Hello Northern France
Well, I arrived in France and what a sight to behold. Sunshine..!
I rode to Rosslare with plenty of time, which was good because Stena had brought the departure time of the ferry forwards by two hours because of a storm coming in. If you are going to Rosslare and have time on your hands, there is a lounge area where you can wait, but take drinks and snacks with you because the vending machines are expensive. We sailed two hours early and as I don’t mind it being a bit bumpy, I had a pleasant crossing and a good nights sleep. Strangely enough, there were few people at breakfast the following morning. I wonder why…?
The ferry crossing cost £105 for the bike and myself and the cabin cost £125. I was going to sleep in one of the comfy chairs but at the last minute decided a good nights sleep – and a shower – were in order.
We arrived in Cherbourg to sunshine and 24 degree heat. Lovely. Absolutely lovely. After a quick exit from the port I headed south-east and instead of taking the most direct route I followed the coast-road, arriving at Camping des Isles in the afternoon, riding around 45 miles. The camp is nice. Clean, friendly and its costing me 14eu a night for a pitch. You have to pay 1eu for a shower token, but the toilets and showers are immaculately clean. If you want wif-fi you have to pay for it, and its expensive and slow. I tried to upload a video and after two hours it had only uploaded 12% so I gave up – which now means McDonalds to upload my video’s – which isn’t a bad thing
The campsite is on Utah beach, where the Americans made their landings on D-day. It’s such a peaceful place now, and I fail to grasp how such peacefulness experienced so much horror, noise and loss of life 70 years ago. I find it hard to get my head around it.
I’m staying here for a few days, and then on Monday I’m heading to Bayeux to meet a friend on his Triumph, and we’re going to visit museums for a few days. In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy the scenery, and the beauty which is Normandy.
