14 April

Today I rose earlier, was prepared for breakfast by 7 and was seated a moment after. Orange juice was out, then Christian came in a minute later with a pot of tea and the bread basket. I started on the toasted rolls with Vegemite, as they were white and the bread is invariably brown or wholemeal. A few minutes later the egg and bacon arrived, Christian gave me a souvenir (an ANZAC badge for this year) and I tucked in. He also asked for the keys to be put in the letterbox as he was off immediately. I finished breakfast, finished my preparations, packed, checked the room, double-checked the room and then I was off, about 7:45.
The weather was overcast, with occasional spits of rain. I decided I would go to Armenteires, as I had both heard so many songs and sung them myself. Then it would be Dunkirk, Calais and then as far as I got.
Off to Armenteires and I found a bustling city, with free parking right at its heart. I wish other cities could take note that France, with such a relatively small space and so many people (and cars, and visitors), can provide free parking in the centre of the city. Why can’t Australia? I had a look around and found building work going on, a monumental town hall, a monument to the wars and those who died in them, a large church (cordoned off my the works, so I don’t know how people got in) and a hole in the wall (so I got some money – I need to cash travellers’ cheques and I still don’t know where (but I’ve really only been in France two full working days). Then I moved onto Dunkirk. This is now a bustling city, so I parked (free again) and took a little walk around the docks area until I happened upon the Marine Museum. This had some floating exhibits outside (currently closed) and two displays inside. One was the growth of the port of Dunkirk (from ancient times, until today, with a hiatus because of wars) and the other was on the ships through the port (so today’s photos have a lot of model ships and other information on Dunkirk). I spent far longer than I expected there, especially given all the descriptions were in French (but I could work out what they meant), but is was just so interesting.
Then I headed off to Calais. This was just a port, very busy, so I went through and then found the coast road (D940). I called in at a small supermarket (there seem to be a few chains, but they are small – the larger ones are set in car parking areas which are not easy to get into when you are looking at the scenery) and stocked up on drink (one quarter the counter price), tissues (small box, so I won’t have to chuck away a large one when I leave Paris, but I seem to sneeze every time after eating, so I wonder if it is a food additive allergy or just change) and a roll for lunch. Memo to self: don’t buy bread from a supermarket in France – go to a patisserie! I will be following the D940 as long as it follows the coast, so progress will be slower and more demanding of concentration. As soon as I was out, I found myself looking at a veritable armada of shipping – ferries between France and England. I could also see the white cliffs of Dover. There was an excellent view from Cape Blanc Nez – but I couldn’t get there, and had to settle for a look from the small village near it (roadworks, presumably for the summer crowds). Then I went further along to the village of Escalles, where I found a Tourist Information Centre and called in, getting a brochure on local B&Bs. I had a quick walk around the town and down to the expansive beach (for some reason, I had never even considered that the northern coast of France would have beaches, but they are large and sandy – and now in retrospect, there have to be such beaches for the invasion landings of D-Day). I settled on a possible place (at €35 for the night) and drove up there. The SatNav does make that easy, so I arrived fairly soon after leaving Escalles. I knocked and eventually the door was answered by a bloke who made Pierce in “Zits” look positively bare. I had a look at the room (very neat, attic type, with full en suite), decided to take it and communicated that I would take it and be back later after sightseeing.
After missing out on Cape Blanc Nez, I tried to get to Cape Gris Nez but … roadworks again! I had to settle for parking near the beach, walking to the cliff top between the two points and seeing it from there. It was immediately obvious from the chalk cliffs why “white nose” was so named, and from the grey sedimentary rocks why “grey nose” was also. There were markers still in the water at the beach, so I presume (because it’s not one of my fields of interest) that the beach must have been one of the landing sites. There were also concrete blockhouses and other reminders still visible in the fields.
By this time the day was moving on and the fuel gauge was moving down. I still wanted other shopping, so I headed back to Calais (fifteen minutes). At a supermarket I got some fruit (must eat only one piece at each mealtime – too much sugar) and other nibblies (can’t tell relative prices until I see the exchange rate, so will do that when I log on either tomorrow or Wednesday evening (when I’m at a McDonald’s – less hassle, but less convenience). Then I filled up with diesel – a rough estimation is 19 kilometres per litre (5·25 litres per hundred kilometres, or for those who really know their cars, 53 miles per gallon), but I hope that will improve with running in and on a longer freeway run.
Then it was back to where I am staying tonight. The system here has each B&B having to post its tariff clearly in the window near the front door – no argument, no problem – very good to make sure owner and guest have no misunderstandings. Very different to the US where the posted tariff often bears little relation to the actual price paid. I carted things upstairs (narrow, wooden, noisy, but real), then started in this and then the photos from today.
All finished now, and with gentle rain on the roof I shall see if I can drop off early tonight to be ready for an early start tomorrow (how far along the coast can I go?).