Hello,
Well first of all we hope everyone has
had a good Christmas and not over indulged on the brussel sprouts!!
Calais was now just a 250 mile drive so
more manageable but it seemed like a lifetime, maybe because we were again
using the toll roads which are just really boring and not very scenic at
all. We couldn’t believe the amount of
cars with roof boxes, skis & snowboards on the roof (mainly British)
whizzing along the other carriageway rushing towards the Alps for Christmas in
the snow - we just looked at each other and thought there’s gonna be quite a
few disappointed people as the snow situation in most of the resorts was pretty
dire with a severe lack of snow, and that’s just the people driving there let
alone the people flying and arriving by train.
We saw on Sky News later that day that it was the worst start to the
season for 25 years with only 40 of 200 resorts open or partially open so I
guess things happen for a reason and had we still been there for Christmas week
it would have been back on with the walking boots that we had hung up!!!
When we finally arrived at Calais we joined the
back of a huge queue which was even starting to tail back up onto the the
motorway and the local Gendarme were doing a bit of traffic control. We joined the queue and realised that we
weren’t going to make our booked train but there was nothing we could do - we
did laugh as we said that it was the first traffic jam that we had sat in all
year and it was unusual for France but then I said to Julie, what do you
expect, the Eurotunnel is connected to England after all!!
Just before we reached the check-in
booths they decided to start herding everyone off and back round onto the
motorway into a holding car park. We
were obviously very anxious and wanted to just get on a train as soon as
possible as we were then heading to Dave & Brenda’s and then straight to
the hospital to see Dad. Julie jumped out
and had a word with a couple of the young girls with fluorescent vests on
directing the traffic but they weren’t at all helpful and said we needed to
speak to a chap further along so when we reached him we explained our situation
and he radioed through and then moved his cones to let us through which was a
relief as I am sure we would have been sat in the holding car park for
hours. We checked-in and headed through
customs and then straight onto a train which was great as it was only half an
hour later than our scheduled train. We
asked the chap on the train what the problem had been and he said that there
had been a security alert as the bomb squad had picked up signs of explosives
which later came to nothing but in the meanwhile everything had been shut down
and caused a huge backlog.
It seemed really strange when we left the
train and headed onto the M20 passing the “Kent, Garden of England” sign as we
drove the final leg of our amazing journey towards Dave & Brenda’s. We arrived just before it got dark to a
lovely re-union and a quick cup of tea before heading off to the hospital to
see Dad. Brenda kindly leant Julie her
car as we had no other transport except for the motorhome or XT until I sorted
our my VW T5 van which has been tucked up on our driveway for a year too. It was a bit of a baptism of fire for Julie
who hadn’t driven for a year, driven in the dark, usually drives manual not
automatic and then had to drive to South East London so it was a quick run
through of the controls from Dave and then off we went, she soon got the hang
of it!! Thanks to Brenda for the use of
her car, I think Julie will find it hard to swap it for the cheap run around we
are going to buy soon!!
Millie our cat who Dave & Brenda
adopted while we we have been away was also really pleased to see us, we
thought she would have forgotten all about us but it’s amazing as as soon as
she heard our voices she rushed over and proceeded to rub all around us meowing
and crying like a baby.
We didn’t know what to expect when we saw
Dad for the first time and of course it was very upsetting but he wasn’t as bad
as the image I had painted in my head.
He is in the best place and they are keeping him as comfortable as can
be.
We spent the next couple of days
unloading the motorhome and thanks to our very understanding tenants Andy &
Lesley we have put the motorhome back on our drive and I have insured, taxed
& MOT’d my van and it’s now back on the road. I was amazed that when I re-connected the
battery it fired up straight away and the cover that we bought has protected it
from the elements and it looked really clean.
We have been keeping ourselves very busy
and were very kindly invited to pop into our works Christmas drink which was
nice as we caught up with everyone who couldn’t quite believe we were back, it
seemed surreal as at the same time last year we were all excited and telling
everyone about our upcoming adventure and now there we were telling them all
about where we had been and what we had seen.
We had a lovely Christmas Day with Dave & Brenda and caught up with
Julie’s brother & family, again it was quite surreal as we spent last
Christmas Day with them too along with Dad which again seemed just like
yesterday. Thanks to Dave & Brenda
for putting us up and laying on a lovely Christmas dinner with all the
trimmings, it was absolutely delicious, there’s something about a proper home
cooked Christmas dinner mmmmm…….
On Boxing Day we decided to get some
fresh air and headed off for a nice long walk, we couldn’t believe how easy and
effortless the walking was as for the last couple of months we have been
walking at altitude. We stopped off on
route for a quick pint and a glass of wine in one of our local pubs and while
at the bar ordering our drinks I glanced over and spotted Bryn Matton with his
mum & Dad and wife Cheryl. I have
known Bryn & his Dad Les for many years through the motorcycle trials, Bryn
& Cheryl spotted us too and said look there’s the “Midgets” there
back!! It was quite weird as obviously
Bryn & Les know Dad really well so we sat chatting about Dad and the old
times while Julie & Cheryl were chatting about our travels.
So after....
11,219 Blog
views to date (thanks everyone)
8,888 Miles
driven in the motorhome
2,556 Miles
exploring on the motorbike
1,500 Tea
bags
350 Nights
on the road
240 Hours
driving time in the motorhome
40 Days
kitesurfing
49 Campsites
44 Days
snowboarding/skiing
12 Bottles
of wine (you must be kidding we lost
(count after the first week!!)
(count after the first week!!)
8 Camping
Aires
4 Ferries
1 Eurotunnel
crossing
And all this around 8 Countries - France,
Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia & Sardinia……
Oh and I almost forgot just half a litre
of engine oil…..
So that’s it for now but as we said keep
your eyes open for more updates.
Have a great New Year,
J&J
x
No comments:
Post a Comment