Traffic!!

After 3 nights spent recovering at a campsite in Bordeaux, Dory's now taking us to San Sebastian, Spain. We looked up the weather before we left & saw that the temperature is meant to reach around 36 degrees all week. Great! - we thought - the journey there, however, hasn't felt like a holiday!

We're currently travelling 10kms an hour & the speed limit on this road is 130. The sun is hot - 'Spain' hot - but we're far from the border. Dory has no air-con (not that we're holding it against her) so we've got a little fan in the front that's really just circulating the hot air around the cab. We're definitely looking forward to hitting the beaches, if we ever make it to Spain!

Sarah

Bordeaux continued

What would a trip be to Bordeaux without visiting a winery, not a trip at all some would say, so to ensure we'd experienced bordeaux to the fullest we jumped on a wine tour and visited two Chateaus in southern Bordeaux. Interesting to note that a winery can only call itself a "chateau" if it has adequate facilities to process and age the wine on site.

That night we dined at a bizarre and amazing restaurant that we're told always had queues but worth the wait.
As expected, when we arrived we're met with a 45 minute wait but the time passes quickly as we practiced out French on those in line.

The restaurant, L'entrecote, only serves steak and chips and does over 4000 meals a day. The sauce they cooked the steak in was absolutely delicious. Well worth the wait.

Beer in Bordeaux

Possibly sacriligious, considering we just hit the wine capital of the world, but Alex & I are currently enjoying a can of Kronenbourg each (whoops) at a top-notch campsite in Bordeaux after having a dip in their pool... Definitely a step up from free aires off motorways & garage carparks!

The temperature here today reached 35 & we had to spend most of the day in Dory. We hadn't experienced heat like that since our night KL on route to the UK in 2010 so it was a bit of a shock to our systems.. This showed in our grumpiness.

Justifiably, we were also fairly irritated by the oil leak that somehow managed to resurface after we had Dory repaired a week ago in Dover. We were pleasantly surprised to find, however, that this luxurious campsite happened to be 4 minutes drive from the Iveco dealership in Bordeaux so we're in good spirits for now. Despite the painfully large language barrier, the people at the garage seemed really nice (as far as we could understand) & we should have Dory fixed (again) tomorrow morning. We've given the garage in Dover a call & they agreed to cover the costs if its the same problem. Amazingly, we managed to convey that we wanted the guys in Dover to pay for the repairs & we faxed them the diagnosis we got this afternoon.

Phew (for now)!!!

Sarah =)

En Francais

Right hand driving proving not so difficult - it just really requires two people concentrating, particularly on entering a motorway.

From Dunkirk, we drove until around 8pm at which point we setup camp at an Aire (free stopover for campervans, trucks and anyone else). These Aires are available nearly every 20km. Such a great idea. France is ridiculously traveler friendly.

The next morning we made our way to the small coastal village of Luc-sur-mer, Normandy.

A lot of history is still evident with war torn buildings and coastal fortifications.
We road our bikes up to Juno beach where the Canadians landed and were greeted by houses and shops still showing the Canadian flag.

Further on, we drove past Arromache and could still see the floating wharf that the Brits setup in 1944 and further on we came to the famous American cemetery where 10,000 bodies came to rest.

The following day, after driving for a few hours we found ourselves in Le Mont St Michel. Sarah and I were absolutely blown away. Walking through tiny cobbled streets, we circled our way up to the abbey, which is precariously perched at the top of the hill. Unbelievable. We then treated ourselves to "Moulles et Creme" or mussels in cream in English.

Continuing our journey, we stopped in at a serviced aire (they supply electricity & water) at Parthenay.

Alex

Crossing the Channel

Dory all fixed and £400 pounds later, we made our way to Dover to cross the channel.

After comparing prices with various ferry operators, we opted for the quickest port of Calais, France. Lining up with lorries and other vehicles 3 meters tall, we suddenly realised our destination port was Dunkirk. Not a massive issue as it was only one hour further north of Calais but somewhat confused as to how we ended up with this ticket.

- Alex

Waiting Game

Just a quick update to let everyone know that Alex & I are yet to leave the UK, due to a blown gasket. Dory's undergoing major surgery as we speak (or, 'as I write') so we're stuck in Folkestone until she's back to full health. Hopefully, we'll be crossing the English Channel within the next couple of days but for now, unfortunately, we just have to play the waiting game & work with what we've got.

After 3 nights spent camping in a car park & with Dory's humps completely dry, we've finally managed to freshen up at a nearby gym, which has really lifted our spirits. Our (recently devised) plan is to hang out at the library & become English scholars by the time we embark on our adventures.

Though Folkestone is growing on us, the wait is growing more painful by the day. When Dory's ready for bedtime & the neon signs are hidden behind her eyelids, Alex & I like to imagine we're camping on the French Riviera but sadly we awake to different scenery. Sarah