We had a power cut in the night and I woke up to see the bedside clock flashing. It was a good job we don't just rely on the alarm clock as we might not have woken up! I reset it and we were all awake at 4.30am and showered and dressed ready to go by 5.30am.
We had a lovely journey down to Dover on quiet roads. We took the M2 down to the port from the Dartford Bridge, which is always scenic and the road my parents used to take (I think this was before the M20 was built). I love going over the River Medway for some reason! We made it to Dover by 8am and we were offered an earlier ferry, which was a huge bonus! It meant we were able to drive straight onto the boat with no waiting about.
We had decided not to use the Club Lounge today as we didn't feel it was worth £24 each, so we sat in the bar area and drank our coffee, and ate our pains au chocolat that we were supposed to have eaten in the car while waiting to board! I still managed to have another coffee from Starbucks, though!
The crossing was smooth and very soon we were disembarking in Calais. The weather was a bit grey and cloudy, but it didn't spoil our mood! We wanted to take the D940 coastal road to the village of Audinghen, where we planned to have lunch, but we somehow ended up on a rural, inland road instead, that crisscrossed canals and meandered through pretty villages.
We passed through the delightful village of Guines, that's definitely worth another look one day and stopped to re-programme Trish towards Wissant. Luckily, we picked up the D940 and recognised the road from previous trips along the coast. We passed Cap Gris-Nez and Wissant and then reached Audinghen where we parked the car. Some years ago, on the way to Wimereux, we'd stopped for coffee at Le Vent du Nord, and we were hoping to have lunch here today.
Le Welsh!
We were asked the dreaded question when we enquired about a table at Le Vent du Nord - avez-vous réserver? - but after a short discussion, we were taken upstairs to a small, pretty dining room where we sat next to the window.
We had all decided to have a Welsh Complet for lunch, but I was also tempted by the mussels on the menu. None of us wanted to eat a lot as we planned on going out for a meal this evening, so we ordered a Welsh each and a beer. Keith had a pint of the local St Omer beer, while Sophie and I had a half pint of La Goudale Ambrée which was delicious.
Other people were having the full works and the restaurant gradually filled up with French diners. Our waitress didn't speak English at all so we had to speak French to her, which she seemed to understand. I was particularly pleased that I could understand what the staff were saying as we were asked to move tables for some reason!
Our lunches arrived and we were taken aback at the size of "Le Welsh" and the accompanying bowls of chips!
We were even given bread to go with the meal as well! The chips were delicious and shaped like little boats so perfect for scooping up the melted cheese, which smothered the bread and ham. We gamely tucked in but the amount of cheese defeated us all!
While we were eating, Sophie briefly showed us the Coronation on our phone and I asked her who was the first King to have their Coronation at Westminster Abbey? It was William the Conqueror in 1066, which seemed quite apt for today!
It was a lovely lunch, and delightful to sit and mingle with local people. One party did come in towards the end of our meal who weren't French but we didn't hear any English voices at all. The bill came to 66 euros which we paid downstairs at the bar, and we were astounded to see so many people crammed into the small restaurant. We were lucky to get a table!
Alice's house
From Audinghen, we stayed on the D940, passing through Wimereux, which looked very busy, and then onto Boulogne-sur-Mer. I had visited Boulogne years ago on a school trip, but we didn't stop, although the town looked lovely with old walls and interesting architecture. We kept on towards Le Touquet and Étaples, where we had booked our Airbnb, and the weather became a bit drizzly.
It was almost 3pm and we had the code to get in, so we found the house very easily in a residential area, tucked onto a side road. There was a small driveway to park the car and the key was ready and waiting for us.
It was a small house but perfect for our one-night stay. There were two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, and a kitchen, loo and living room/diner downstairs with a small garden containing outdoor furniture. We unpacked our overnight bags and decided to explore the town, hoping to find a good restaurant for tonight.
Étaples, on the River Canche, is primarily a fishing town and there were several information boards dotted about the streets, in French and English, which I thought was great. There was a lot of information about the fishermen's houses and we could see that a lot of the buildings were based on the same design.
It was a pleasant, short walk to the main centre and we passed several bars and a couple of restaurants on the way. By now, it was a little brighter and we sat outside at a bar with a beer apiece.
The centre was very busy with cars coming and going and people passing by. A group of teenagers sat at a table next to us and appeared to be having a great time! Our waiter/barman was great and very friendly, and it was heavenly to sit and relax for a while after the journey and do some people-watching!
Before going back to Alice's house, we popped into a nearby Carrefour Express to buy some milk and water and then we walked back. Sophie and I checked out three restaurants on the way - two seafood eateries overlooking the river, and a promising-looking place specialising in "galettes" which we had never had before. The seafood restaurants also had shops selling fish directly to the public and there were queues of people buying their dinner for the evening!
A fishy dinner
Back at the house, I had a snooze and then we all showered and dressed to go back out for dinner. It was great to be able to walk to the town, and we stopped at the earlier restaurant we'd looked at called Les Trois Lanternes to enquire about a table. It was now almost 8pm but we were told, in no uncertain terms, that they had nothing available. It felt like Colmar all over again!
We crossed the busy main road and tried Planète Océan which was able to accommodate us, thank goodness! The restaurant was upstairs and had beautiful views over the marina and river. We ordered a bottle of Muscadet, a large bottle of sparkling water and a beer for Keith, and had a look at the mainly seafood menu.
None of us wanted "frites", but Keith opted for the fish and chips, Sophie chose a seafood linguine dish with mussels, fish of the day and a prawn, while I picked out the salmon in a mushroom sauce with mashed potatoes and vegetables.
The restaurant was certainly busy with lots of people arriving and being shown to tables. It was bustling, with friendly waiters and the sun was beginning to set as we ate our meal.
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| Sophie's linguine |
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| Sunset over Étaples |
My meal was delicious (I don't know why I don't eat salmon more often) but Sophie was disappointed with her dish, saying there wasn't a lot of taste. Keith enjoyed his crispy fish but left most of the chips! We both chose desserts - crème brulée for Sophie, and a glorious ice-cream concoction for me.
As we sat chatting after the meal, a couple came in with a fat chihuahua very similar to the one Sophie had befriended in Wimereux a couple of weeks ago! It wasn't the same one, but was very similar!
We paid the bill (about 100 euros) and walked slowly back to the house (Les Trois Lanternes looked empty). It was a lovely evening and warm enough to sit in the garden for half an hour before bed. Keith and I were sharing a normal double bed this evening. I was hoping for a good night's sleep!
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