Off to France at the crack of dawn – 29 May 2010

Booking an 8.15 ferry seems a good idea, to maximise the time in France, until the departure morning. We had to leave at 5.30am to be in Dover in time. After a very good 2 hour trip, we discovered we needed all the extra time we had just to get through the many roundabouts in Dover and sit in the endless queues (and get chosen for a full security check – always seem to pick us!).

The drive to Honfleur takes about four hours, and we broke the journey at the lovely walled town of Boulogne-sur-Mer. The old town is full of cafes, and the old ramparts still circle the town, providing a great view over the new town and a glimpse of the sea as we walked around the walls.

Our lunch break was Montreuil, another old town with two squares, and a walled citadel which we were just beginning to explore when the rain started.

As we were so busy talking, catching up with Janine's tales of South America we missed the instruction to leave the motorway to Rouen and branch off to Le Havre. Consequently the sat-nav routed us through a traffic free arrangement of back-roads and tiny villages to get us to our destination, Honfleur. The route followed the Seine, and was a very picturesque.

The intermittent rain persisted as we wandered around this delightful old port with its half-timbered buildings and 15thC Wooden church.