A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.
A getaway to try to recover some sanity after so much family trauma was seriously needed, so, a little like last year, we drove through France to Spain and back again. The difference was this was really a trip for Pippa, so we didn't visit any friends, we really need time alone. So, we drove 3702 miles, and visited all new places, not one we'd been to before, ah, except a quick trip to Girona to do a bit of shopping
Date of event: 4/30/2026
30/04/2026
We'd stayed here the year before, it's close to Dover for the ferry but a much nicer place to stay, the food is excellent, it's dog friendly, the staff are friendly too and the rooms are very comfy. There's also a large park, cum common area that Sam loves.
01/05/2026
Pippa's always happy on a ferry and it seems that ferries are always happy with Pippa since the weather is always fantastic and the seas calm. Sam is always indifferent to a photo opp and seems particularly focussed on some spot or smell on the deck.
So, we're off, this always seems like the first day of the holiday rather than the second, we're going to spend the night some 3 hours away from Calais, in a town called Compiègne just north east of Paris. Though first we stop for lunch in the first place that offers an exit from the autoroute, Bellinghem, Hauts-de-France a bar call Le Saint Trop.