Our Dover to Calais Adventure (we called it something very different at the time).

2nd of May 2016

Being a foot passenger on the Dover-Calais ferry was not an experience we want to repeat.

Please note that Folkestone is not a town you'd want to stay in...infact we arrived, got very scared by what we saw and drove very fast out of there. 

Perhaps we have been sheltered and blessed with our accommodation to date but maybe it was the cop that came into the reception warning the staff about a boyfriend on probation who may try to gain entry to his girlfriend's room, the 2 security guards at the hotel front doors, the guests are outside smoking and swearing at each other like they are about to start a bar fight, the guests inside are obviously affected by drugs or alcohol...or both...... and perhaps it was when your 6 year old says out loud..."Dad, I do not want to stay here"......perhaps it was all of the above.

So we made a story up about double booking and got the hell out of dodge! 

Given it was a long weekend and nothing else was available, we drove until we finally found something and  by 9:30pm we arrived at a hotel, ate 4 pringles each for dinner and crashed.

The next morning we woke at 6am to get to Dover to beat the traffic....Luckily there was no traffic due to the long weekend, drove through thick thick fog the whole way and got lost trying to find out where to drop off the rental. 

I may just list the rest of the comedy of errors as they do go on.....

Tried to return the rental to an office that was closed...on hold for 20 minutes to HQ and finally just left a note and keys and hopefully they found them!

10:15- Hopped on the ferry and still couldn't see much due to the fog. Left the kids activity books in the stow away luggage!! nooo!!!

At least Ivy had her Magnadoodle!

12:15pm Arrived in Calais to pick up our new to find that everyone breaks for lunch from 12-2pm.....so we waited.

2:00pm -Oh you don't have the 7 seater car we booked?...so what do you have?....oh a VW golf!!? There was no way our luggage and bike was fitting in this.

2:45pm Found a Jeep that may just fit our luggage. packed it while Ivy fell asleep in the car.

3:25pm Finished packing the car (only just) with no room to spare and a bike resting over Oskar's head and half the luggage on my lap'. Not ideal or safe but it would do.

3:30pm Ready to go........ and the car wouldnt start.

4:00pm Found another car a bit smaller and tried to pack this one.

4:40pm Packed this somehow, crammed ourselves in and we were off. Tired hungry and very irritable but we were off.

We tried to keep our cool through all of this but didn't do too well,  but kept telling ourselves, if this was the worst thing to happen, we were doing ok.

And we were off!

3 hours to our first stop, driving on the wrong side of the road on the wrong side of the car in a 6 speed manual which you couldn't see out the back of. I'll say it again....I'm so glad I wasn't driving!

7:30pm- Arrived safely to Etretat. Not one of our best days, but we were able to look back and laugh....after a few wines.