Northern France
We arrived by Ferry to Calais France – An exciting sight for the children.
The beach ran long along the coast and was lined with huts, vendors, restaurants, and playgrounds (maybe 10 different ones!). We quickly drove to this area and the boys went off to play while I hunted down a W/C (toilet) – this should have been easy but I wasn’t expecting to have to pay so here I am walking a km in search of a free washroom rather then returning to our tepee to get the equivalent of 50 cents. (sounds costly but, the outhouse did self sanitize between visitors!). Soon after I took off on my search Zion needed to follow and by the time we made it back to the parks us adults were done and ready to drive.
We had heard lovely reviews of a la vile de Lille (2 hrs north of Paris / very near Belgium) so we typed it into our GPS and followed it’s instructions. We spent one night on the outskirts and waited out morning for a self walking tour. Lille is a much faster paced city then the others along this trip. The children were most taken by 2 people hanging from harnesses off a mirrored building while cleaning above the street, I by my first outdoor market this trip. As in many cities we found a park for the children to play – Eamon joined in with a couple boys blowing bubbles. The elephant you see him with was a gift from the last hotel. He calls her “sweetheart”.
Next was a trip to Ikea. We figured some shelving units would help us maximise space in the Tepee ; ) No, really, we were looking for some small mattresses to make the Tepee most comfortable. Done.
Then we had our first ever www.couchsurfing.org date with a family of 5 from Lille. When I called to confirm our visit, they asked if we would like to spend the evening in the country at her father’s house (about 15 mins from the city). It was absolutely comfortable, hospitable, crazy fun for the children, delicious, and beautiful. 3 vehicles (ours being one) caravanned back to their city around 10 for a visit and sleep at a stunning old apartment in the city core. (children count : 6 = wonderful fun energy). Zion was so excited to use his French and has been speaking French to me since. We look forward to our upcoming visits to other parts of France.
Can you guess.. Why do people on motorbikes stick their legs out while weaving in and out of the fast traffic? (is it an indicator for turning, an insult because the middle finger is busy, a thank you…)
