2009 06 27 - Day 1 - Bristol-London-Dover-Calais-Lille-Brussels
Nothing like a 05:20 train to kick-start your travels eh!
Both Dad & I hadn't had much more than 1 hour sleep at the time of this departure photo... thanks for all the help Dad! :)
Eschewing the convenience of the Eurostar, and it feeling 'right' to leave this sceptred isle by the sea, I opted for a Bristol-London-Dover (trains) Dover-Calais (ferry) Calais-Lille-Brussels (trains) extravaganza! Interestingly it was actually cheaper by train than bus... at 5 in the morning anyway.
Unfortunately I underestimated the connection time between train stations, ferry terminals and the ferry on both sides of the channel (since when are foot passengers last on and last off!? humph!). The result was an expected Brussels arrival time 3 hours late! Doh! Given that Geoff and Linda were expecting me in Brussels, it was also unfortunately that the work phone I had with me wasn't set up for roaming international use... One brief, but expensive, credit card based phone call later I had ample time to digest my early travelling education.
Fortunately the sun was shining and Calais has a lovely town hall just outside the station and a nicely shaded park (in the direction of the arrow) where I was able to laugh at the situation a bit and just relax with properly nothing to do for the first time in living memory! ;p
