We woke up and had a cup tea while discussing which direction to go once we alighted from the train in Calais. Our decision was to take the auto route down the right hand side of France as you were looking at a map. Decision made, we then went downstairs and had a Full English.
We then proceeded to the Chunnel terminal...
This time we knew where we were going. Went through check in and then customs. But today we were the unlucky family and yes we were the chosen ones and asked to pull over while our car was inspected. Once we had the all clear and were released from customs we then moved towards the train holding area to alight the train. I will mention at this point that prior to booking this adventure there was some disagreement as to the method of crossing the English Channel. Was it to be by Ferry or Chunnel? I hated the idea of being in that tunnel under all that water and would prefer to be floating on the top of the water but Pug of course hates boats and wanted the speed of the train. To overcome this fear I sat myself in the back of the car with the DVD playing Sex In The City. I managed to ignore all around me and it was thankfully over in next to no time. Unfortunately the SITC disc kept stopping intermittently. I am still waiting to see the film.
Anyway we were through the tunnel and now travelling on the other side of the road acclimatising to the new speeds and rules of the road.
We stopped at the first lay by and tried out the ‘toilets’. They were a bit rough but that was to be expected. As we got used to the various service locations along the way on our journey we learnt to pick which ones were better than others.
We had arrived in France just after lunch but as we had just had a good breakfast we were good, food wise, for a couple more hours. We put down some mileage on the auto route and run up a good toll bill of about 20-30 euros. Eventually coming off the auto route around the Troyes area and began to see the real France.
The centre of Troyes was very old and medieval in character. It was wonderful to see the old buildings still standing. Dyl seemed to be only interested in the bullet holes in the houses of the villages and towns we drove through, that were made during the 2nd world war. The villages were very pretty. It is so sad to think of what went on during that time. When I was younger we weren’t taught much about the 2nd world war the subject was always too sensitive as too many people were alive who could remember it. Now though, more and more details from both sides of the conflict are constantly emerging and being talked about on the television. Dyl now knows more about the war than I do. I think it is good for this younger generation to fully understand the horrific consequences of war.
Anyway on with our more cheerful journey into France. We continued to travel through the beautiful countryside from Tryes towards Dijon. At about 5pm we decided we had better find somewhere to stop for the night otherwise sleep in the car. We drove into a town called ‘Chatillon-sur-Seine’ and pulled over at the side of the road. Pug jumped out and went to look for some accommodation. He came back shortly to say he had found somewhere. When we ventured round the corner to where the hotel was we were very pleasantly surprised. We were in a town square with a beautiful fountain. Our room was lovely overlooking the square.
We went for our first meal in France to a lovely Italian (Yes! Italian! – for the kids as they won’t eat much else). We sat outside in the square (Yes outside. Couldn’t do that in the UK.) We had a lovely meal and just sat, relaxed, drank wine watching the people come and go around us as the sun sunk down across the square. Yes we were really on holiday now.
Sleeping was not so good though…
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