Day 2

We made it to France! Our ferry crossing was at 5.15 yesterday morning. After arriving in Calais we travelled 80km to "aire des falsaises de widehem ouest" where we settled down for a rest in the early hours of yesterday morning to catch up on some much needed sleep. Unfortunately travelling in the early hours of Wednesday morning meant that we were unable to get any sleep on Tuesday night due to the fact we were travelling down to Dover for our crossing.

When we had finished napping yesterday, I made our first meal - pasta obviously. We also decided to have a little wander around the aire. The aire we chose had an incredible view and you could see the coast quite early if you walked up the hill behind all the parking bays. 

Late yesterday afternoon we drove towards Rouen and stopped at an aire about half an hour away from the city, "aire du maucomble". It was absolutely packed with Brits in campers! Currently, I think every Brit that owns a camper has decided to come to France. There also seems to be a sort of bond between everybody in campers, and a little nod and wave is given to each one that passes. The French appear to be quite tolerant of the slow speeds of motorhomes too, and luckily so far we are yet to experience the wrath of any angry French drivers! 

Today we completed the drive to Rouen. We aimed to find parking in a supermarket with a large parking lot, but the sat nav decided to have a bit of a special episode, and this led to some very narrow streets and an exceptionally stressed Tom. As we hurriedly tried to drive out of the city, we reached a large hill, which though a struggle for the camper, provided an unexpected parking and rest spot on the other side. After asking the locals (in very broken French) if it was "bon" to park where we were, it appeared we had found the only camper friendly free parking in the whole of Rouen. It is a little walk from the town centre as it is up a rather large hill, but the views are incredible. Almost the whole city can be seen from where we're parked, so we decided to walk a little further up the road and further up the hill to get a clear view of Rouen. 

Currently I am sitting in Mcdonalds in Rouen sneakily using the wifi. We have walked round the city this afternoon and seen some beautiful architecture. The cathedral is so intricate. I absolutely love the style of architecture in France, especially the houses. I'm a bit of a sucker for a nice house with wooden shutters and flower boxes under the windows.


We're heading to just outside of Giverny tonight in preparation for visiting Monet's house and gardens tomorrow. Hopefully I'll find internet again soon! 

Grandma; I promise am safe and sound. 

Mum; hope you're not missing me too much and that you're coping without your darling daughter.

xxx