Up at 6:30 am (waaaah!) for our taxi to Folkestone and the chunnel train (LeShuttle) to Calais, not regretting canceling the ferry one little iota. It is quite the process taking the train, very much like catching a ferry, except you go through British customs and then French border control for your passport stamp. You drive onto the train in your vehicle and eventually move through the tunnel. It’s only about 30 minutes.
Norman Guest House.
On LeShuttle. There was an electric Tesla 2 cars ahead of us and it’s owners left to find a bathroom. She was very cranky as she couldn’t find one and didn’t know how to open the doors between the cars so she made her husband come help. But the train started to move and the Tesla thought it was being stolen so it started honking and flashing and playing loud music. Very funny if somewhat annoying.
The Burghers of Calais by Rodin (the guy who made “The Thinker – Le Penseur). Peter had studied these guys in his art history class, so it was cool to see them in reality. The story is that these 6 men offered their lives to the English king (14th century) in exchange for the lifting of an 11 month siege of the city.
Peter 3D printed this little Bugsnax – Bungher – half burger, half dung beetle – specifically for a photo op with Burghers. You can see a little dot by the feet on the photo above.c
Calais town hall. Calais was heavily bombed during the war but towers tended to be kept intact as observation towers. It is breathtaking
Pretty small tow truck.
This garden was made to look like a peacock.
City of Laon on top of the hill, photo taken from a taxi doing 130 km / hour. Ken and I had to climb it in 2023 on the Via Francigena. Much cussing ensued, as it recall. But I will say that the Laon cathedral is the most awe-inspiring and luminescent of any church I have ever been in (and I’ve been to many!)
Speed limit of 130 km/hrs, 110 if it’s raining. 2.5 hour driver which gave plenty of time for everyone to have a nap. I’m not allowed to post pictures of the nappers though. Oh what the heck. Here it is.
They still sell Bugles here! Why here and not in Canada??? Grrr.
Arrived in Reims, a beautiful town with a Cathedral also worthy of Peter’s art history course, Roman arches, and the “surrender museum, the actual rooms where Germany surrendered in WW2.
Random quote from Ken to me: you look like a walking garage sale. Thanks, Ken. I love you too. Insert eye roll here. No photo…but was wearing my pack, a fanny pack, and two jackets. His comment was later amended to “a walking thrift store”.
VF Britannica Via Campaniensis Voie de Vezelay 2025 