Day 10 Sat 6/5/17
An early breakfast with Bev and Paul and then farewells. We left at 8.30am and headed across country to the M20 to Dover. Our ferry was scheduled to leave At 11.10nd we arrived at the ferry terminal in good time. Why are channel ports always grey?
Chiddingstone to Dover 68 miles, total 958 miles in Britain.
Our car is in there somewhere. Note the White Cliffs
We crossed the channel on the Pride of Canterbury. A reasonable crossing, a swift and easy offloading in Calais, passports checked in Dover, and straight into the autoroute south. We stopped for lunch at an Aire on the autoroute to enjoy the last of the unexpectedly sunny period and then pressed on into the increasingly grey weather with some very heavy rain before we reached Reims.
Calais to Reims 167 miles ( our first Continental miles on this trip ). Total 1125 miles.
In the evening we walked into the centre looking for the Porte de Mars, a Roman arched gateway which is the widest arch that they built, unfortunately it is entirely covered in scaffolding and plastic sheeting due to a restoration project. Still looking for the beautiful Reims we came for.....
This should have looked like this...
We ate at Edgar’s Bistro in Place de Forum overlooking the Gallo-Roman Cryptoporticos and then walked to the cathedral. Wow what a building. Finally - what we came for! We will return tomorrow for a proper visit.
Whilst walking home we stumbled across the Hotel de Ville. Perhaps due to the French Presidential election tomorrow it was beautifully bedecked in Tricolors with the central portico floodlit in red, white and blue.
Despite the rain Reims is a beautiful city. More tomorrow....
