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Train to Calais
Before we realized what we were getting ourselves intoMy first full day in Lille, Friday, was spent with Elizabeth taking me on a full tour of the city (albeit very quickly) and then a tour of the Musee des Beaux Arts which had a special Goya exhibit. It was nice. But that seems so long ago, compared with yesterday's adventure.
So Elizabeth's friend Rachel really wanted to go to Dover because one of her friends suggested it. We thought we could do it in a day - train from Lille to Calais, ferry over to Dover, visit the city, then reverse it. Sounds good in theory, but it didn't
really work out that way. We got to Calais nice and early. On the train, we played a fun game called "Ces vaches sont les miennes" which is exactly what it sounds like - claiming cows out in the field. After the train, we got the bus to the ferry, but that's when problems began. We were told that by the time we got to Dover, we would only have about 2 hours in Dover. And two hours is definitely not enough time. So we were stuck in a dilemma. The ferry-ticket lady was nice enough to call a
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Walking down a set of "stairs" hotel for us in Calais where we would be able to stay the night. We decided to go for it. (Elizabeth's two cents: It was nice that the lady was honest with us rather than just doing her job.
Recommendation: P&O Ferries was really helpful and, despite being a little late, it was not their fault - we blame the weather. UK customs was the next adventure of the day. At least they stamped my passport! However, the lady was quizzing us on what we were planning on doing in the UK. And then she got caught up looking at my Tanzanian visa. We finally got through, waited a little in a waiting room, got to the ship, and it took off. Not much happened on the ferry except for lunch. And then we were in Dover, off the ship, waiting forever for the stupid bus to take us to the terminal. When it did, we went off in search of Dover Castle. Yet, following funny signs in England was not as easy as it could have been. So we went in the "wrong" direction and ended up seeing the white chalk cliffs first. No complaints because it was
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Looking out over the White Chalk Cliffs an absolutely amazing sight, but it was not our intention. We kept walking and walking and getting blown away by the ridiculously strong wind. (Elizabeth's next two cents: I'll be trying to get the knots out of my hair for the next two weeks.) Going back down the steps and ramps towards the port was easier than walking up them.
The next part of our adventure took us to Dover Castle. To get there, however, one needs to walk past the hill, around the leisure center, follow non-existant signs, and hope that one has a good map. We hoped that Castle Hill Road would take us in the right direction. Up the hill we went, then up some stairs, and then we collapsed. Not really, but we were pretty tired by that point. We walked around all of the grounds of Dover Castle - the lookout, the keep, the church, and the secret underground tunnels. We found (and by we, I mean Rachel and I) a really cool dark place in which we were at one point thinking about scaring Elizabeth, but then I realized that it was just a cool passageway (Elizabeth's two cents: Oh my god, it
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Elizabeth, Rachel and I at the White Cliffs was so cool.) with no lights that had a scary little window at the end. It reminded me of the spelunking in Israel, just in a flat passsageway. Sweet. The final part of our Dover adventure was a tour through the secret wartime tunnels from the Napoleonic era and World War II. The tour wasn't the greatest, but the place was really interesting. Alas, it was time for our ferry (or so we thought), so we headed back to port.
Lucky us, but a storm was coming in. The wind from earlier only picked up and what we assume was rain in la Manche caused our ferry to be late...by almost two hours. And being on a ship during a storm means that it rocks. We were walking like we were drunk, even though we were just a tad tired. And the obnoxious tour groups of little children (probably about 12) were not making the situation any better. (Elizabeth now reminds me of a girl wearing a neon pink jogging suit with a highlighter yellow smock - enough to cause a migraine). They were loud and, I surmise, it was most likely way past their bedtime. With the time
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Castle with the Union Jack change between England and France, we ended up arriving in Calais just before midnight. As early as we planned? Nope, but at least we were guaranteed the hotel from the nice lady at the ferry terminal. 😊 We walked in the rain (one of those ugly light ones) to the hotel and, since we traveled light (not planning on staying overnight), were able to settle in very quickly. We slept like we needed it...because we did.
This morning, we could have come back to Lille early, but we were already in Calais, so we figured that we'd stick around for a little bit. We went to the beach and had fun just sitting around. Eventually, however, it was time to come back and so we returned to Lille on another long train. A few cows along the way, but we were really just too tired to claim them. Now I'm back in Lille and tired out of my mind. It was a fun adventure, and I'm glad I had it. Sometimes just taking things as they come is the best way to travel!
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