27 July 2024

Summer Break, 26-27 July 2024

Senlis, Ile-de-France

You might think we are quite mad going off on holiday on the first weekend of the summer holidays and the Paris Olympics! However, we didn't have all that much choice in the matter, as my sister and her partner were going away this week, so we thought we would take my mother on holiday with us. Mum is 96 years old, and not very mobile, so she will be sleeping in hotels, while we are in the motor home. 

We went down to Sussex yesterday morning, and got the motor home all ready. In fact, we slept in it last night, but were up early this morning. Mum's hairdresser was coming at 07:00 (yes, really!) to wash and set her hair prior to the holiday, so she needed to be up at 06:00 to be ready for him. I volunteered to wake her, but when I went over, she was already awake and reading. 

Once the hairdresser had finished, we had had our breakfast (Mum had had some toast earlier) and we were ready to set off shortly after 08:00. The journey was fine as far as the M25, but they are having to build a great many new emergency stopping-places, so it had a speed limit of 50 mph most of the way. And the M20 was also at 50 as lorries were having to be checked in, so the contraflow system was in operation. I, meanwhile, was thinking unprintable thoughts about Brexit and all its works! 

We did get to the Shuttle on time (just), but then there was a huge, huge queue to check in, and another for passport control. However, we did manage to get a crossing only a few minutes after our booked time, and even had time to make a cup of coffee while waiting to be called though passport control! 

Once we arrived on the other side, we drove straight to Cité Europe and parked up. Lunch was the first order of the day, and then I did a shopping while the others got diesel (reminding myself that I didn't have to buy everything today!) and once that had all been done, we set off. It was my turn to sit in the back of the motorhome, which isn't quite as comfortable as the front, but still quite comfortable enough to fall asleep! 

We arrived here at Senlis about 7:00 pm, and got Mum into her hotel room, which has a lovely walk-in shower/wet room! Then we decided that we were all tired, so had supper in the hotel - I had a steak and the others had cheeseburgers. And very nice, too. 

We then got Mum settled in her room for the night, and decided, firmly, that our motor home belonged to a guest in the hotel so we could use a quiet corner of their car park. I hope they don't move us on in the night - we did move away from the disabled space we had been using! 

Tomorrow we have another long drive, down to St-Junien in the Limousin, where we shall stay until Friday. 

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