France Day 11: Reims to Papworth Everard via Calais and Islington

The gloomy weather had passed and when I peered out of the window early this morning I was delighted to see the sun shining brightly over our corner of Reims. As I looked around I'm sure I could hear the music of Morning from Peer Gynt in my head and this was the view:

Sunrise over Reims

Early impressions do tend to stick with you so I feel I ought to come back and visit the more attractive areas of the city sooner rather than later.

We set off straight after breakfast and made good progress to Calais. If there had been a problem with the Sat Nav or map we could have just followed the steady stream of GB cars heading up the motorway. Some way into the journey Katy noticed the cloud appear as if it were a shelf. (The photo will follow soon). We soon disappeared underneath it, silently aware of the fact that becasue we were heading back to Blighty we may not see blue sky again until May. 2 1/2 hours after leaving Reims we arrived at the Eurotunnel terminal. We went through the check in procedure and got something to eat in the waiting area. There were announcements and apologies for delays due to a technical issue and only one train an hour was operating rather than the usual two or three. At the information desk I was able to discover that the delays were due to a strike by The French and staff were waiting for Some English to arrive from across the channel so they could restore normal service as soon as possible. In the end our departure was only 40 minutes later than the scheduled time. After a clear run on the M20 and A2 we hit traffic through Hackney and Highbury but I dropped my wonderful travel buddy Katy off at around 4pm. She had received a text from a friend inviting her out to dinner this evening so had the bonus of not having to cook for herself. A great end to the final day of her trip away! After I was out of London I had a good drive up the A1 and made it home, tired but happy to see my plants were still alive and the house was tidy. I showed Chris his presents and bored him with my photos and after he ordered a take away pizza I got one final picture.

Home at last!

It has been a fabulous adventure and I have enjoyed the time spent with old friends as well as making some great new ones. I have seen and explored a new part of the world, played some great music and improved my skills on the harp. All I need to decide now is where to go next...