So, this morning, at 6am we were all up and getting ready for the off. We left at just before 8am and encountered heavy traffic on the A43 which was a pain. However, as we were crawling along I saw a motorcyclist come off his bike and we realised there'd been an accident. We had no idea how it happened as the traffic was really slow moving, but we were able to get past and carry on our way. A lot of people had gone running to help and we just hoped that the poor man wasn't seriously injured.
The traffic was slow all the way to the M1 but we made very good time and arrived at Folkestone at 10.15am, which I thought was brilliant. We had a short wait until our number was called so I treated Mike to a pair of earphones and some chocolate.
Before very long we were queuing up to board the train and it was great to be able to just sit in the car and not have to go anywhere! I'd forgotten how easy and quick the Eurotunnel is! It took about 30 minutes to cross the channel and then we were in France and heading for Cite Europe.
The children were hungry so we decided to go to the shops first, have lunch and take a look about before going to St Omer. We chose the "Bar Provencal" and enjoyed a couple of beers (well, you have to!) with toasted cheese and ham sandwiches and frites. Delicious!
We noticed a new shop on the ground floor which used to be the large Tesco but was now a huge store selling every kind of alcoholic drink imaginable! They had some lovely whiskies for sale as well as all kinds of other spirits, beers, wines and ciders. We wandered around for a good half hour looking at everything and I bought two bottles of Leffe lager at 9% alcohol!
From the store we went off to Carrefour where we bought some more beer, chocolate and biscuits but I didn't get as much of a good look as I wanted as Keith wasn't that interested in buying anything and Sophie wanted to leave to go to St Omer.
The news in the UK has been full of the immigrants recently and we did wonder if it was a good idea to take the shuttle seeing as there'd been a lot of trouble there but apart from three men hanging about by the side of the road and a group of men walking along the train tracks it was all very quiet.
We found the A26 autoroute and headed towards St Omer which was about thirty minutes away. I do love the autoroutes in France as they're always very quiet, fast and smooth. Keith navigated and very soon we were heading for the "centre ville" and looking for a parking space. We arrived at a large carpark and found a space easily. There were signs for the town centre and after a short walk we found ourselves in the large market square bordered on all sides by lovely old buildings, shops and cafes.
Sophie was determined to have a waffle or a crepe before she left so we headed for a cafe called "Le Zinc" where we sat inside and asked for the menu from a woman who wasn't exactly over the top with friendliness!
Mike said that we weren't welcome and that's exactly what I thought as well. However, we persevered (I did speak French) and soon received three crepes with Nutella, a beer for Keith and coke for the kids. The crepes were OK, but they didn't taste freshly made...Keith makes much better ones!
After our snack we wandered off to have a look around the very pretty little town which in some ways reminded me of Bruges. There were some lovely old buildings, lots of shops and narrow streets to explore.
We saw a beautiful bridal shop and I just had to stop to take a photo!
I couldn't help wondering what it would be like to live in the little town and Sophie said she thought it was a great little place. Praise indeed!
After wandering along the streets we decided to head back to the car as by now it was past 5pm and we wanted to make sure we got back to the terminal in plenty of time. We only managed to get lost once on the way back to the autoroute which I was pretty pleased with! It did give us a chance to drive around a quiet residential area and then have another view of the imposing churches in the town!
The journey back to Calais was very smooth and hassle-free. There had been some technical problems earlier in the day so we were delayed for a short while but it gave Keith and me the chance to scout out a pub for the evening near Folkestone. I used the wifi at the terminal and we picked a pub in the village of Stowting called The Tiger Inn.
The journey back to the UK was great and I think I even fell asleep at one point on the train. I love the gentle rocking movements! We disembarked in the gathering gloom and left the M20 at junction 11 to find the village. It was at the end of a very narrow and winding road but first impressions were very good indeed.
The Tiger Inn is an old pub, full of wood, dried hops and dripping, waxy candles and I would love to have it as my local. We were shown to a table in the dimly lit restaurant and even though Sophie wasn't keen on the menu and choice of dishes, we still had a pleasant couple of hours.
Mike and Soph went for the ham and eggs served with chunky chips, Keith chose the beef and horseradish pie while I had the best meal of all - slow roasted belly pork served with crackling on champ mash. A steaming dish of carrots and courgettes came with it.
Keith wasn't too happy with the beer on offer, and although it was one of his favourite ales - Bishop's Finger - he said it tasted sour. I told him to take it back but he had a second pint and said that was the same!
I absolutely loved the pub - for me it was getting on for perfect with its log fires, candle-lit alcoves and stone-flagged floors. I would love to go back!
We left at about 9.30pm, filled up with diesel at the services on the M20 and then headed home through almost constant lane closures and roadworks. It was midnight by the time we reached home, all of us very tired but feeling great after a good day!
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