We were all up, showered and dressed by 3:00am this morning and took the A14, M11, M25 and M20 to Folkestone. Sophie was glad she'd been able to have a cuddle with Mooney before we left, and only wished she could have taken both cats with her!
We have been a little worried about the fuel situation at the moment, so Keith suggested we pull off the M20 and fill up with petrol at Maidstone Services. I had an ominous feeling about it, as once past the junction for the services, the lane was closed...
We filled up, bought a paper and used the loo, but when we tried to return to the M20, the road was indeed closed. We had no choice but to take the A20 towards Lenham and try to get back onto the M20 at Ashford. The road was dark, and I had no idea where we were going!
Sophie's map on her phone kept saying we wouldn't be at Folkestone until 6:30am, which was ludicrous as we'd stopped about 12 miles from the terminal with an hour to spare! Boarding closed at 6:24am, so we became increasingly worried about why we had been given such a late arrival time!
Luckily, we were able to get back onto the M20 at Ashford and sped towards the terminal, making much better time and arriving shortly after 6:00am. Sophie said that the approach to the terminal was showing red on the map, and we soon found out why... the queues to get through the check-in gates were horrendous!
It became obvious that our experience today was going to be vastly different to when we were here in January! It was also clear that there was some kind of car event going on in France, as there were lots of BMWs, Porsches and other high-performance cars arriving and revving up their engines. It was like being at Silverstone!
We eventually got through the check-in gates and drove extremely slowly to the car park, a journey that normally takes about 30 seconds, but took us about half an hour. We had learnt that our scheduled train at 7:24am was delayed by 30 minutes, so we had time to use the loos again, and buy two bottles of Vodka in Duty Free.
In fact, the terminal itself was quiet; everyone was queuing to get through passport control, with the time estimated at an hour. We drank our coffee, ate some delicious sausage rolls that Keith had made specially for the journey and kept looking at the information board, which twice changed our time of departure.
When the boards said we would be called in 15 minutes, we joined the long, snaking queue, making sure other drivers were displaying our letter and number! A couple of drivers up ahead were made to park and wait as they'd obviously tried to sneak in!
It took us about an hour to get through both passport controls and onto the train. We left at about 9:00am, so 90 minutes later than we should have. It was a frustrating start to the weekend!
Back in love with a Welsh
To be honest, maybe it was a good thing we had been delayed, as the weather was atrocious in France! I had a nap on the train and felt much more refreshed when we arrived in Calais. We turned off the A16 and drove towards Sangatte, before taking the coastal road to Wimereux. All plans to visit the beaches were cancelled as it was cold and misty with a nasty wind blowing in from the Channel.
We couldn't see the sea at all, and the rolling hills and Caps were covered in thick mist. We stopped in Audinghen at our usual café/restaurant and ordered a coffee, a hot chocolate, and a beer. It was cosy inside, with a lovely ambience, made even better when the local postman arrived for an espresso and resembled a younger John Mayer!
We paid the bill, said goodbye to the locals sitting drinking coffee and made our way back outside into the wind and rain. A poor woman was packing up a market stall where she'd been trying to sell vegetables!
It cleared up a little as we neared Wimereux, and we found a parking space on the street. It was a short walk to the front, and we turned right to see the lights of Les Oyats twinkling in the distance. All thoughts of sitting outside to eat were banished, and even in the covered outside area, it looked chilly, so we sat inside where it was warm and cosy.
Sophie was overjoyed to get a table (the restaurant wasn't busy at all) and she didn't even bother looking at the menu... she wanted a Welsh complet! I chose turkey in a creamy sauce with French fries, and Keith opted for the fish and chips. Sophie and I shared a pichet of Rosé while Keith enjoyed two beers.
We had a delightful lunch, and Sophie's faith in a Welsh was restored after her disastrous meal at Wimereux in January! A family arrived just after us with three very young children, but they were well-behaved. We couldn't tell if they were Belgian or Dutch, but the little ones were blonde and rosy-cheeked and didn't play up, scream or cry!
Sophie and I indulged in desserts - mousse au chocolat and a Chocolat Liegois. Both desserts were delicious!
Outside, the tide was coming in, and the sea was rough with huge waves crashing onto the sea wall. We paid the bill and ventured outside. Not many people were out walking along the promenade today!
We were amazed to see the young family that had sat next to us getting very close to the sea, with one of the children standing on the sea wall. With the spray coming off the waves, he could easily have been swept over.
A mercy dash!
It was as we were walking back to the car that I looked in my bag and couldn't find my purse... I panicked, and Sophie ran back to the car to see if it had fallen out. I went back to our table in the restaurant, but there was nothing there. Back outside, I checked again and found the blooming thing lurking right at the bottom of my bag! I tried to get in touch with Sophie, and we side-stepped a man who asked us if we spoke English. Er, no, go away!
Sophie had run all the way back to the car with a full, cheesy stomach, so she shouted at me when we caught up with her. She had evaded the mystery man as well, and I hoped he wasn't in dire need of help!
"Les Pins qui Chuchotent"
On the way to the Airbnb, we called in at the Carrefour at Wimille and bought some items to tide us over for the next few days, including salad, milk, water, beer and wine. The supermarket was empty; can you imagine what Tesco would be like on Good Friday?
It was a very short journey to Offrethun, and we turned onto a tiny track that wound up between fields. At first, we arrived at the wrong house, and I managed to annoy a local who had followed me when I pulled in! We carried on, and the road became more overgrown and narrow. I dreaded meeting a huge tractor!
As we neared the village, we saw signs for the house and turned in. There was a large private house first, and then two more houses further on, with parking. Ours was "L'Elegant" and stood opposite a row of tall pine trees, the "Whispering Pines" that the houses take their name from.
We accessed the key via a lockbox and explored before bringing our luggage in from the car. The house had a large open-plan kitchen/dining area/living room and three bedrooms (two upstairs with an en-suite). It was beautiful and modern and had everything we needed. There was a professional brochure from the owner with lots of information about the local area.
We unpacked and put everything away, and then collapsed on the comfortable sofa! We were all shattered from the journey and the early start, so we all managed a nap and woke feeling refreshed!
Sophie and I played Scrabble, and we opened a bottle of Champagne to sip while we played. I beat Sophie, and we then played cards. Towards 8:00pm, we enjoyed salad and watched bad French television - the television doesn't have Netflix, our only little niggle!
 |
| Salut! |
No comments:
Post a Comment