Sunday, October 4, 2026

The Long Journey

​Wow.πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ It’s a good thing we’ve built up stamina over the past few days…we’ve been on boats, in automobiles, on busses and yet another train. The only thing missing is an airplane!! And that’s just today!πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

When we arrived in Calais, we were expecting a shuttle to be running to the ferry terminal. We were told NOT to walk there, as it was unsafe, and that came from a train lady. Probably a lot of this between here and there…


So, we waited for a shuttle, but none cane.  So we googled, ‘Do shuttles run on Sunday?’

No. 😳😬

I tried to pull up a Bolt…none available, but fortunately Nettie was able to summon an Uber, which brought a great sigh of relief. We had to be there by 1:00, and it was nearing 12:39. 

At last we arrived at the ferry terminal.  It took a  LOT of  moving parts (EU check-out, security clearance, passport validation, UK passport, security clearance, EES visa authorization ) and nearly an hour-and-a-half later, they got us on the ferry itself!  The ferry ride, another hour-and-a-half, was peaceful and relaxing. Breathing space! 

Muster Station πŸ€“

When we disembarked in Dover, our intention was to walk the mile to the train station, however, there were no sidewalks as it was in an industrial (ferry port) area. So, as we walked toward the line of taxis, thinking we’d just take one of them, they all drove away, one by one πŸ˜‚. The people in front of us beat us to them!  Soooo…once again, we summoned an Uber to drive us 8 minutes ru the Dover train station. A 15 minute wait.  But at last we arrived and were greeted by two, yellow-safety-vested men.  

“Trains are down today,” one of them said. 

They were met with a deer-in-the -headlights lookπŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚. 

I think one of them sensed our panic. Stepping toward us he said, “Now look here…take the bus to Folkestone Station and you can get a train there. Easy peasy.”

I wanted to add,”Lemon squeezy,” just like our last London tour guide said aaaallll the way to Stonehenge and back in 2016.  πŸ˜‚  But fearing I’d burst into a fit of giggles and exacerbate my already itchy throat, which would only instigate a coughing spasm, I nodded and offered profuse thanks. 


So down the street we went to wait for the bus. It arrived around ten minutes later, and all who had arrived by ferry hoping to get a train from Dover to London climbed aboard.  Nettie and I took our seats, truly grateful to at least be in the right country now! πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ Our relief was palpable. 

Girls sleeping on the bus πŸ˜‚πŸ˜†. 

Naahhh…not really. We’re feeling pretty good, especially after two belfry climbs! 

And now….we are on a high speed train to London St. Pancras. ..

From there we’ll take the’Tube’ (underground) to East Putney Station, and then schlep our luggage 15 minutes to our hometel, where we’ll be for the next seven nights πŸ€—.  The best part of all…we made it to England with some fantastic stories to tell, while catching our first sunset from a train.  πŸ₯ΉπŸ’•


And the OTHER best part? I got to blog all the way from Folkestone to London!  YOU get my creative energy FIRST!πŸ’•

PS…That said, keep in mind I am blogging on a high speed train, am prone to motion sickness, and hope you will excuse any errors! πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

Rigamarole

​πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚. Not sure if that’s a word, but if it is, that’s what it was! Go through the ticket line, wait for the coach, board the coach, get off the coach and go to the line to exit the EU. Then walk 5 feet to enter the UK, then reboard the coach, then drive onto the ferry, then deboard the coach and voilΓ ! Here I am.πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚  My suggestion of… ‘Let’s just take the train to Brussels and then the Eurostar through the chunnel to London,’ didn’t fly, so one sleepless night later, and a lot of moving around today, and here we are on a ferry… Spirit of France, but it will be lovely to see the White Cliffs of Dover as we sail into port.πŸ˜†πŸ€—πŸ‘πŸ‘ Most oftentimes, rigamarole is worth every moment!πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘

And one final comment before I tuck into my lunch… a homemade burger on the Spirit of France, is that everyone was exceptionally nice!πŸ’•

🎢Looks Like We Made It🎢

​PORT CALAIS!!  πŸ™πŸ™πŸ™πŸ™πŸ™



Thank you SOOOOOOO MUCH for your prayers!πŸ™πŸ’•πŸ™πŸ’•πŸ™

So Far, So Good!

​

We are ON the TRAIN bound for France! Lille-Flanders is our next stop! πŸ’•

And it is truly like a ghost town πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚.


Even Nettie disappeared! 


πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚Guess I’d better wake her up!πŸ˜‚

Saturday, October 3, 2026

Sensibilities

​… and this is why we started taking carry-on only to Europe! Minimal luggage storage for big bags!πŸ™„πŸ˜¬


And we had the whole first class carriage all to ourselves 😱! It’s like a ghost town around here at our first stop! Next train due at 9:15.πŸ˜†πŸ˜†!



Ahhhh….

​The infamous yellow stripe with a #1 on the first class carriage πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚. Fortunately we PAID for it this time! πŸ˜‚



Girls Back on the Train

​BUUUT…is it the RIGHT train?πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ As is customary for Nettie and I, we get to the train station at at least 30 minutes in advance so as to figure out where we’re supposed to be (platform). Seeing the train designated for our first transfer at the platform with the doors open, we hopped on, happy to see it was here at 7:36. At about 7:39 it started to move.😬 Departure time for OUR train was 8:05 πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚.  Maybe this is why I didn’t sleep last night πŸ˜‚. But I am fully trusting Holy Spirit knows what train we need to be on this morning! πŸ€—πŸ˜‚πŸ€—


The Long Journey

​Wow.πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ It’s a good thing we’ve built up stamina over the past few days…we’ve been on boats, in automobiles, on busses and yet another tra...