Calais on the ferry...

Tuesday, 14th June

We had booked on line to do a ferry trip over to France for the day, just to say we'd been to France. We don't believe we will ever go back that far across the world again, and I do like the idea of seeing more of France, but we had so much to do and see in the UK, and the Norway trip, this one day crossing would be enough.

Got away from Sandwich about 7.40am. One thing Lee and I are always guilty of, is been early for (almost) everything! Don't know where it comes from, but it is probably more from me than her, because as a young kid growing up, I couldn't stand missing the start of anything, like movies, etc.

The road from Sandwich to Dover is very good, and we had no trouble either getting there or finding our way to the dock and the car park. You simply come off a divided road down the hill towards the water, and the road loops back around into the port complex. The car park is very good value for all day parking, and we had no trouble finding a spot and then headed down via a lift to the ticket office/waiting area.

You have to check in 45 minutes before the ferry departure time, and then they announce a bus to take you to the actual wharf area, via a customs and immigration check, where you get back out of the bus, have your luggage scanned and passport checked, then back on the bus across to the ramp up to the ferry.

The ferry is enormous, with seating of all types, but not  so much outdoor seating and so most people were out there, mainly because the day was so balmy and sunny, but also to be able to get a look at the white cliffs as you leave port.

The cliffs are stunning and much more impressive than any sense of them you get from films or photos. The crossing was very calm, and takes about 90 minutes. There is a shuttle bus from the Port of Calais to the centre of town, but it wasn't immediately clear where we could, or should go in Calais itself. The map we had didn't seem to indicate any major area of shops, although what seemed to be the main drag, certainly had its share of shops and restaurants, and perhaps we should have done more research about what we would find. Still it was a pleasant day and we ended up in the Cafe de Paris, which certainly had that look and feel of a proper french restaurant. We ordered what was called a tart with cheeses, and it turned out to be more like a pizza crust, but with the most beautiful ingredients, including fromage blanc (cream cheese), and mushrooms and bacon, and was very nice.

We wandered up and down the street, being careful to watch for cars coming from a different side of the road, and found a park, which seemed very formal and not as pleasant as some others we'd seen. Across from the park was an enormous hotel, which looked more like a palace than anything else. Got a taxi back to the ferry wharf, as we were not sure exactly which way the shuttle bus would come or where it might end up.

Small hiccup in the entry hall coming back with a young man trying to get to the UK, and his passport had expired 3 years before!! He didn't seem to understand why he couldn't go, and it seemed to us that the french officer had let him get that far, but in no way where the UK guys letting him pass, so he stormed out mouthing many obscenities, and threatening to complain to someone!!

Trip back was equally smooth, and we stayed inside this time and watched the passing parade of other vessels and ferries.

So now we can say we've been to France, and although it was a long day, we quite enjoyed it. Trouble is, you see so many nice views on things like the Tour de France, and wish you could see them up close as well. However I would never want to drive in Europe, it's bad enough coping in England!

Getting out of the car park back at Dover was very simple and we were soon on the good road heading back to Sandwich. No food in the cottage, as we are heading off tomorrow, so got a bit of cooked chook and some salad from the supermarket.