We were both up, showered and dressed by 8:00am, and it was still dark! Sophie applied the headlight converters to the car, but I still don't know if we put them on correctly. I didn't get flashed anyway!
We filled the car with petrol at the Carrefour in Creully-sur-Seulles and then followed directions to Caen (or Cayenne Pepper, as we've renamed the city). Even at an early hour on a Saturday, the road through Caen was busy, and we realised that we have an Airbnb booked here for June when we return from Bergerac... We will need good directions and a lot of concentration!
Once onto the autoroute, though, the traffic diminished considerably and soon we were whizzing past the towns we'd visited yesterday. Before long, we were up and over the Pont de Normandie Bridge and looking down at the Seine. Once through Le Havre, we started looking for an aire to stop and have a coffee and breakfast. By now, it was almost 10:00am, and I desperately needed another coffee!
We stopped at the first one we came to, which offered petrol and a café/shop. Being two women on our own, we were a little reluctant to stop at the very basic aires with just loos and picnic tables, but we weren't keen on the one we stopped at and remained in the car. We stopped here last year, and it was an aire that was very difficult to get into!
Back on the road, the autoroute was empty with only the occasional car and lorry. If only British roads were like this! We decided to stop at the Aire de la Baie de Somme to use the facilities, and then we pushed on to Wimereux, where we'd planned on having lunch. As we neared the coast, the weather, previously grey and very foggy in patches, cleared up a little.
Strange goings on...
Numerous roadworks were going on along some of the stretches of the motorway, and in one section, the right-hand lane was coned off even though nothing was happening. Unfortunately, a duck had somehow got onto the road and was rushing about in a panic. I saw it and hoped it would get out of the way, but it didn't, and I ended up hitting it. There was no chance it had survived, and I felt terrible, but to have swerved to avoid it would have put Sophie and me in danger. There was a car behind me, which must have witnessed it, and for some strange reason, once the road returned to two lanes, the driver came right up behind me but didn't overtake. They just sat right on my rear bumper until I pulled over almost onto the hard shoulder and indicated. They then overtook but were still very close. It was an elderly woman driving, and I was furious that she had driven so close! Luckily, she pulled off at the next junction, but for some reason, in my mind, the two incidents were connected! It wasn't surprising that she had a large dent in one of the rear passenger doors!
The rest of the journey to Wimereux passed without any more drama, and we were soon in the lovely seaside town and pulling into a space on the main street. We walked down to the front to find both Les Oyats and the JFK restaurants closed. It was a gorgeous day, but we couldn't see the English coast as it was swathed in cloud. We decided to try Cap du Nord, another restaurant similar to Les Oyats, and they had a table free.
The restaurant was busy, and we were seated in a kind of overflow area. We shared a tapas starter of cheese and ham, and Sophie ordered a Welsh complet. I opted for grilled salmon with a Bearnaise sauce and vegetables. We drank a delicious Rosé with the meal.
We were given lots of bread... and butter! Yippee! The starter was delicious, and I enjoyed my main course, but Sophie was bitterly disappointed with her Welsh. She said that even before she started, it had a layer of grease on top, which was a little off-putting. It was served in a cast-iron dish, and it did not meet her expectations at all, which was a shame. It was priced at 18,80 euros, which I thought was over-priced for a slice of bread, ham, cheese and an egg, accompanied by chips.
To get over the disappointment of her main course, Sophie chose chocolate mousse for dessert, while I enjoyed a chocolat Liégeois, which nearly put me into a food coma...! We paid the bill (around 90 euros) and waddled back to the car, stopping to take pics on the way.
We had to be at the shuttle terminal for 3:00pm, so we just had enough time to pop to the Carrefour in Wimille, buy some wine and chocs with the euros we had left and then check in. We picked out five bottles of wine and chocolates for home and work, and we were on our way.
The motorway was typically busy with frantic French drivers, and we made good time to Le Tunnel sous la Manche. We didn't have the option to take an earlier train, but after quickly visiting the loos and driving through the passport controls, we realised we were on an earlier train and surrounded by port staff who were all driving black Kias. A shift must have just finished, and they were on their way home!
I napped for the entire crossing while Sophie read, and we emerged into a very misty and grey England. The M20 and M25 were an almighty shock after the empty roads of France, and we made good time, arriving home at about 5:30pm.
Keith was pleased to see us, and the house looked lovely, plus it was warm and toasty! I opened my birthday cards and a gift of whisky from Keith and Sophie. It was one of the whiskies I'd enjoyed - Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire (& Overproof). At 50%, I will treat it with respect!
We unloaded the car, cuddled the cats and chatted to Keith about our trip. It had been a thoroughly enjoyable few days away. Now, back to reality!
No comments:
Post a Comment