As a ferry transfer involves quite a significant amount of waiting (and free wifi), here are our adventures so far.
We got up at 6, as Google maps was somewhat unclear about how long our journey to Calais would take (according to them, it could be anything between 2h20 and 3h50). This is my standard procedure when I drive: I check google maps when I have an internet connection, but do the actual driving with Here We Go, which is an amazing tool. I prefer it to Google maps for a variety of reasons: first of all, it also works offline and I find the voices that come with it a lot friendlier. My impression is that it tells you much earlier where to go than the Google app (but that might not be true) – and it’s free! I’ve used it to drive all over the UK, France, Switzerland, Italy and California and it has almost always proved to be extremely reliable.
We had spent a very good and quiet night and Aramis was still rather sleepy when I started packing my things. We then went for a short walk.
We headed off towards Calais at around 6:30, and the journey took, just as Here We Go had predicted, about 2h30. There was almost no other traffic than a long file of lorries from all over Europe. As usual on French motorways, I had to pay ‘péage’ at a toll station just before we reached Calais.
I wish I could have stopped to have a look at Laon – it looked breathtaking with its Gothic Cathedral on the hill, overlooking the motorway. As Aramis is a bit clumsy with the camera, there are no pictures of this magnificent view.
When I drive, I like listening to the radio, but on long drives, I prefer audio books. Yesterday I went through Ken Follett’s A Dangerous Fortune (‘Die Pfeiler der Macht’), read by Frank Glaubrecht, whose reading I really enjoy. Today I started the first volume of the Medici trilogy by Matteo Strukul, performed by the wonderful Johannes Steck.
We only took a short break at one of the ‘aires’, the rest areas dotted along the motorway. Here’s breakfast:
We soon arrived in Calais. At the port I had to show my own passport at least three times, but Aramis’ only once. In the very instant I was asked to scan my dog’s microchip, I realised that travelling on your own can have its disadvantages: as I had parked my car very close to the customs berth so that I would not to have to shout at the friendly officer from afar, I could no longer open my door. Reversing was impossible, as there was a long (and impatient…) line of cars behind me. Advancing was not an option either, as there was a barrier. No problem, I thought, removed the seatbelt and climbed onto the back seats in order to scan the chip.
Aramis, wondering what I was doing, turned to me, thus creating the largest possible amount of distance between me and his shoulder blades where his chip sits (n.b.: Europeans have the habit of placing microchips on the left side of the animal’s neck. The amount of times I’ve had to explain to Continental vets that, contrary to appearances, my dog is chipped, but that in the UK, they do things differently…)
The chip reader was too bulky to fit through the metal bars of the crate, so I had to get out of the rear door and open the boot in order to access poor Aramis who was quite stunned to see me climb through the car like a monkey.
After scanning the chip I had to make sure to get the scanning device back to the officer (who by now did not even try to make a decent effort at hiding her amusement) before it switched itself off and I would have to do it all over again. Fortunately, I managed. Those suffering from the great misfortune of having been put in the same lane as me must have uttered more than just a loud sigh of relief when that lunatic with her dog finally drove off…
As we were waiting in the lane to board the ship, I did not just start writing this post, I also tried the veggie sausages I bought yesterday at a nearby Carrefour supermarket. They are delicious (Aramis found so too) and should you ever want to bring me something back from France (though the brand and name seems to suggest they’re German), here’s an idea!
As I am writing the final words of this first part of today’s blog post, I am on the ferry, just spotting the white cliffs of Dover and try not to worry too much about driving on the left in my left hand drive car.
The Adventures of Aramis 