3002 miles of adventures

Our trip home seemed to go on forever… around 5 hours for the ferry journey and 6 hours for the drive from Newhaven to Rhuddlan.

We had a lazy start because of torrential rain… it didn’t seem worth leaving the aire in Aubin to attempt to do anything. As lunchtime approached, we headed to Dieppe to stock up on Christmas and party booze in Lidl before they closed, and to fill up with diesel, so we didn’t have to pay motorway prices in the UK.

There were a couple of hours to spare before we had to check in for the ferry so I found a restaurant for lunch, not too far from the ferry terminal, and with room to park Bertie. I forgot to check the prices and it was more expensive than I’d anticipated. However, the food was delicious and worth every penny. As it turned out, it was a good job we’d had a good meal because John couldn’t eat on the ferry!

Although, the rain had stopped, it was very windy. The first sign that it might be a rough crossing was that, when we drove onto the ferry, I noticed that the lorries had all been strapped down. We’d taken our travel sickness tablets, just in case, and it was a good job. I don’t generally suffer with sea sickness, but John does.

The waves got bigger and the boat rocked more and more until it was difficult to walk without holding on to something. Before an hour had passed, John was no longer able to read and sat staring out at the horizon. As it got darker and I could no longer see well to knit, I chatted to him to distract him and pass the time. He was fine until the child on the next table vomited everywhere. The smell was horrendous so we moved, as did people on other tables nearby. That poor child was one of many who were unwell, and quite a few adults looked green too. I was fine and still able to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine 😆 and John seemed better once it went dark and he couldn’t see how much the boat was moving against the horizon.

At last, the ferry reached Newhaven and we disembarked. The roads were really busy for the first couple of hours and driving conditions were difficult with wind, heavy rain and flooded roads. Thankfully, it became drier as we got further north, and the traffic thinned out. I felt exhausted and in the dark, with the heater on and soft music on the radio, I struggled not to fall asleep and kept having to shake myself. I needed to stay awake to ensure John didn’t doze off at the wheel. That wouldn’t have been a good end to the trip!

When we finally arrived home, we left everything in Bertie, just taking in the valuables and milk for our morning tea. We got to bed quickly but by then I was wide awake… the house was cold, the bed freezing, and thoughts were whirling around my mind. It took ages to get to sleep and I was very restless. This morning, I feel a bit dizzy and wobbly, as though I’m still on the ferry… maybe that had something to do with my disrupted sleep. I don’t know.

Now we’re unpacking. We’ve done three loads of washing, and with bedding and towels, I reckon there must be 6 or 7 more loads to do. There’s no rush though. I’m not in work for a couple more weeks.

I thought I’d write one last blog, just to complete my memories of this trip. I’ve also tried out an app called TravelBoast to summarise our adventures in a video. Just before we got home last night, the mileage clicked over to 3000, not an insignificant amount in 9 weeks, despite us only really visiting South East France. It’s good to have the video as a brief reminder of everywhere we’ve been in that time.

When I’m reflecting on a trip, I also like thinking about my favourite experiences, and comparing them with John’s, so here goes… My top 3, in no particular order, are day 2 of the packraft in the Ardèche Gorge, seeing vultures on the bike ride in the Verdon, and the climb up to the three crosses… Oh, and I must add a fourth… discovering how much I like snorkelling 😃

John’s favourites? In no particular order, like me, day 2 of the Ardèche packraft and the snorkel trail at Port Cros, but also (of course 😆🏈🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿) the two rugby matches in Nice and Marseilles.

Even before we’ve finished unpacking and settled back into normal life, I’m starting to think about our next trips… ideas and plans for adventures in Paris, Ireland and Portugal are all starting to come together. Watch this blog! 😆