Homps - Sunday 25th May
We woke up to our last day 🙁
The forecast was threatening 27 degrees in the afternoon, just when we would be inside packing up 🥵
We could see snow on the Pyrenees.
We had six locks to do. The first one was busy with three boats in the lock down and up, we travelled all six locks with the same boats. One boat had six Italians onboard and there was a lot of arm waving going on! The other boat had two people on who had just picked the boat up and were very entertaining! They really had no idea what they were doing, not just with the locks but with the steering too. They only had a small boat which didn’t have bow thrusters and they really struggled. I really felt that after six locks they would have “got” it but no!!
Back at base we squeezed Vera into a space, had a cuppa then started the packing. It wasn’t too hot thank goodness. We had an interesting BBQ of what was left in the fridge and freezer followed by Magnums which had been in the freezer for ages.
Vierzon - Monday 26th May
Last minute packing and check out at 9am. We had been promised some recompense for the things that were wrong with the boat and were offered €150. Not enough! The four of us had discussed another boat trip so in the end we settled on a €250 voucher. Better than nothing.
The dogs had to have their worming pill and be certified ‘fit to travel’. We drove to Lézignan-Corbières which was south of Homps I only chose the vet as it had an online booking system! It was out of town with ample parking and the vet spoke perfect English 😃. Both dogs passed with flying colours though Ted had put on weight! During the holiday Rio had been doing his hunger strike thing again though he did finish Ted’s last few biscuits each day while Ted went over to Rio’s food and would start tucking into that until we could stop him!!
Then the long journey started. We stopped for coffee and lunch but other than that it was driving all the time. We got to the hotel about 5pm and checked in. The hotel was called Enjoy Garden. There was a garden but it wasn’t enjoyable! There were chairs and tables but these were dirty and had no cushions, the grass needed some attention too. Our room was very nice. We were on the first floor but the room was in the loft! There was a huge roofing truss but we both managed to avoid hitting our heads on it!!
Home - Tuesday 26th May
I didn’t sleep well as I was clock watching - terrified of over sleeping. Of course I was fast asleep when the alarm went off! There were lovely fluffy croissants for breakfast, they were the best ones we had had all holiday.
We got away at 8.40 for a 5 hour driving time to Calais. Before we knew where we were we were up around Paris. We were going to the west of the city and had to go through The Duplex A86 tunnel which takes you underground for 10 kms. It is only 2 metres high and a bit claustrophobic. Unlike most tunnels, this one is a single tube, double deck tunnel.
We stopped for a combined coffee, lunch and wee break then drove on in the mist and rain up to Calais. The wind wasn’t as bad as had been forecast but we were glad we were going under the Channel and not on it! We arrived early and were put on a shuttle 90 minutes before our booked time but it was delayed by 30 minutes!
Back in the UK we said our goodbyes to Tracey, Steve and Ted and drove the final part of our journey home. It had been a wonderful holiday. We are so lucky to have found such lovely people who have become such brilliant friends.