After a quick pack up we were on our way to the ferry terminal to cross the channel. In our excitement we may have gotten there a little early but the lovely lady at the ticket booth got us on an earlier ferry which was lucky as we had a few hours drive the other side to get to our destination.
On the trip over we were surrounded by hordes of teenage school kids all going over for the summer school trip. It was pretty humorous to see the school teachers warn the kids about keeping all their belongings on them to only half an hour later walk past a table with a phone, wallet and game console all unattended. 😂
On the way over to France we reminisced on our time 17 years ago where we embarked on the same trip in a Ford transit van called Betty. In those days we didn’t have smart phones or travel apps and somehow managed to get around with a Europe map book. To this day I don’t know how we did it. Granted we probably missed so much but that was all part of the fun! As we jumped back in our van with a feeling of nostalgia we were so ready to start another adventure. Be it older and wiser and a little smarter (hopefully) 😉.
This time around we had a few little goals/ambitions we wanted to stick to. 1. I was to improve my French which meant I have to start all conversations in the campsite check ins/ supermarket questions etc and Tim will jump in where required. 2. No tolls were to be paid while travelling to ensure we saw more of the country side and travelled at a pace that was a little slower. 3. Eat as much regional food as possible. All seem very achievable, though if you have ever heard me speak French you will understand that point 1 is going to be the hardest undertaking!
Driving off the ferry and both of us chanting “drive on the right” we were on our way to our first French stop Jumieges. On the way we stopped off in a little town for some bread, cheese, pate, cornichons and wine. For those of you that don’t know, there is a brand of cornichons that is only sold in France and they are the most delicious. We have been hanging out for these so much! Fully stocked we continued on driving through one little French village after the other.
On arrival it was my turn to start goal number one above. Primed and ready to go i had a seamless transaction with the French lady who somehow knew I wasn’t French and kept replying in English. 😂😂. But I persevered and even managed to place my fresh bread order for the next day. Yes France really is that awesome where you can order your fresh baguette to be delivered to the campsite!
One thing that I had forgotten about France and is definitely not my favourite thing is the fact that a lot of the toilets are unisex and don’t have toilet seats. I still haven’t figured out if I am supposed to sit on the toilet or squat over (easy for a pee) but obviously that is not possible when doing a number two so a thorough wipe of the toilet seat is always needed and every time it just grosses me out. Or walking into the toilet and seeing a man using a urinal which is beside the toilet cubicles. Anyway I will leave that topic here and we will never speak of it again.
After a night of delicious French cuisine and wine and a bit exhausted after our drive we went to bed content and with all the blinds shut on the van as it was 10.30pm and still light. 😳
The next day I was on bread pick up which again was another successful French transaction and after eating our fill we went investigating the town and the Abbey which it is famous for. The abbey was built in 1020 and although mostly in ruins due to the revolutionaries mining the stone for construction material the remaining structure is still very impressive. Included within the site was the French photographer xx exhibition which was housed in the manoir house out the back. His work was really impressive but most impressive was how they integrated his work into the building with old relics from the abbey.
After this we then went on a wonderful bike ride along the river and through the surrounding forest and then meandered our way back to the campsite thoroughly exhausted but happy. Mostly because we felt guilt free in eating more bread, wine and cheese. Vive La France. S
