Europe here I come

I left Edinburgh on Monday morning - late I have to say and after receiving yet another parking ticket!!!! The trip down the country to London was punctuated by snow and hundreds of trucks but they were very well behaved, staying in the slow lanes for the most part. I have to say, the English motorway system is a pretty good one. I eventually arrived in London about 8.00pm and managed to navigate my way to my sister Mia's in Elephant and Castle with very little bother (only got honked at once). I was feeling somewhat sore and sorry for myself as I had fallen in the bath on Sunday and although I still retained all my teeth (I'm not sure how), I did have a nasty fat lip and the best specimens of bruises that I can recall seeing on my legs and face. (Today they look worse but they feel better). After a decent night's sleep, I headed south towards Dover (Photos on blog in Scotland folder - yes I know it's not strictly Scotland but it certainly isn't Europe and I didn't want to create an album for just 2 photos). I made good time and got to the ferry with an hour to spare so I spent the time paying my latest ticket, talking to both my children as well as a chap called Dario who is going to rent me a flat in Tuscany on Saturday. I'll tell you all about it when I have arrived there. The crossing of the Channel was very rough (thank goodness for Sealegs) and we had to sit out in the channel for about an hour before we could dock which meant that we didn't arrive until about 4.00pm instead of 3.00pm. I drove into the centre of Calais to have a look see and as the weather was just as bad there as in England, I decided to head south to Lille. It took a bit longer than I expected so I didn't get there til about 8.00pm and then I spent about an hour going round and round the block until I finally managed to find the hotel I had decided that I would stay at. If I hear Tom (GPS) tell me to turn right once more today, I think he will be tossed out the window. Tom has several voices and after this evening, I have got rid of 'Jane' and added 'Tim' instead, in the hope that he won't grate quite so much. Actually, to be fair, Tom has made the navigating much easier - definitely a great investment. I just wasn't following his instructions properly so it really wasn't his fault. As I was feeling very tired, I decided to treat myself to a flash hotel - The Carlton on Rue de Paris - pretty pricey but just what the doctor ordered tonight. Then I went out to The Hippopotamus for dinner which was fabulous - just what you might expect from French chefs. Mind you, I felt obliged to finish the bottle of wine that came with dinner so I was feeling distinctly odd by the time I had finished dinner but it was worth it. The driving on the wrong side of the road thing is a bit of a challenge but I have survived so far without any damage and only one wrong turn (not bad considering I was worn out), which as it turned out was not life threatening so it's all good. Tomorrow may well be a different story but I will keep you up to date.