Christmas Markets, 21 December 2024

 So we are home!  Finally!  We had expected to catch the 11:24 crossing, but went to the terminal earlier and got offered a slot on the 10:32 (I think).  Which would have been nice.... but then everything got delayed and delayed and delayed, and it took hours and hours (well, at least half an hour, if not longer) to get through Passport Control, but then we went straight on to a train, which got away about noon French time.  Which basically meant we didn't arrive at no 6 until nearly 14:00, UK time.  However,  my sister had soup, bread and cheese waiting for us, and we had brought a tarte aux poires as our share in the meal, so we had that before we did anything else.  The annoying thing is that, because we were not really delayed from our original booking, we can't claim delay repay, even though we were, in fact, delayed!  Ah well.

And then it was the usual mad rush to clear out the WoMo, clean it, and load the car.  It didn't take as long as usual, as we had only been away six days.  And my hat was there - it had fallen out of my pocket, as I suspected, but it had landed on the seat, and then got hidden by a cushion.  I am so pleased, as I really like that hat!  Much nicer than any of the others.

The drive back to London wasn't as bad as usual - fewer hold-ups - and we were here about 18:15, unpacked the car and put everything away.  We won't be going away in the WoMo again until March, which, right now, feels like an awfully long way away!  In the meantime,  I'd like to wish all who read this a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year!

Christmas Markets, 20 December 2024

Blériot-Plage, Calais

It was a very cold night, and we were nursing our batteries to make sure we could have heating and hot water in the morning, so early bed, hot-water bottles and reading under the duvet was the order of the day. Very cosy, and I slept fairly well - my cold seems to be pretty much over, thank goodness, although I have had a couple of bad coughing fits.

So, anyway, we woke up to a bitterly cold morning - only 6°C in the WoMo, according to my clock. But the batteries were fine, and we put the heating on for a good blast before we got up. It was a seriously lovely morning, so after breakfast we wrapped up warmly and set off for the walk I've been longing to do ever since we first parked up here a couple of years ago. Across the bridge, down the hill to the Strépy-Thieux Canal Lift, round the lift (stopping to watch a boat coming out of the caisson), and down to the towpath on the other side; along to the next bridge, which leads to the old lift, and back along the towpath as we went last night. Only just over 3 km, according to my watch, but very pleasant - and a few hundred metres more than I found comfortable, which is very good for me! A few more photos on Facebook.

After the SW had had his coffee, it was time to head on, and we drove as far as the French border before stopping for lunch, and then straight to Cité Europe where we had a cup of tea, and did a Last Shop in France, and then went to Lidl and I did a Last Last Shop there. It was dark by then, so we drove round Calais admiring their Christmas lights, which were as excellent as ever, before coming here, to the motorhome aire, where we are parked up before our crossing tomorrow morning.