On the ferry and our first glimpse of France

We woke up at 5:30 am, guzzled some coffee, and loaded up the car. We had reservations to go on the 10:50 am ferry from Dover. Since we didn’t know what the traffic would be like driving out there, we left before 7:00 am just to be sure. It took us just over two hours to get to the ferry. Luckily for us, there was room on the 10:05 am crossing.

And now for the confession: I am a very “point A-to-point B” person. For the most part, especially when on a road trip, I like to get where I am going in the fastest, most direct way possible. For that reason, I was thinking the Chunnel was for us. However, Mr. DJ talked with a bunch of people at work who said that the ferry crossing was very nice and that they preferred it even though it took longer. I am glad we ended up sailing. It was a lovely break–like stopping for a relaxing lunch in the middle of a long drive.

We boarded the Pride of Calais at 9:45 am.

Mr. DJ insisted we buy the upgrade that got us first on, first off privileges as well as entry into the Club Lounge for complimentary tea, coffee, sodas and champagne.

For just £24, we were treated to a quiet lounge at the front of the boat. No fried food smells, no casino bells, no loud noises. Just nice leather club chairs and good service. Food is available as well (pretty decent and well priced). Our roundtrip on the ferry cost about £250, including the extra for the club level and priority on/off. The fare changes depending on the time of day you make your crossing.

We arrived in Calais 90 in minutes and were the third car off the ferry.

All the big highways in France are toll roads. I haven’t added it all up yet, but I think we paid something like 35 Euro from Calais to Dijon. On the other hand, you can drive 80 mph on these roads, and there aren’t as many cars on them, which is very nice. It is definitely less stressful highway driving than in England.

We saw this cute couple in their three wheeled automobile. They had on goggles and little hats.

The town signs are illustrated and in brown. Much of the countryside from Calais to Dijon reminded us of the Texas Hill Country. I am sure the French would not appreciate the comparison, but it made us feel at home. BTW, Mr. DJ said driving in a right-hand drive car on the right side of the road is “no big deal”. They have round abouts in France too. They were fine, we just needed to remember to go right instead of left.

We were surprised to see that the smaller towns looked like this–mostly concrete in the front. Some towns have flowers in pots or in window boxes, but there was very little grass in the front of the homes.

A charming road through another small town. See? No grass in sight.

But here are the lovely, lovely flowers.

All along the highway, we could see fields and fields of beautifully bright sunflower crops. Sorry for the grime on my window!

Having only flown to France and stayed in Paris, it was nice to see more of the country. This time we needed our car, but I think next time we’ll see if we can’t just do it all on the train. We got to our hotel in Dijon about
8:30 pm, by the way. It was a long day on the road.

Next stop, Annecy.