Your Escape Blueprint

My name is Michael and I am a recovering planner!

5 years of engineering school and 20 years as a practicing Engineer and project manager have left a mark on me.

I am used to planning things out in gory detail in order to make things work out successfully. I used to (and still) subscribe to the seven P’s ………..Proper Planning and Preparation Prevent Piss Poor Performance.

I also know from practicing Tai Chi for over eight years that for every Ying there is an equal and opposite Yang. One is no better than the other- they just only define each other.

Yvonne and I were so busy over the past 6 months planning and preparing for our latest adventure we did not have a chance to really prepare for the details of how to get from Calais France to Lucca Tuscany in Italy.

We just let it happen……. Yvonne is a big believer in going with the flow……….

We do have a master plan – for each of us to visit at least 100 countries before we leave this earth.

Sometimes having a plan gets in the way! I was told before departing to Europe that Lake Como, Italy was a must see. Therefore we added it to our itinerary and researched a cute little guest house, complete with lake views to stay in.

We departed Saarbrucken Germany at 10 AM with Como lake as a target. 6 hours of driving to our chosen destination, with fingers crossed that they were not fully booked when we got there.

Upon arrival at our GPS navigated destination we realized that the map indeed was not the territory and there was no lake or parking in site just the discombobulation of Friday afternoon traffic chaos and no target hotel in sight. Just a scuzzy street, with shady characters hanging around. Yvonne’s spidy sense said no way, so onwards it was despite now being past 5pm!

After dealing with chaotic Italian traffic for another three hours and observing Vespa’s (motorbikes) being implanted to car grills we finally arrive in Lecco on the other arm of Lake Como. The GPS or Sat Nav! Did come in useful and pointed us in the right direction of local hotels we ended up in a nice hotel on the lake front, with a lake view room!

The weekend was mostly a wash out ,no dramatic sun drenched views for us……..  we took the opportunity to collect ourselves, feed on Pizza and red wine before pushing on to our house sit in Lucca, Tuscany.

Rainy, wet days are really good for catching up on sleep and getting used to that crazy Italian driving!

Michael

There are places that you hear of all your life, places that summon images, feelings, desires……. One of those for us was the Swiss Alps, which is partly why we choose this route and partly because it was a chance to get a taste of a few different counties along the way. We will definitely be back to this part of the world again.

The Gotthard Pass (elevation of 2106 meters) connects the northern German-speaking part of Switzerland with the Italian-speaking part and part of our route towards Milan. It also has a very famous tunnel the Gotthard Road Tunnel which stretches an incredible 17km…………….

It is famous not only for its length but for the accident in the tunnel in October 2001 it was caused by a tyre burst which slewed a truck into the opposite lane crashing into an oncoming truck. The trucks cargo of tyres, caught fire, spreading toxic fumes throughout the tunnel. The extreme heat caused some of the cement facing of the tunnels to explode. Eleven people died………

Overcrowding in the tunnel was considered to be a major factor and there are now strict controls on the amount of traffic allowed in the tunnel at any time. We know we were sitting patiently at a red light for about 30 minutes, wondering what was the cause for the hold up?

We had already passed through a lot of tunnels and will forever associate Switzerland with tunnels, however this one was a shock! 17 kms. boring through the Swiss Alps it felt like a journey to the centre of the earth! I for one was definitely relieved when we saw the welcome circle of daylight approaching!

Video courtesy of nils169 (Youtube)

We decided to head further east and get a taste of some of the countries we have only

Flowers and pots!

ever heard about…… in my case Luxembourg! Leaving from Belgium we headed in a more or less straight line east, which actually took us through France, Germany, Luxembourg and back to Germany. We stopped for coffee in Arlon, which is Belgium….but we may have been in France before and after….. very confusing! A very helpful barista, helped us find the one and only Wi Fi spot in the place so we check in and enjoy our coffee. Bonjour and a smile go a long way!Europe really is a place without borders…….. there are no border crossings, no

Tournai Belgium

guards, no checkpoints and only the occasional sign welcoming you to????. The reality is you are driving a highway which crosses through multiple countries and apart from the language changes on the road signs; you would not even know you were in another country.

We had a picnic lunch in Luxembourg, took in the view and carried on ending up at

Church in Arlon Belgium

the Hotel Fuchs (Fox) in Saarbrucken, Germany. It is a beautifully restored hotel complete with ancient beams, low ceilings and lovely hot water radiators (perfect for warming up those fluffy white towels).

The town, at least the area we were in was a hot spot of activity, bars, restaurants and the entire square were full of the ebb and flow of the townsfolk……… whether it was stopping for Café, Bier or just to people watch, the whole town (and their dogs were there). The cobbled square, the centre of the town is indeed the heart of these places, the people the blood that flows in and out, pulsing in an age old tradition.

View from our window in Saarbrucken Germany

I felt at home here, after all Europe is where my ancestral blood stems from………. At home and yet not, both myself and Mike appear to belong…… until we speak. We are not obviously strangers by our appearance unlike many places we have travelled too, which has given rise to some awkward one sided conversations! My high school German and Mikes French has been sorely tested and found wanting!

Aufweidersehn!

Yes we did……… we sailed from Dover, UK at 10.15am on P&O ferries, it was a uneventful foggy crossing! The transport from the drop off area for foot passengers was more eventful! We piled on to a bus to pile off again to show our passports, back on drove a couple of 100 ft and everybody off with bags for security! All the bags went through the scanners…… all clear, even Mikes bag with his handy dandy mini tool set in it (complete with pliers, knives and corkscrew). Then up a long zigzagging ramp into the vessel itself, found a comfy spot and started writing.We arrived into a dreary, fog bound Calais at 12.50pm…. it did not actually take that long, forgot we have to add one hour! Now was the testing time would our car lease be as straightforward as promised???

The arrivals terminal was in the middle of renovations and almost deserted apart

Brand new drive… what does this do?

from one lovely lady waiting for…….. yes us! She pulled out a small pile of papers which included our lease agreement, our insurance coverage, another form just in case we should be involved in an accident and a set of keys…..

She locked up her little booth and we followed her out to the parking lot to our own brand new Citroen C3 car Ta Da! It is a cute little grey green number with a Bonus!!! GPS! Yeah……. We had almost bought one in the UK and had decided to wait till we got to Europe as it would already be loaded with the right software. She had even programmed it to the English speaking mode for us! EuropeByCar  had certainly come through and more as we had not paid for GPS. Our little C3 even has park assist and a few other perks……. I will let Mike fill you in on those.

First stop was Calais itself to pick up a few supplies……. i.e wine…. Actually we did,

Our Wheels

what we went looking for was a ‘dongle” as they call them in the UK, some of you may know them as a “rocket”. We were out of luck, yes they could be had and would work in all of France……. Not planning on staying that long in France! It was the same story when it came to getting a SIM card for the phone!

We ended up having lunch in Calais and then headed to Lille, where we had planned to stay over! It was not to be, a very cute, picturesque town with not many rooms available. The local tourist office was helpful and pointed us toward a place close by………. My “Spidey” senses took over; when I saw that someone had attempted to kick the front door in, add to that, only paid street parking! Mmmh next! We were intending to reach Belgium the 2^nd day, therefore decided to just go for it!

Tournai, Belgium was where we stayed, a large 4 storey building, snuggled up to its neighbours in a sweeping arch behind the main square. We stayed in the “Renoir” room….. quiet, comfortable modernity in a historic setting. The main square was hopping with activity despite the steady downpour….. very much a contrast with the almost abandoned feel that Dover’s centre had!

We ordered the recommended Filet Mignon…….. note to self-do not assume it is beef! It was pork tenderloin cooked to perfection with a cream, mustard sauce, washed down with an excellent red wine at €2.8 a glass. The French may be famous for their food; my vote so far goes to the Belgians….. known for the beer, their love of meat and the best mustard sauce ever.

Dover, UK – Calais, France – Tournai, Belgium……. Three countries in one day! Bringing my total count of countries visited to a grand total of 50!!! Half way to my life goal of at least 100!!!!

Every time I hear “Dover” the line from this golden oldie pops into my head…….

There’ll be bluebirds over
The white cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow
Just you wait and see
I’ll never forget the people I met
Braving those angry skies
I remember well as the shadows fell
The light of hope in their eyes
And though I’m far away
I still can hear them say
Bombs up…
But when the dawn comes up
Therell be bluebirds over
The white cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow
Just you wait and see
Therell be love and laughter
And peace ever after
Tomorrow
When the world is free
Tomorrow
Just you wait and see… Vera Lynn

No idea where the bluebirds come from, there are certainly none of the feathered kind. Not blue ones anyway…… there are lots of seagulls though, as Mike can attest, the splat didn’t quite miss!!!!

We arrived via train (post to follow on that) and enjoyed a short taxi ride through scenic Dover and lots of ”lorries” heading for the ferries. Our quaint little B&B Loddington House Hotel, situated on East Cliff Rd is a perfect spot to explore Dover and catch the ferry, as it is literally walking distance to the terminal.

The row of tall, skinny 4 storey houses overlook the ocean and the cliffs, as they are

The cliff top walk is not surprisingly very popular, being such a contrast to the bustling port below, here there are songbirds aplenty, blackbirds, finches, thrushes and multitudes of sparrows, there melodies competing with the raucous cries of the gulls. Giant stands of cow parsley attract butterflies, bees and ladybugs, the cliffs support something else as well. Little piles of pellets take me back to my childhood & my pet rabbits. It is peaceful, yet

The Port of Dover

noisy, the traffic flows in and out of the port, the announcements drift up in English, French and German, giving us a taste of things to come.

Hunger drives us back down and we head west into town in search of food! For a seaside town it seemed surprisingly quite for eating choices, after a abortive entry into a pub in search of food we ended up at “il Rustico”

What a find…….. we were initially the only patrons, rather surprising considering the quality & standard of our food. The calamari was perfect and the Casa Belle Pizza was out of this world…… a pre-taste of true Italian food maybe. We rounded off our meal with the house special…. Cheesecake! By this time we had made firm friends with our waiter Johnnie and he said he “would make it special for us” he did…… a generous dash of Amaretto drizzled over a feast for the taste buds and the eye! Yummie!

Fresh sea air, good food and lots of exercise, equals a good night’s sleep in a very

Breakfast

comfortable bed. We woke refreshed and ready for a good English breakfast, no disappointments there!! Yes this was definitely better than staying in Kings Cross and catching the “chunnel”, after all I have always wanted to visit Dover!

My sister-in-law, what a Star she is, drove us to Grantham (birthplace of Margaret Thatcher). We arrived just in time to get our pre-paid tickets, get directions from a very helpful porter and be issued onto the platform as a “High Speed” train whoooshed by! Ours arrived 5 minutes later and we were on our way!

Getting around by train is easy to do in England, compared to North America,

Grantham train station

England and a lot of Europe has very comprehensive networks. This of course is driven by a higher population density and less of a reliance on cars for getting around.

What we did find out is that prices vary immensely…… peak rush hour times and routes can cost in the hundreds….. pounds sterling not $. You can buy a rail pass, if travelling a lot, however it does not make sense for us. What does make a lot of sense is taking advantage of “advance booking”. This information came courtesy of our local family…… Traintimes is a great online site where you can pre-book journeys at steeply discounted rates.

We knew we were going to take the train to Dover, however were not sure of our starting point; Boston is a little more disconnected than other towns and cities. Once we knew Grantham was our starting point we logged on, punched in the route and time, great…two tickets for £73!  Ever had one of those frustrating computer glitches? You know the whole thing freezes up and kicks you out of the system!!!!!

Yep we had one of those, by the time we got back in the same ticket, same destination, same time had jumped to £144………. Yikes! Yvonne being Yvonne got on the “Blower” to the online help centre for traintimes…… not sure if it should be called a help centre. As the gentleman explained that all the Advance tickets were now sold and we would have to pay full price. He could book it for us, for an extra charge of course…….

By the time the conversation was over Yvonne had been told that there had to be a name on her debit card, they were not issued without names (Want to bet?) and that her debit card had to be either a Visa MC or Amex card???? Maybe in England mate! After explaining that it was Canadian issued, she gave the number only to be told it could not be accepted and that the best thing to do was to buy the ticket at the station. Note you get charged extra for booking with a credit card!

Kay to the rescue! She suggested we try redspottedhanky (thank God for people in the know, we would never have found it by ourselves). Similar online booking site, who Lo & Behold had the same times etc. for £73 !!!!!! Almost 20 hours after Traintimes had bumped their prices…….

Lesson learned, book early and use redspottedhanky!

We whizzed through the English countryside, the landscape becoming more rolling hillside as we went, then changing into industrial and residential areas. England and the rest of Europe’s population seen so far, tend to congregate in towns and cities. It is a distinct contrast between the relatively unpopulated countryside, with only the odd farm house seen in the distance, to the villages and towns where the houses huddle together as if for protection.  A legacy of our past maybe……… after all many 16^th or even 18^th century Europeans never travelled more than a few miles from their birthplace.

Our first change was Kings Cross Station, London, our task to get to St Pancras Station…….. complete with luggage and no we are not travelling light! St Pancras is only across the street from Kings Cross, easy right?

It is not quite as simple as that, you have to go underground to get across the street, so head to St Pancras Underground and from there to St Pancras International. The station is an inspiring work of art with a great arched, vaulted roof and it is enormous…………

Scurrying through this huge place like a couple of ants we realise that we have no idea which platform we need and no information boards or porters in sight! Park the bags and do a reconnaissance…. Aha! Platforms 11-13 just up this flight of stairs………

We made it! Three high speed trains sit waiting for their ants…… which one though? The porters and staff were all extremely helpful, platform number 12 it is. We flop hot, flustered and victorious into our seats! Dover here we come!

More pictures to come, watch this spot!