Parles-vouz anglais?

What a dump!

We could have picked a better spot to begin our travels in country number four, France. But no, Dunkerque was on the way to Calais and because many ferries leave from there, we figured there would be some life and action. But there isn't! It’s a terribly worn out, ugly place, no one around. So after a quick look around, half an hour, we left for what only could be better - Calais.

And indeed it was. Calais is an important port and ferry terminal, connecting France with the UK. Every fifteen minutes or so a big car ferry is leaving or arriving, it's very entertaining to watch. And then there are the big container ships, dotting the horizon day and night, quite a spectacle. 

Is it going to hit the jetty or is it not?

We parked right of the beach in a residential road. A good thing I don't look like a camper van from the outside, makes it a lot easier to just park anywhere. While I was content to listen to the seagulls and watch the ships go by, Carmelo and my human went on exploring the city.

Not that I am into kids, but how cool is this playground?

It's not charming in the actual sense of the word, but somehow interesting. Especially interesting was the 12 meter tall dragon that was walking around the beach promenade! A huge construction which can move all it’s limbs, tail and all, and carry up to 50 people on it’s back! Then there was a concert going on in a small park and they hung out there, listening to the cover songs coming from the stage, figuring out what we would do tomorrow.

Turns out, I would do nothing at all, but they went on a long hike mostly along the beach towards Cap Blanc-Nez. The French version of the white cliffs of Dover. Which, in fact, were clearly visible on the other side of the only 35km wide divide between the two countries. The cliffs here are about 130 meters high and stretch on for a few km. 

Left overs from the second world war

Not photos but paintings

In the afternoon we headed for Sagnatte, a small town just 5km away from the Cap Gris-Nez, sort of like the big brother of Cap Blanc-Nez and France's most northerly cliff. My human had discovered this little parking spot with (very clean) public toilets and even an outdoor shower on the way back to Calais. So we stayed here for a night, after enjoying the sunset on the beach.

So in the morning they checked out the grey cliffs and had another good walk around the area. Then we drove on to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, a small town in the Somme Valley, but very tourisy. Apparently it is one of the most beautiful bays in the world. I tend to disagree, but everyone is entitled to their opinion, right?

If we understood the sign corretly, Jean d'Arc was imprisoned here in the 15th century

The next day they went for a 50km bike ride around the valley, discovering some more high cliffs in the distance. Guess what we did when they got back to me? Exactly, drive up to those cliffs to check them out. And sure enough, there was another good walk in it for them. You can hike all along the cliff edge, some 10km with great views and few people. 

Afterwards we drove on to our parking spot for the night, in the middle of a beautiful forest close to the city of Rouen, which is the capital of Normandy. There is a 5km walking trail which leads you past twelve art works, hidden in the forest, very cool! During the day the small car park was rather busy with runners, walkers and dog owners, but at night there was only one other camper. Funnily enough another Sprinter. I tried to make contact, but he just wasn't interested. The French!

Busy spot during the day, but at 7am - not so much

Although we have to admit that, so far, the French were actually very nice to us. Not all speak English, of course, but they were not as standoff-ish and self-absorbed as we expected. One guy in Sagnatte just kept talking to my human in French after she made it clear that she didn’t understand him. Oh well, she was patting his dog in the meantime, so it was a three-way win-win situation - the guy, the dog, my human, all happy! 

In Rouen we drove right to the private harbor, which is where I will spend the next couple of nights by myself, while Carmelo and my human take the train to Paris. It’s just too damn difficult to find parking there. Besides, you can only enter the city with a sort of vignette, which you have to order beforehand online, no way to buy it anywhere else. And since France wasn’t in the books when we left, of course we don’t have it.