I woke up at about 3am and noticed that Keith had gone downstairs. I tried and tried to get back to sleep, but by 4am I gave up and joined him as Sophie had set her alarm for 4.30am anyway.
I had a coffee and checked on Monty who had been in all night. I had warned Mum and Dad that he wasn't himself but they said they would look after him and I just think he needed rest and some quiet.
Sophie and Mike woke up at 4.30am and then it was everyone having showers and packing last minute bits. I wanted to leave at 5.30am for our 9.06 train, as Google Maps said the journey to Folkestone would take 2 hours and 47 minutes, which was cutting it fine to be honest, especially if we encountered any problems!
We made good time down to the M25 and we were crossing the Dartford Bridge at 7.15am which gave us an hour to get to the Eurotunnel terminal. There were lots of roadworks on the M20 which limited my speed to 50 miles an hour, but we still managed to get there at the time I wanted and we were asked if we wanted to take an earlier train. Yes!
We went through passport control and had a great chat with the woman in the booth who wished Sophie a happy birthday and said she looked younger than her 23 years! We were then pulled over for an inspection and a man came down the line of cars explaining what was happening and waved an instrument over my steering wheel! I was worried we'd all have to get out but that was it and we were told we could go to boarding immediately.
We were on the 8.50am train and it was on time. I tried to have a nap but before we knew it we were in France and the sun was shining out of a lovely blue sky! Fantastic!
We found the D940 very easily and drove through Sangatte before heading out onto the gorgeous coast road. This time we could clearly see the white cliffs of Dover so we decided to stop at Cap Blanc Nez and look at the views from there. There was an ample car park and a good path up to the viewing point but it was very windy!
It was lovely looking over the English Channel and seeing Dover in the distance. We also saw ferries crossing and Calais behind us.
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| Dover Patrol monument - World War 1 |
There was lots of information about the history in the area during the Second World War and one of the Dover Patrol monuments to look at (the other two are in Dover and New York).
We spent a very pleasant half hour looking around and Mike jumped down to explore an abandoned look-out. The views along the coast were stunning and we were so glad that we were able to see across to England!
As we were being buffeted about by the wind we decided to head back to the car and we passed several large French school groups on the way - the peace and quiet would definitely have been broken!
I now fancied a cup of coffee so we got back onto the road and the next village we came to, Audinghen, had a lovely little brasserie called Le Vent du Nord, which was quite apt! We parked the car in the immaculate square and found the restaurant very quiet. In fact, the staff appeared to be having an early lunch. We were given menus and after a while we ordered - two beers for the men, a hot chocolate for Sophie and a coffee for me. I had forgotten to order cafe au lait so it came as an espresso and very strong it was, too! However, the mini Toblerone softened the strength and it was good to have the caffeine flow through my veins as we'd been up very early!
We later found out that Audinghen had been completely demolished by the British during the last war and also, in 1643, an army of British had captured all the villagers and set fire to them inside the church! I'm surprised we were treated with such kindness! It also explains why the village is so modern and immaculate!
Back on the road we were soon in Wimereux and we found ourselves on the narrow side streets. I pulled in and tried to text Natalie but the message wouldn't send. Sophie tried on her phone but in the end I was forced to call her! Unfortunately she didn't speak a word of English, so after telling her we'd arrived she said she would come and open the door for us.
We found the apartment on Rue du Capitaine Ferber and managed to park in front of a couple of garages where we waited for Natalie to arrive. She came about half an hour later and spoke to me in a flurry of French which I somehow understood (thank goodness for my A level French!). She explained about the key and then took us up two flights of stairs to an apartment at the top of the building. She showed us all the rooms and we arranged for her to return in the morning at 10am.
I have to say I was a bit annoyed about the handover as if none of us spoke French we would have had a lot of difficulty. It would have been far better to have had a key box and been sent a code to open it, but I suppose we have been spoilt in the past when it comes to accessing villas!
Luckily, I had managed to bag a space right in front of the building so we unpacked the car and explored the apartment which was airy and light with two bedrooms, a large open plan living room/kitchen diner, a modern bathroom and a single loo. We had a balcony (of sorts) which overlooked the patios of the apartments below and we had views across the town. Opposite was a Carrefour Express and the Hotel Le Carnot, both of which came in useful during our stay!
"We've lost an oil rig!"
After unpacking and settling in, we walked the short distance to the seafront and decided to have a light lunch at Les Oyats, the small restaurant we'd had a beer at last May. It was a gorgeous day and the views over the sea were beautiful. Last time it had been very misty but today we could see lots of ships in the distance and what looked like an oil rig? I didn't think we had any in the Channel?!
We took a table in the sun and ordered four beers - how lovely that I didn't have to drive any more today! As we were all a bit peckish we decided to try "Le Welsh" - a dish that seemed to be on every menu in the area.
It consisted of a slice of bread topped with ham and then smothered in melted cheese. We all thought it was a great hangover cure! We ordered two to share as we didn't want to spoil our appetite for this evening.
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| The remains of one of Le Welsh! |
We ordered frites to go with the food and it was sheer bliss to sit in the warm sun, relax and enjoy our lunch. Whilst we were sitting enjoying the sunshine, we noticed that the oil rig had moved... we all came to the conclusion that maybe it was going somewhere for a service because it had definitely moved further down the coast!
We had one little problem, though...we had forgotten to bring our adapters so we couldn't plug in any of our appliances or charge our devices, something that was terrifying for the children! We decided to have a wander along the main street and see if any shops sold French-UK adapters but none of them did, even after I asked in my schoolgirl French if they had any (I'm sure most of them thought we were mad!).
Mike resorted to sitting in my car and charging up his battery that way as most of the time he was on about 10%! After walking up and down, we felt a bit weary so we called into the fantastic Carrefour where I bought a bottle of sparkling wine, a bottle of strong beer and some biscuits and we retired for the day. I think three of us had a nap before getting ready for the evening meal, and the shower was lovely and very hot!
A close encounter with a crab!
Rather than go out beforehand for a drink (and pay 7 euros for a 50cl measure of beer!) we had a drink at the apartment and wished Sophie a happy birthday. We hadn't booked a table at Le Carnot but despite it being very busy they had a table free right at the back, and to Keith's annoyance, next to the loos! He wanted to go somewhere else, but we persuaded him to stay and we were given the menus by a very young male waiter.
Sophie said the menu differed from what she'd seen online and I was a bit stumped as to what to have for a starter, to be honest. In the end Mike and I decided on a plate of prawns, while Keith and Sophie opted for the crab. I ordered my courses and told the waiter that we wanted two plates of the prawns, which was a mistake. I should have let Mike order his own...
When they brought our cutlery to the table Sophie was a bit alarmed to be given a nutcracker and a thin metal implement with a hook on the end...I said that the crab would be served as it was and it was up to her to prise the meat out of its legs! She looked very worried!
It duly arrived, intact, and I had to laugh!
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| Keith gets to grips with his fishy friend |
Unfortunately, the waiter hadn't understood that we wanted two plates of prawns so we only received one...I gave it to Mike as I wasn't that hungry but I did have a couple, along with some bread and butter. They, of course, came complete with shells, heads and tails. Talk about fiddly! When Sophie turned over her crab to get at the meat in the body, the thing looked like an alien on her plate, with the legs and pincers covered in fine black hair...Urgghhh! I was very proud of her for eating it as I wouldn't have been able to, despite the lovely taste!
Sophie and I shared a pichet of very good Pinot Gris while the men stuck to beers. For their main courses, Keith had ordered some kind of meaty dish (rabbit and pork featured) while Mike went with the safe choice of a chicken burger. Sophie had chosen cod in a ginger and hazelnut crumb while I went for turkey escalope in a mushroom sauce.
Another party had arrived and sat to our left - all three ordered Le Welsh and the woman, slim as a reed, couldn't wait to tuck into her cheese, winding it around her fork like spaghetti! We were fascinated!
Our main courses arrived and Keith and Mike's looked suspiciously like steak, both served with a sauce. Sophie was more than happy with her choice and mine came accompanied by chips...in fact that was it for "vegetables"!
We tried to catch the waiter to tell him the orders were wrong but we gave up. He mumbled when he spoke to us and we just put it down to miscommunication. Sophie said her cod was delicious but my turkey and sauce were tasteless.
None of us went for dessert so we braced ourselves for the bill which came to 134 euros. I was expecting the steaks to be about 25 euros each but they were 17, so I think we got off lightly!
It was bliss to just cross the road and be in our apartment block. I changed for bed and drank the last of the fizz with Sophie and then it was time to turn in as we were all very tired. However, we had some entertainment just before we turned in as Keith fell over while putting on his pyjama bottoms...I think beer may have been the culprit!
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