I would drive 500 miles and I would drive 500 more.....

---

Woolly says – it seemed like only moments before we were back on the road, still 1200 KM to go and Ollie was off on his mission. France was empty and we were grateful for it being a Sunday, we watched as the landscape flew past, with hot air balloons taking to the early morning skies, an odd dear having breakfast in the fields and the sun slowly rising. I kept seeing names of places we had been and told Zoe tales about them, it seemed to help her sleep!



After a fuel up, croissant and the much needed coffee we started to see signs for Calais …..



Woolly says – no ferry this time we were going for a first for me and Ian and using the Chunnel, I wasn’t sure if I would need my snorkel but going on a train underwater sounded very exciting. We paid our fare (very expensive as a last minute arrival) and we were queuing to board. No one seemed to have snorkels or rubber rings so I kept my paws crossed that I would be ok. The train was very long and as Ian drove Ollie up the ramp we seemed to carry on for ever, were we driving back to the UK? The trip went so fast, I looked out for fish through the windows but saw nothing until we shot out of the tunnel and into the light drizzle of Kent.



I do like the Chunnel, fast and pretty efficient and just enough time to read the paper. It felt most peculiar being on the ‘wrong side of the road’, there was traffic everywhere unlike the roads a mere 20 or so miles behind us.



Woolly says – the motorway was packed, where had all these people come from? We stopped for a top up for Ollie and there were people milling around, it was quite strange to hear so much English being spoken. The last few hundred miles seemed to take an eternity, we were all tired and wanted to reach our destination, Ollie pounded away and minute by minute we covered the ground. Signs for Stourbridge appeared and we drove up the familiar roads and finally we were back.



Good News: Zoe is fine, after loads more tests and a night in hospital she is back home with us and some mega size antibiotics, she needs to take it easy for a few days but should be back to full fitness quite quickly.



Woolly says – Not quite the journey we had planned but a couple of weeks and we should be back on our travels, we’ll keep you posted.

---

Comments

[John and Sylvia]

It must have been disappointing
that you had to return to the UK so precipitously. Glad that Zoe is OK.

[traveltalesofawoollymammoth]

All disappointed
We have promised Zoe a trip back to Venice in the future, such a shame but there is always another day!

[Home and Away]

Glad to hear Zoe is fine...
I've also made such mad dashes in my travels. On one occasion I took my Mom and two aunts, departing Rothenburg Germany and traveling the Romantic Route to Neuschwanstein Castle, ending the day in Oberammergau. We went for dinner at at 6:30 and received a call from my wife that my 4 yr old daughter had a high fever and was in the hospital. We finished dinner and then drove all the way back to Brussels, arriving there at 4:30 am. My daughter was fine, which was better than being not fine, but it would have been nice to have that news before the long trip home.

[traveltalesofawoollymammoth]

It's scary...
when you don't know what to do for the best, but we made the right decision. At least she was with us it must have been awful just driving and not knowing what was going on