On the Road Again!

Once the car was secured in the car park behind the hotel we had a few minutes rest before going out to look around the city centre tourist bits and have dinner. From the hotel it was a short two block walk to the Tourist Office and the Cathedral.  Rouen Cathedral Cathedral Old Market Square Statue on bridge over the Seine As we got out the cameras, Claire's Sony AS started making strange noises when turned on and again when off. From deduction it looks as though the sensors that work out when to switch the viewfinder on is causing a problem. It seems to fix itself only to start again later.  We took some pix of the Cathedral and then walked around to the Gros Horloge and then into old Market Square for a beer and then to decide on dinner. I fancied pizza until I saw the pizza place and then in a fish restaurant I saw moules!!! Claire chose Soupe des Poissons and a fish casserole from the "menu" and I had a green salad and moules in white win...

Now that the "big" Olympics weekend has passed, my attention can turn back to the holiday in a couple of weeks and start to look for places to visit on the drive down from Calais and the hotel near Disneyland Paris. Claire likes scenic places and gardens. I do to some extent, but also I like railways and war museums. So what could be better than a stop at Péronne. Scenic riverside town on the River Somme and a WW1 museum? Historial de la Grande Guerre I have also done a little tweak with the hotel for the final night in Rouen. Switching to a more central hotel. It is a few pounds more per night but much nearer the Cathesdral and the historic centre of town, has wifi and parking.  What more can you need? Okay, a bar? Check.  A restaurant? Check. Hotel Arts-et-Seine

Not a Plan B as such but simply a  review of where we are at with the trip planning.   I've had a look at the three main parts of the Normandy leg. The Chelles/Disney overnight is set in stone as I had to pay for the room up front; no refunds. It's only about €35 but I'm not made of money. I sometimes wish I was one of those travellers that simply packs a toothbrush, spare pants and a bank card and sets off into the big blue yonder.  I tried it once, being spontaneous, and we ended up looking for a hotel in rural Spain about tea time (4pm to those non-British) and ended up in the Parador in Avila. It was very nice and the restaurant was also top notch, but the wallet battering was eye watering. Okay, hotels always have towels and soap in their bathrooms, some even have bottles of stuff that you can swipe before you leave. Maybe a spare pair of pants and a spare pair of socks... wash one overnight and wear the others?  Seems okay but the rea...

I have spent a few hours working on the Normandy trip. At least the part that comes after the trip to Disneyland Paris. Disney was all done and dusted months ago with the hotel booked nearby for the Sunday night so we can be at the gates bright an early (or as early as we can). The hotel is an ETAP, soon to be rebranded as an Ibis.  It's cheap, has a loo and shower in the room and is less than £30 for the night. Lovely jubbly. Of course you have to sort out a breakfast. A batch of Tesco vouchers accounted for about 80% of the fare and I had to add some cash to confirm the booking.  As we have all day to get down to the hotel at Chelles, I booked a slightly later crossing to save us getting up too early. I'll start to look for places to stop on the way to make a 200 mile motorway run a little more interesting. Maybe we'll try to avoid the A26/A1 or A16 routes down towards Paris. Plan A To make the most of the 5-day crossing I needed to look at alternatives, ...

The Gros Horloge, as the clock is called, is in an area where there are plenty of old buildings. You can see where post 1945 the town rebuilt the areas where it was heavily bombed in the days around D-Day 1944. But many still there in the area near the clock and the cathedral. These interesting ladies adorn the wall of an adjacent building now an optician's shop. Adjacent to the Gros Horloge is this pair of buildings and the narrow alley.