France - Day1

28/02/15

Awoke early to get packed up , squeeze into the car and head to Dover to make the ferry crossing to France.

London apartment - Bridge Wharf King's Cross(but why so cross?)

Took ages to navigate out of London (much longer than navigation system of the new car said). Had to pickup all the French driving kit at Dover – safety vests, triangle, GB sticker, headlight stickers and even the compulsory(since 2012) breathalyser that you need( hard to believe).

Noticed the waves were a bit choppy at Dover so we all gulped a travelsick pill. Didn’t work for me! I had to shut-eye for most of the trip to cope with the nausea.

Lachlan on the Dover-Calais ferry

Happy to reach the French side, we made fast tracks to ‘Cite Europe Shopping Centre’ – took a bad wrong turn on the motorway and ended up at the Eurotunnel Car shuttle - opps. Pretty excited to get to Cite Europe – had a mad dash around. So excited by the supermarket – couldn’t buy much(car was already packed to the roof). Watched the English shoppers filling their trolleys – used to be me! Amazed at the selection. Noticed a strange new fashion for women – oddly strong eye shadow – a strong thin stripe of bold colour on the eyelid (brilliant blue or green or even sparkle – it was everywhere I looked – personally not a look for me).

Chris did an amazing job at French speaking when we bought our new French SIM cards.

Drove through bleak wintery countryside to reach  Chateau Tilques (a favourite holiday spot with friends when we lived in London).
Lots of memories on arrival. Boys and Chris had a quick swim in the pool(new since we were last here). Then off for a much anticipated dinner.

Dinner was an education for all - we discovered that we have a lot of work ahead to educate the boys in the art of dining – not really been a priority:

All the cutlery which actually had to be used (no fingers - Jarvis struggled).
The extra tasters that you are given without asking for.
The surprise that food doesn't have to look like it's description (the art of it all).
'Why is a snail so chewy' – my answer being that I don’t know because I’d never order one! (actually I was quite impressed that the boys gave them a go – only Ollie even slightly liked them).
The patience required - dining is a leisurely pleasure, not to be rushed!(boys like to rush).

 

Boys trying snails - a disappointment!

Chris and I were quite disappointed with our lack of French comprehension(we had to ask for translations ), but then we consolded ourselves with the fact that we couldn’t understand what the English translations meant either – a lot of big words. Overall it was a great meal – amazing flavours and presentation. We left having eaten too much, but you wouldn’t have wanted not to.