Day 1 – Leicester to Les Andelys.

DAY 1

5.45am  -  awake before the alarm…whats that about?? Are we really about to drive through France and then drive to Spain….with an 18 month old??

6am – coffee….and a pounding headache. This planning lark is stressful!

6.15am  - showered and wake the kids…. actually Tilly was awake and had milk whilst Karl had his coffee. Abigail is still in bed after going to see Eclipse with Rowe last night.

6.30am – breakfast for the girls and a quick run around for me to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything…..like toothbrushes!! Phew…..Karl shouts that he needs help with the roofbox because it won’t close… eek!  It will close with a bit of re-engineering.  We attach the buggy to the roofrack and stick the portable fridge in the back. That has to be a godsend….a portable car fridge. Who’d have thought?

7am – breakfast for the adults and for Cosmo. I have visions of lots of dead things being presented to me when we get back. I pack the fridge with the frozen stuff…i just need it to stay cold for a couple off days, and the fridge is well insulated too so hopefully it should do the trick.

7.30am  - have run round like mad making sure i’ve done everything….we should be leaving, but i’m still rounding up the girls and packing the inside of the car. This driving to Spain lark is a bit harder than I thought and we haven’t even left yet!

7.46am – right, kids in the car, bags in the car, cat fed, house a tip because I didn’t get time to hoover up, house locked… and finally pulling out of the driveway….

8am – forgot to empty the bins in the house…. bugger….  quick text to Rowe…i’ll owe her big time at this rate!!

9.45am – quick stop at the services….Tilly is doing pretty well so far, very limited fussing which is great.

10.35am – quick unscheduled stop on the A10, as something hits the windscreen of the car but we aren’t sure its not one of the bungy cords come loose on the top of the car.  It looks like its all ok.

11.30am –  arrive at Dover..  half hour before we are due to arrive. Happy that the M1 and the M25 was good to us!  We park at the ferry boarding park (line number 215) and notice that there is a Burger King nearby….  figured that it wouldn’t hurt to have lunch here and get something a little more healthy later on in the evening. So we all tootle over to Burger King.

12.10pm – fully fed, we pile back into the car for boarding. We park where told and go for a wander on board.  Tilly is taken by the yellow chairs that whizz round and loves waving at everyone.  Abs has taken her camcorder and is making a “ferry” movie….i wonder if its a disaster movie!!!!

13.25 – looking at the cliffs of Calais and about to disembark…  the crossing has been smooth, but I still feel a bit yuk…i hate ferries!  So onward journey …..

14.30pm – impromptu trip around Calais as we take a wrong turn.

But Calais has some beautiful buildings, especially the post office. Thats an amazing building.

Heading out of Calais towards Rouen….the French are CRAP at signposts….be warned!

18.30pm – Finally arrived at our campsite in Les Andeleys – Campsite Trois du Rois. A very friendly welcome

One thing struck us on our trip through….so many Mcdonalds!!  Even the small villages have one!  And fortunately, they also have mini Carrefour supermarkets and petrol stations.

The campsite is really good. very clean, good facilities and a great view of King Richard the Lionheart’s Castle on the hill…..perhaps make a return trip and go for a look?

19.00pm – go for a dip in the pool and some food. The pool is lovely, but Tilly doesn’t think so…bit too chilly for her. So after a quick dry off we order some food..The girls have a pizza to share. Karl and I choose the special menu. 12.50 euro’s for a 3 course meal with bread. i had a lovely salad and steak with hot fries and icecream to follow. Karl had a meat platter, chicken in a mushroom and cream sauce with yoghurt and fruit compote. two coffees and two large vases of wine later…  it comes to 45 euros for everything, which was fabulous considering the quality of the food.

The food was well cooked and tasted perfect after a long drive. The poor waitress however was run off her feet and had several complaining customers by the end of the day. But Marie (the waitress) and the Chef, Laurent, were courteous, and generous. (the coffee machine wouldn’t work and because i had to wait, they were free) and we wouldn’t hesitate to return to the site. Abigail loved it.

11.00pm – bed time… we’re all very tired, but Tilly is still running around like a mad thing…. could it be the wine she half inched off the table????

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