Final days in France but a celebration to return home to

Our last days in France were spent in le Touquet, Boulogne and Calais. The weather started to get us prepared for our return to England. The temperature dropped so that we considered putting on the heating in the van and it started to drizzle -english style. The northern coast of France is fine on a sunny day but we have experienced so much better in the last few months. Maybe it was just our mood. We were both experiencing a desire to get home and to see friends and family but were conscious of the fact that time would not be our own again. How does one manage the need to work, having an income and time to do all the things you want to?  We have been incredibly lucky to have this experience but now with our funds very low we have to look at our future.

In Calais the day before we returned home we spent some time in the hypermarket getting a few more bottles of wine and other bits and pieces.  We also checked up on our chunnel crossing as we did not have the required reference number on our booking form.  This sorted we wondered how we were going to spend our last evening when we received a text for Jay and Jules who were leaving France the day after us. They had spent most of the day getting Charlie (the dog) sorted out for his return to the UK and like us were keen to meet up to lift the home-coming mood.  We ended up have a good evening sharing our travel tales with a bottle of wine and a chilli.  It seemed a fitting end to our travels abroad as we had had such a good time with them in Greece. It was lovely to finish our trip with them and even the lights on the other side of the Channel seemed welcoming.

Next morning Mike and I were up early to catch the shuttle. Mike had been very keen to take this route home and whilst it was extremely efficient it was rather boring.  I think it will be the ferry next time. Once in Folkstone we set our sights westwards for Cornwall and Louise's graduation. Driving all the way to Falmouth seemed a bit far after our 21,000 mile trip so we stopped off to see Steve and Liz, our friends in Bristol. We had a good night with them and they seemed quite interested in some of our photos - I hope they weren't being polite. Richard, my son, joined us the following morning and we set off once more for Falmouth.  We arrived about 4pm and were joined about an hour later by Louise, Kathleen and Peter. Poor old Chris and his mates ended up with quite a houseful but it was lovely to meet up with everyone. It made the homecoming more worthwhile.  That evening we went to Pandora's for supper.  It was a nice meal and a good occasion but Mike and I were quite tired from our travelling and time differences.  We had managed to find a parking place close to Chris's house so we were able to go back to Buster in the evening to sleep. This was just as well as the graduation ceremonies had seen that all bed and breakfast places were full.

The following day I acted as proud mum at Lou's graduation ceremony.  I was so pleased that I had been able to get back in time to see her graduate. We all enjoyed a glass of champagne to celebrate in the pretty ground of the Princess Pavilion where the ceremony had been held. The weather held up although it started to rain just as we were leaving.  However it did not last too long and later in the afternoon I was able to take my elderly dog Tessa for a slow walk along the coast. We went out for another meal that night after playing card games back at Chris's.  For a moment I almost forgot I had been away for months.

It was now Friday the 13th. We took Richard back to Bristol and as we could not pick up the keys to our house until the 16th we had a slow drive northwards. On the Friday night we visited Mike's sister, Caroline, and Mark and on the Saturday we called in on Mike's mum. On Sunday we drove up to Mike's daughter, calling in on Julie and Mark.  Mike was very pleased to catch up with his daughter Kate and son Chris as well as his grandchildren.  That night we slept outside Kate's house but this was to be our last night in the van as on the following day we picked up the keys to my house where we will be staying for the foreseeable future.


We have had a great few months.  We have covered 21,000 miles and visited France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, the Czech R
epublic and The Netherlands before Christmas and then after Christmas France, Spain, Portugal, Spain again, France again, Monaco, Italy, Sicily, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Italy again, Switzerland, France again, Germany, France again,  We have seen some amazing sights and have some wonderful memories. Don't ask which was the best as so many places have meant a lot to us.  If you are reading this and wondering whether to do something similar go for it. It has been a lifetime's experience. Thank you Buster - you have been a great van to travel in.