On the road (2) – beaches, castles and chateaux COMPLETED IN THIS FORUM - Page 3 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Wow, that is really neat - being able to talk to a vet, particularly right at the anniversary of D-Day, in France. Sends shivers down my spine thinking about it.
Looking forward to more details once you're home.
Great start. Cant wait to hear all about your trip and see the amazing pictures you take. Thanks for sharing your trips with us!! I have to live through your eyes!
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Well, we're back home now, having had a truly wonderful week, experiencing France and Disneyland Paris.
I'm hoping to start the trip report tomorrow, as I had time to get the thing written and photos uploaded while we were gone - something to do with having a cold and not being able to sleep properly.
It was an early start to the day for us, although in truth, no earlier than we usually get up during the week. However, this was the weekend, so the alarm going off at 5.30 was a novelty for us. It took us a while to get going, but once we did, we grabbed a cup of tea to wake ourselves up and got the rest of the bits and pieces packed in the car.
Not long after 6.15, we were off and running, stopping just to post a card for my parents’ anniversary, which I had realised with some horror about half an hour before would be while we were away...
We had a smooth run down to Folkestone and the Channel Tunnel and the weather was so much better than when we had headed down there to start our Switzerland road trip in March, as you can see:
This is how good England can look when it’s not misty and dull.
We checked in and were assigned the train we had booked, which was due to leave at 7.50. However, getting to check in proved to be a real headache. Let’s just say that we met the first of the convertibles we met, all with people of a certain age.... the sort of age where they’re old enough to think that the world owes them everything, shall we say? We got to the terminal and went to park up and nearly had another one in their party hit us as we were reversing.
We headed into the terminal and changed up a bit of money and browsed the shops, with me getting a 4GB compact flash card for my camera. That was a big step up for me, as the biggest to date that I’ve ever had was a 2GB compact flash card, so it would be interesting to see what my dearly beloved camera made of this upgrade...
My first donkey sighting of this trip!
Just as we finished browsing the shops, the announcement came over that they were boarding our train and off we went, encountering yet another of the convertible brigade. We couldn’t help but laugh when we saw the pair who’d slowed us up checking in being stopped by customs...
And we’re off...
We only had a few minutes to wait and then we were boarding the train, with one of the convertibles cutting the line and getting in the middle of his friends, who were in the next door lane.
As we drove down to the train, instead of boarding at the back as we usually do, we were sent further down. We kept driving and driving – realising just how long these trains actually are. You just don’t realise when you drive through them inside. We sat there and waited for some time and, as we did, it became apparent that we’d be going into the area that’s usually reserved for coaches, which was fascinating. We’d never done this before and I must admit it was a novel experience. We even had blocks put behind our tyres to stop us rolling backwards, we had so much space at the back of our carriage.
A few other cars waiting behind us – photographed through my wing mirror A coach negotiates his way on board.... And we’re off! The view outside.... Mark putting on our headlight deflectors, which we have to have by law in Europe, as we’re driving on the “wrong” side of the road for what our car was designed for...
We set off and 35 minutes later we were pulling into France. I thought that it might take us some time to get off the train, as we’d seen a coach pull on in front of us, but not at all. We were off and running really quickly and, in fact, when we merged with the rest of the traffic from the train, it was apparent that we were ahead of everyone, including those pesky convertibles!
Off to a great start Cheryl! Sorry about those convertibles - some people can be so inconsiderate. Looking forward to your next update, sounds like you saw some cows!
__________________
Stacey
Why do these kids look so pathetic?
Find out in: A New Grade, A New House, and A Surprise!Final Thoughts 01/30
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Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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