Well after a heart breakfast we packed the car, the strange thing was that when we packed the car for the second time we had far more space in the trunk than before, most odd, however this was good and we headed following the SATNAV hoping it would take us the right way to Calais. The journey to Calais was uneventful and the weather was still nice and we arrived at about 12.30 in time for our table reservation at the Restaurant Au Cote D’Argent which is right on the shoreside and next to the Port and so you can have dinner and watch the ferries come and go.
The Restaurant specialises in seafood and was not full when we arrived but by 13.15 was fully booked and you could understand why as the food is excellent with great service and with lovely views
https://www.cotedargent.com/
A short while later we boarded on the same ship that we cam on and headed back to Dover and this time the journey back took much longer due road works and so it was almost two hours to get home but we made it home OK and in the evening had a rest and watched the Abu Dhabi F1 race which we had recorded.
And so to bed and it was a really nice couple of days and next year we may visit the ARRAS Christmas fair as the steward on the P & O Ferry had been to Lille, Arras and Bruges and strongly recommended Arras, so will look at that for next time.
Oh well that's it for the moment…
The sun was shining as we awoke and it was a little chill and the weather for the rest of the day was much better than the forecast predicted. Following a nice breakfast and a relaxed time afterwards we caught a cab down the the Central Square to visit the market stalls where you could buy a myriad of items from food to Hot Dogs and Vin Chaude together with Father Christmas Hats. It was really very busy and there was security checking bags on the way in.
We walked around for about 35 minutes but the old legs were suffering so me and my friend found a convenient bar/cafge to sit and wait whilst the ladies went off to have a further look round and perhaps visit a few shops. Whilst the girls visited the ‘Cathedral Notre Dame De La Treille’ the boys sat in the warm bat enjoying a few glasses of something whilst watching the crowds going by. At one time a group of about eight SWAT type troops came by carry sten guns or similar and so presumably this was to deter any terrorist attack, this might have been set up as there had been an attack in London on the Friday evening. We all enjoyed some food a bit later on, and did I mention, another glass of wine before heading off for a 90 minute coach tour of Lille Town. During this tour we went past several old buildings and fantastic Hotels and also the area surround the main original train station which is next to the much newer TGV and Eurostar building. A taxi driver told us that the placement of the TGV/Eurostar Station helped bring back life to Lille which was dying from people moving to Paris or other locations whwre there was work. Lille is now a very bustling town Lille and is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region in northern France, near the border with Belgium. A cultural hub and bustling university city today, it was once an important merchant center of French Flanders, and many Flemish influences remain. The historic center, Vieux Lille, is characterized by 17th-century brick town houses, cobbled pedestrian streets and the large central square, Grand Place.
The population of the towns is about 1.1 million and so one of the Largest of the French Towns. The traffic as a result of the market was severe and parking would have been a nightmare if your were planning to drive there and park and look around and were were lucky we had booked the Hotel. with a car park. Following the coach tour we headed back to the Hotel for a quick change and then off to the next restaurant called Le Pubstore Restaurant, which was recommended on Trip Adviser which is run by an Italian who had lived 10 years in Australia and now runs a restaurant in Lille and so his English was very good. The menu was not large but sufficient for our needs and the plate sizes so large that none of us were able to finish what we had been served. The atmosphere for the pub was nice and it soon filled up and so we were glad we had an early sitting. Back to Hotel for one last goodnight drink and then off to bed for an early night, although it wasn't to early.
It was nice day and we took quite a number of photos.
With a couple of good friends from Wey Road we left on Friday morning for Lille and crossing the channel with P & O Ferry. Arriving in Lille where we stayed in an old Convent which has been converted in to a Hotel called Alliance Hotel- Couvents au Minimes and its really rather beautiful inside with some strange artworks as well.
see link to Hotel
http://www.alliance-lille.com/en/
The journey down to Dover was amazing as we left Wey Road at about 09.00 and pulled up in to Dover Harbour shortly after 10.35 and it was of the quickest times that I have been able to do this route but just no traffic. We checked in and after a short wait we boarded the P & O Ferry ‘Spirit of Britain’ and then headed up to the lounge for a sandwich and tea and for the non driving people , glasses of Champagne. The drive from Calais Port to the Hotel took about 90 minutes and it was also good to try and understand the new car navigation system and it did get there OK, which was a bit of luck.
After a brief rest we met up in the Hotel lobby bar for a few quick ones before dinner and then headed of the the restaurant via an Uber Driver.. The restaurant was called ‘Au Diable Des Plaisirs’ and was very good indeed, see link
https://www.audiabledesplaisirs.fr/
Then back to the Hotel for a couple of good night drinks and then off for a well earned rest.
A breakfast in this Hotel is expensive and there is not much there unlike the other IBIS Styles we stayed in. However we did this to save time and that meant we could be on the road to the Calais by about 09.30 and by following the motorway we arrived at the Port in a quick time and was able to catch an earlier boat, which we were glad to do as later in this report you will understand why.
The Ship left at around 10.45 EU time and arrived on time in Dover after a very smooth crossing only made better by eating a bacon sandwich in the Club lounge during the crossing. We were off the ship pretty sharpish and headed up the M20 and there was mile after mile, about 18 miles I guess of road works with one part being cordoned off for 12 miles with no sign of activity anywhere so why cordon it off? This delay added about twenty minutes to our journey and so wee were glad we were able to catch the earlier Ferry. We arrived on the M25 which although busy, was reasonably fast, and we then said as there is not much food at home and we were both a quite tired we stopped in the Silvermere Golf Club for lunch which helped us a lot.
In the afternoon we emptied the car and then had a rest in the garden lounge for a couple of hours before then having a slight bite to eat and then discovered that the internet connection to the TV Box in the Cinema room was not working, damn will have to sort out tomorrow as to tired to concentrate tonight. We watched a couple of programs and then headed up to bed, Oh our own bed so nice…. and no hurry to get up in the morning.
It was a great trip and we did about 2750 miles altogether and the car performed well and the little fridge in the car was a godsend for chilling wine and milk.
So that's it for now and will report on any trips but non planned at the moment apart from Florida in the new year.
Following an early breakfast in the Hotel we left Colmar at about 09.15 and was a little surprised by the route the Sat Nav was taking us as it id when driving to Colmar as it seemed to avoid some decent looking main roads which may have been with Tolls. After about half an a hour we arrived at the entrance to a very long tunnel which we knew would speed things up and it insisted that we go by the windy side roads but we ignored it and carried on anyways as were already on the tunnel approach and no chance to turn whilst it keeps saying do a U-turn when you can, which was impossible. We then reverted to map reading and it was later in the day when Jennifer was driving that Noel checked every setting on the Garmin and discovered for some reason an entirely separate section of the set up regarding Toll Roads had been ticked to avoid. Oh well thank heavens it did not make to much difference.
By mid morning we were experiencing some light showers through to heavy rain requiring full lights and this meant we had to reduce our speed somewhat for safety reasons. The route took us to Nancy, then Metz and then on to Reims and this time were were on Tolled motorway and was able to move quite well and catch up a little time. It rained for pretty much all of the day until we arrived in Boulogne at arrived 17.00 and considering it was about 430 miles, according to Google, we thought our travel time considering the conditions but it is a very long way from one side of France to the other.
We were staying at the Ibis Hotel next to the old town and we were given a room on the corner of the building from where you could see the Cathedral which was nice although at at about 05.00 on Monday morning its got rather noisy. In the evening we visited a restaurant we have been to before on a previous visit and the food was very good although due to his allergies ended up having a light meal. We got back to the Hotel at about 9.30 pm and sat up in bed reading for a while before lights out at 10.30
We took a taxi downtown as we guessed that parking might be a problem on a Saturday and with the amount of German cars there confirmed we made the correct decision. En-route to the old town in the centre of a traffic island is a miniature Statue of Liberty which was made by a Frenchman who lived-in Colmar and was very famous for his architectural designs.In fact there are many buidlings as a result of his wortk in this town
The old historic town is much larger than we throught it would be and having had a good walk round looking at some of the very old buildings and after a nice cup of tea overlooking the Cathedral we then found the ‘Petit Train’ and took advantage of the 35 minute tour of the town. By this time it was close to 15.00 and much to our surprise many of the restaurants had closed for serving lunch and so we ended up in a not so good Bistro with poor food and high tourist prices which we will not repeat.
The town was very busy with tourists, mostly German it would appear, and considering the time of year we wondererd what it would be like in mid-summer, quite dreadfull with think.
The following information about Colmar is from their tourist website
Colmar, the most Alsatian city of Alsace!
Nestled among vineyards, its traditional houses, canals, floral displays, amazing cuisine, famous wines and charming accommodation make Colmar an outstanding microcosm of Alsace – showcasing its lifestyle, conviviality and hospitality – the key features of its unique, exceptional welcome.
The capital of the Alsacian wines, situated near Germany and Switzerland between the Vosges and the Rhine, Strasbourg and Mulhouse, offers visitors an exciting glimpse of 1000 years of European history.
Besides, with its 67,000 inhabitants, Colmar retains a 'country town' atmosphere which contributes so much to its charm. Wonderfully preserved from the ravages of time, its homogenous historical centre is classed as a 'protected area' and has benefited from careful restoration and ongoing improvements for more than 20 years.Every season, it offers a richly diverse range of cultural, sporting, nature, relaxation, and culinary enjoyments.You will be easily tempted by this enchanting "country town".
Colmar will also delight you with the quality of its shops and boutiques that will allow you bring a small part of Alsace back with you in your luggage! In every street of the historic centre you will find shops upon shops offering "made in Alsace" products: food, table accents, textiles, déco, accessories, soft furnishings…
We have taken lots of photos and video during our walk around but due to slow internet in the Hotel will wait untill we get home to save lots of time uploading.
We have also decided that due to the inclement weather which has turned a bit cold, wet and cloudy to head home tomorrow and so we will drive and stay the night in Boulogne Sur Mer and then catch a mid morning ferry back to the UK.
In the evening we watched some stuff on Netflix and also You Tube berfore hitting the sack.
After an early breakfast we headed off and had decided to stay within France for our journey north as to enter Switzerland would require the hassle of purchasing a motorway pass for £ 35.00 which last’s a year but we would be there for only a couple of hours and so blow that and therefore we headed off in the general direction of Lyon and then turned North.
In the early stages of the journey the weather was a bit cold but at least bright and some of the roads we went down were really very nice and then the weather changed totally and we had heavy rain and the clouds came down and that slowed us down quite a bit. Add to this the amazing amounts of roadworks en-route and it seemed that just about every motorway or main road was subject to change and quite frankly some of the changes looked totally over the top, So either this is a method to keep employment up or France is taking money from the EU to replace its road system but whichever is true there was a lot off it going on.
We stopped a couple of times for a break and also a picnic and we eventually arrived in Colmar just about 17.30 after a long day. A shower then off the the in- house restaurant which was not to bad and together with a bottle of Pinot Noir which is a local wine it was not to bad. Then back to the room where we watched the film about Laurel and Hardy which was quite good but shows the risks of fame and failure.
Because the weather was not kind we did not take any photo’s.
This was a long day in the car for reasons mentioned earlier and so an early night was called for.
Well the sun was shining and a pleasant 14 degrees Centigrade as we left the Hotel in a taxi to go downtown, as they say, after having experienced the Mercure buffet breakfast. Noel was bit baffled by the hi-tech toaster which literally takes the bread from the tow and slowly draws it down inside in little cave but then it took nearly four minutes to toast one slice of bread, amazingly slow. If he wants toast tomorrow morning he will have to get up extra early.
We arrived outside the ‘Marie’ and then walked down the dockside and had a look at the water tour boats and then considered going on the local bus tour but first a walk along all the historic all streets which many years ago a group of cargo agents and wives as guest of Swiss Air took us skiing and then a day trip to to Annecy with the idea you can spend five hours or so in the town. So we duly arrived by coach and after having the left the coach park and walked about three hundred metres when somebody suggested that a glass of something would not go amiss, actually what followed was an enjoyable disaster. So we went in a local bar where we spent about three hours and realised we needed to eat and crossed the road to a restaurant that had been suggested and then had a long lunch which ended when it was mentioned the coach would be leaving in ten minutes. We all rushed back to the coach and some of the others in the tour who had walking tours of the city, lake tours and visit to various places of interest but our small group had not seen anything except the inside of many empty wine bottles. So Jen and I were determined to see more and also have a good lunch.
We wandered through the old town taking photos and finally stopped at a place for lunch where the food was great and we had a beer and bottle of red wine before continuing our walk. We did consider again going on the tour bus but when looking where it went we realised we had by walking seen the best parts of Annecy in our earlier walk and so called an Uber to take us back to the Hotel.
In the evening Noel continued uploading photos of the day but with such a slow internet speed, but its free!!!., it took hours.
Tomorrow we head for a place called Colmar where we spend two nights and hope the weather will be as nice as it was today. We are also planning our route back to the Uk from Colmar and will follow the Tour de France route if at all possible but subject to the weather which the forecast is not looking to great at the moment as there have been bad storms in the US of A which have flown over the Atlantic and are heading our way.
Another nice morning and sitting outside in the sun for our morning breakfast whilst watching the workers in the field about half a mile away collecting vegetables for the local market or supermarket.
Although we paid via Booking.com this accommodation by credit card it would appear they don't take credit card normally just cash and/or bank transfer and so we needed to get some cash and also fill up the car with fuel for tomorrows journey up in to them there mountains. The ATM machine was in the centre of the small town which a certain part has a strong historical background. More detail as follows.
’Benefiting from an exceptional climate between the Alps and Provence, this small town located to the south-east of Gap (prefecture) combines the best conditions for agricultural production and air recreation. The territory of "Gap Tallard Durance" is dotted with orchards. A few hectares of vines still survive on Tallard and Châteauvieux and come to complete the wine offer on the Route des Fruits et des Vins which crosses Tallard. The famous Route Napoléon also makes a stop in the town. The castle, which dominates the valley of the Durance east side and the old town to the west, is classified as a historical monument and dates from the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. But Tallard is also a paradise for sports and air recreation with exceptional areological conditions. It was the scene of major events such as the world parachuting championship in 2003. Its particular aerology allows all light aviation disciplines to mix with each other: plane, helicopter, parachuting, ULM, glider, hot-air balloon, para-motor… Others Sports activities are also possible with the cliff of Céüze, which attracts climbers of all nationalities’
We took a couple of photos around the old town and noticed that there were a number of drawings on the walls all around the town which were rather nice.
We returned to the chalet and Jennifer prepared the chicken for this evenings dinner and we sorted out our cases for the next week as we are not likely to need swimming costumes and more likely to need warmer clothing . We need to leave early tomorrow morning and so have cancelled the breakfast for tomorrow morning although its a nice way to start the morning it will take to long for tomorrow for us with an early departure. We plan to have another swim mid afternoon before it gets to cool, once the time reaches around 18.00 it starts to get much cooler.
I am completing the Blog early as we know what the rest of the day has in store for us and perhaps tomorrow there will be a lot more to write about and so it was great to get this done early
The sun was awoke this morning and breakfast has been planned for 09.45, so not to early and not to late, the reason for the latish breakfast is that yesterday was although nice was a bit of hard work with the hills and some mountain stuff.
The male host arrived with a nice wicker basket containing a baguette and two large croissants, yogurt, jams, orange juice and tea and all topped by the British flag protruding through the top of the basket. So we had a nice breakfast and then spent the next hour or so planning what we will do next, some of the next few routes are mountainous and we also have to watch out for bad weather but anyway we came up with a plan than allowed a lot of flexibility. Any Hotel or Gite you book now at this late stage for Wednesday night require immediate payment and just in case we get stuck on the route we have decided to leave it until the day when we will book whatever suits our location. There appears to be plenty of accommodation available.
We also needed to do some food shopping and the host had informed us of an Intermarche in town, initially we had trouble finding it using the car Sat Nav (which now is five years out of date) and had to switch to the Garmin and subsequently found the new store in a very new area about two miles outside of town. With purchases of salmon and prawns and some salad stuff we headed back to chalet and Jennifer did some reading and Noel got almost up to date with the BLOG and also photos from the past week. The Internet is fine but for uploading its, very, very slow but we did succeed in getting all the latest photos online.
In the late afternoon we both went for a swim and all the other four chalets are now empty as there had been a company taking over four chalets for a weekend meeting. In the evening we had the salmon within a salad and finished of some raspberries before watching a new series, well new to us, on Netflix called Criminal which we have to say was very good and a very different type of police crime drama.
We had originally planned to only stay two nights here but its so nice we have extended it to three nights and will cut down on the cumber of mountain routes we do to compensate and leaving time for us to have a little extra time elsewhere.
And so to bed
Well we had an earlier morning as we wished to leave the site around 09.30but with this type of accommodation you need to be a housewife as well as we had a book telling us to clean the floors, and all surfaces and shower and Loo and if you don't do it properly we will charge you 70 Euros, we dutifully we tried to do it but we could not open the bathroom window or clean the shower filter as it was rusted up so cants there cleaning team was on the ball. We complained again about the shower switching from quite warm to artic temperatures after a minute, but wont stay there again.
However we did succeed in leaving on time and the some fuel and then some food for the next 24 hours and off we went to Pont De Garde which we had wrongly assumed you could drive up to only its all controlled and enclosed in a state park which you have to pay to enter and there was a large queue and this is not surprising as it was a Sunday. So we gave that up and started following the first part of the route and was astounded about the mile after mile of firstly vineyards and then the lavender fields and lastly acres and acres of fruit crops. We went through some really lovely villages and then in to the hill;s. The Official Tour De France describes this bit as hilly and yet there were some steep roads at times but clearly not the mountains in the next few sections we are planning to attempt in the coming days. We stopped for a picnic lunch and then continued on and again, because it was a Sunday, the roads were quite busy with cars and lots motor bikes and many cyclists coming at you from all directions on the narrow and winding roads which we had for about 50 miles of more to pass through. It was an enjoyable journey although the lack of public loos does not help.
We planned to stay outside of GAP as we had found this, what you might call, glamping but actually it is five wooden chalets built in a valley which enables self catering, a good money saver, and although we could not locate it initially we eventually located the very small sign and drove down the bumpy track to a large house with its chalets and fantastic views down the the valley. Mine hosts were a delightful couple and they have clearly a love for this place as the chalet was perfect in every way and there is access to a nice swimming pool although we did not use on arrival as we were a bit tired and hungry and so planned to eat early, although it did not fully turn out that way. Noel started on the photos and blog as having free Wi-Fi was great.http://www.domaine-de-malcor.com/
The centre arm rest box on the Land Cruiser is also a small refrigerator which is ideal for storing foodstuffs, bottle of wine or beer and in this box we had the lamb chops we had purchased earlier the day and they were in perfect condition and we demolished them with a glass of wine and then went on to watch a film about the life of ‘Eddie the Eagle’ which actually was very good and quite fun and although I did not know much about him except he was ridiculed quite badly but you have to say for a guy with little or no support he is a person who you have to say ‘never gave up’ and eventually claimed the longest jump ever achieved by a British Ski jumper when considering the British Winter Olympic management would not support him. This film is worth watching.
And so to bed and we think we stay a third night against the two we have booked as its such a nice place and for for £65.00 the price is unbeatable.
Well after a light breakfast we departed the site having experience problems with the shower. What happens is you wait about two minutes , the hot water to comes through and and you think great and then after one minute it goes freezing cold. Noel complained to reception and they sent someone who said they had fixed it but as usual it was not as we discovered later in the day.
We drove in to Arles and saw lots of vans towing caravans, no doubt the French Travellers, and finally arrived in the town to be confronted with closed roads and major congestion and the most ridiculous parking, our car is not so small so after trawling around for about twenty minutes we gave up and decided to head for the coast from where we would join the boat.Parking initially was an issue but then we found a car park with a load of spaces thank heavens. Opposite where we would join the cruise was a pretty busy restaurant and we got the last but one table outside overlooking the harbour. We had a jolly good lunch there, Jennifer had the Chicken special which she said was delicious and Noel had the Burger which was guaranteed no garlic and they would take the onions off and with a glass of beer it was a nice way to pass ninety odd minutes waiting for the boat to leave.
We boarded about 14.10 and dead on 14.30 we went out to sea for a few minutes and then headed up river, to be frank there was not to much to see. There was a staged running of bulls and horses and then we say lots of cormorants, gulls,egrets and herons. Later on the way back the boat stopped to allow people to take photos of COWS?? for heavens sake, we cant say it was a great cruise but it was not unpleasant and passed the time of day in the sun.
Then back to the site and a snack meal and we partly prepared for tomorrows departure with a little bit of cleaning and some pre-packing. We were both a little tired and so in bed by about 9.45 pm ,wow that's early you might say, but tonight it was great.
