On the Way - Into The Green!

3.30 am - ouch. The shuttle time was

8.50 - why so early? Easy - Team Clownaround discovered that various additional documents are required by the non-EU countries en route (Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro), including the IDP 1949, a mutiple translation of your driving licence. AA Folkestone opens at 6, so we got there about 6.30 to avoid delays and all that. Very successful, no queue, terminal practically empty, helpful lady, docs newly stamped in a deliciously 3rd world style, and off we go to breakfast.  Result.

And the rest of the day was pretty much like that, we just tooled along on the A26 to Reims, stopping for lunch at the Saint-Quentin services, and paying our paltry €13.40 at the peage - money well spent for an uncrowded and straight road!

One more drawback - whilst updating Jim's GPS, I've somehow deleted a bunch of maps, including (duh) France. Bummer. So we'll try to fix it at Liz's, our next stop. Meanwhile, his gizmo is just showing green, hence today's slogan "Into The Green"!!

Tonight's resting place - Cottage Hotel, Reims. With fetching industrial estate attached, including various discount retail places, like Point Mariage - marvellous! There is low value housing up the road, some flats with spalled concrete fascists, but the bus stop was tidy and well-presented. All from research conducted post-beer and pre-dinner - see below.

I think dinner here - should be ok, the French don't really do shit. We slept for an hour after we arrived, just fell on the beds and passed out! Well deserved!

Update: Dinner was great, not fine dining but enthusiastically cooked and served, and really tasty. The demi carafe of Chardonnay helped... Hurray!!