floor and anything that was bolted down to break the ice. This came to an abrupt end after some angry french voice came over the loudspeaker saying “MADAM Se Vu Plait arret!”
Further on we continued our journey from town to town, some explored
Medieval House
People that died during the plague are buried under the pebbles! longer than anticipated when Bec had the map (She was determined to find Road 129 if it meant driving through all of France!). As we neared Calais we had all these plans to buy lots of cheap wine, but much to our dismay the whole of Calais had shut down! Alas, we headed back to the ferry with lots of bread but no wine (of course not before Ben decided to dob in some asylum seekers who were about to jump under a semi trailer and try and sneak past customs!).
Whilst on the ferry we realised they had a duty free shop so we all stocked up on our cheap french wine! Yay! Again Matt and I read our books and the guys, on Mon’s suggestion, busied themselves with a game of I spy with my little eye. All in all, it was a fun adventure and already Friends Club is planning its next outing.
PS. A couple of weeks ago Bec arranged for all us to go to the Absolute Ice Bar in London and meet up with Angela and Ronnie. We thought it would be a good preparation for our upcoming trip to the
Medieval House
Just before we were told people were buried beneath us! Ice Hotel in Sweden in the Artic Circle, so along we went. It was bloody freezing! The whole bar is literally made out of ice, icluding the cups, bar and walls. Before entering they provide you with this poncho looking thing and gloves - but they didn’thelp much! We amused ourselves by licking the walls and smashing the glasses on the floor! We’ve added a few pics for your enjoyment!
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Grandad
non-member comment
Good organisational skills?
What a great time you had although it reads like a report about a car load of loonies.Keep these jounals coming we luv em N/G