holidays

Here we go again. We’re off to France this time. And we’re taking the car, which means there’ll be more room for my stuff… and air conditioning, nice. It was a very busy time getting ready to go and I had no time to warn you. So get your French phrase book, your map of continental Europe, your access to coffee and croissants and we’ll begin.

19 7b

(No, couldn’t get the webcam to work so here’s an old photo of a different boat trip…)

We haven’t actually reached France yet though, we’re still in Ireland, in Wexford, well, in a boat floating beside a bit of Co. Wexford to be precise. And we’ve found a WiFi hotspot so there might be a blog today. Unfortunately I’ve forgotten the routine and have no photographs but there might be a way to use the camera on my laptop to get a fly on the wall view of our spot on the boat. We’ll see.

19 7d

(… and here’s a different boat entirely…)

For now the plan is to have a nice quiet, calm crossing to Roscoff. Then to have a nice calm drive to the Véndee, possibly stopping along the way for some nice lunch and to collect some nice dinner supplies. This “holiday” will be different. First of all we’ll both be working (well, I intend to take the weekends off, not sure about Denis). Secondly, we’ll be staying in one place the whole time (except for little trips at weekends). Thirdly, we’ll be doing more cooking and more walking. And finally I’ll be making stuff – more on that soon.

22 06b

(…and here’s Venice because it’s so lovely…. and it’s on water too….)

We’re also staying longer and I intend to take the opportunity to brush up on my French. If you’re a regular reader you’ll no doubt be aware of my difficulties – lingually. I blame the educational system… and the compulsory Irish…. and my delicate disposition… and the fact that other languages are nothing like English. I’ve been thinking that when I’m proficient (like next week) I might even try out a completely French blog post here. Don’t worry if you can’t read French, I’ll also provide a translation, which might also be useful for those who can read French.

24 06i

(…our boat is a little smaller than that one)

And so we begin, bon nuit, Mairead

Ready

(Almost ready to go…)

We’re off to Wales via Scotland and we’ve arrived in Belfast and are sitting on the ferry. It’s been almost twelve months since our last motorbike trip and I had forgotten how much I love it! We left Greystones at 8.30am and it was overcast and a little chilly… but the smells were amazing. Fresh air, soil and grass – yummy.

Big Bridge

(Big Bridge near Dundalk)

An hour later I was very cold and I remembered what I love about cars – the heater. Maybe it’s time to get the heated vest thingy. You wear it inside your jacket and plug it into the bike. Your very own heater. For now all is well, hot tea is warming me up and we have a window seat. There’s also free wi-fi so all is very well.

Here we go

(Here we go)

It’s funny what we get used to. Since I was little I’ve thought that travelling by plane to go on holidays was part of the holiday. The excitement of getting there. The nice person that checked our tickets and took our luggage. The walk to the plane, the smiling air hostess and the cute little meals – that were free! It’s still exciting to go on holidays but the new things they’ve added to the plane journey are not helpful. The plastic bag of liquids. The bins full of half empty water bottles and nail clippers. An odd sense that you might actually be a security risk. The waiting. Boots off. Queueing. Boots on. Fitting your bag into a metal cage or maybe not fitting your bag into the metal cage. More waiting. The cute little free meals are gone now and so are the smiles.

Cosy

(Cosy and dry)

The ferry experience today was very different. Although it was raining there were lots of smiles. We were stopped once to look at our tickets, no you don’t need your passports. Then we drove to lane 14 and waited until a smiling man sent us up the ramp behind a bus, to keep you dry! Another smiling man directed us to the bike section. A third smiling man tied the bike to the boat. The whole thing took ten minutes. And two hours later we’re here.

Welcome to Scotland! Mairead.