We were up early, showered, dressed and packed before 9am. Outside it was grey and foggy with freezing temperatures. We called at Carrefour first to fill up with petrol and buy a pack of pains au chocolat for breakfast on the road.
Sophie's app then directed me towards Caen and we were able to get rid of our recycling on the way. The N13 was busy but it didn't take long for us to get to the autoroute. Soon, we were speeding past signs for the towns we'd driven through yesterday, and I noticed that the Sanef tolls were automatic and we'd have to pay within 72 hours. This was new! On Wednesday, we had stopped at the conventional tolls and either collected a ticket or paid. I asked Sophie to set a reminder to pay tomorrow morning!
Soon, we saw signs for Deauville and then Honfleur and we crossed over the imposing Pont de Normandie Bridge. The fog wasn't as thick as it was on Wednesday so we had views over the Seine below. The roads were mostly empty and the driving was smooth and easy. Once past Le Havre, we stopped for coffee and pastries at a very confusing aire. It wasn't only me who was confused as to where to go, at least two other drivers also lost their way to the car park!
Back on the road, we made steady progress towards the town of Montreuil-sur-Mer, which is nowhere near the sea. We'd been here before, back in May 2023, and we thought it would be a good place for lunch. We only had one hiccup... I came off the autoroute a little early and we had an interesting drive around the town of Abbeville. It wasn't a place I'd go back to but we did drive around the outskirts so not a fair assumption of the town!
I couldn't get over how empty the roads were today! There were hardly any lorries and just a few cars travelling along the route. Fields stretched away either side of the road with the occasional village popping up every now and again. We saw buzzards perched on the fences just sitting and watching but we didn't know what they were waiting for. There was no roadkill but they looked magnificent with their brown and white plumage.
We arrived in Montreuil-sur-Mer just as the market was packing up. I found a space nearby and we walked to a Brasserie that had a good menu, including the dish that Sophie craved - a Welsh! It was busy and warm inside but the waitress said they were full, although they could accommodate us at 1.30pm. I was on the point of saying OK, but Keith and Sophie said we didn't have time and dragged me back out.
We were starting to wonder if the entire population of France eats out at lunchtime, as the restaurants were heaving. In the end, we found an unpretentious little restaurant called La Paloma at the far end of the square, and to Sophie's delight, they also served a Welsh, including the complet version with an added egg.
Just one other couple was eating and a man was waiting for a pizza, but we really didn't have much choice! The young lad serving was friendly and we ordered a pichet of Chardonnay and a beer for Keith. Both Sophie and Keith ordered the Welsh while I chose the Forestiere Flammenkuchen.
We sat and giggled about our choice of restaurant and finding the only empty one in the whole town! However, the food was good, the service was attentive and the female chef made an appearance at the end of the meal and chatted to us in English. We think it was a mother-and-son business and the place was immaculately clean, if a little quirky with the choice of music playing! Sophie and I shared a delicious chocolate sundae for dessert so the meal didn't disappoint. Before heading back to the car we went into a Carrefour yet again and bought some beer and chocolates to take home.
Homeward bound
It took us just over half an hour to reach the Shuttle terminal and we managed to board an earlier train. We had a quick look around Duty Free but nothing appealed so we waited for our call and then went through passport control and security. By 4.15pm we were on the train and I didn't have to drive up the dreaded ramp this time! I put my seat back and we all nodded off on the short journey back to Folkestone.
The weather in the UK was identical to the grey, foggy conditions in France. The M25 was heaving and I had to keep all my wits about me as I drove. There was some bad driving going on, including one mini whose driver slammed their brakes on as we drove onto the M11 and numerous middle-lane hoggers. When we stopped to use the facilities at the services near Stansted, the area was so badly lit that people couldn't see where they were going! I had cleaned the head and tail lights of the VW on the train, thank goodness, but why aren't these places lit adequately?
The traffic was lighter on the M11 and it was a relief to join the A14 - we were nearly home! We made it by 7pm and unloaded the car. The house was cold even though Isla had put on the heating for us. The freezing kitchen was making it worse so we had to put the heating on in there and light the fire in the living room. Gomez made an appearance as we unloaded the car, and Mooney came in a little later although he was a bit aloof with us!
Keith made me a drink and we relaxed for the rest of the evening, watching the documentary on Mallorca before we retired for the night. Tomorrow will be a busy day spent washing and unpacking, and then it's back to reality on Monday!
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