Somebody Swam This? Crossing the Channel

 June 30, 2013

             

As we waited in the que for our turn with the passport agent, I got a little nervous. We made it through France with only two hours to spare before our ferry departed from Calais France heading to Dover England.  It was only our 89^th day out of the permitted 90 days allowed in the Schengen zone but we did not want any complications.  “What is your business in England?” the agent asked and we replied, “We are on our honeymoon!”  He wanted to know how long we would be visiting for…. which we improvised by saying, “A month,” because we have lost all concept of time over the last 3 months. He stamped our passports, told us to enjoy the weather, then chuckled and we were off. 

Que to get on the ferry

            Rich with time and resourceful with our travel funds we opted not to take the Channel Tunnel, which takes 30 minutes to get from France to England for 80£. Taking the ferry we spent only 25£ for two tickets and our car. 

Driving onto the ship

We drove our vehicle right on, grabbed a few items and ascended to the main deck. Naïve as we are, we thought you sat in your car as you traveled but we were wrong. 

Full car deck on the ship

Main Deck Parlor

The hour and a half cruise was relaxing, not too crowded, and had a number of amenities: two bars, a restaurant, two games rooms, TVs, comfortable chairs, and access to sea decks if you wanted the ocean to spray you in the face.  As the vessel left the harbor we ventured out on the deck and were greeted with chilly high winds. After a few pictures we retreated back to the heated cabin area.  

English Channel, cloudy, cold, and grey

Warmed up by a hot cup of Joe

Trying to get a feel for British comedy we were advised by our good friend Joann to watch, “Mrs. Brown’s Boys” a hilarious sitcom done in the style of live improvisation.  After only two episodes we were directed to exit the main deck, enter our vehicle, start the engine, and drive off the ship once the exit light was green. A lot easier than we had originally expected.

           

 Arriving in England at 11:30pm was no sweat off my back, but I am not the one driving on the left side of the road for the first time in the dark.  Setting the Tom Tom in our car to remind him to drive on the left side was one of the first things Ross did.  The only tell I saw that he was nervous were white knuckles clenched around the steering wheel because he drove on the opposite side of the road like a pro.