Yes, this really was the view that greeted us in the car park for the Channel Tunnel. The comparison with the chaos and crowds of last year was astonishing.
However, I suppose we need to point out that last year we were travelling on the August bank holiday weekend; and this year, it turned out that a major accident on the M20 (north of our B&B the previous evening) was preventing many travellers from getting there...
We arrived safely in Calais, and trotted off towards our first pre-booked gite, about half-an-hour from the port. After a bit of trouble finding the place, we arrived to discover a note on the door to tell us that our hostess had had to go away because of a family emergency; but she had booked us an alternative B&B at the wonderful La Motte Obin. (Oddly enough, this had been our next choice of accommodation when we were booking anyway...)
Mme Breton and her farmhouse were a real pleasure, as was the simple room, the delicious food (the best tarte au citron in the world, the rest of which was given to us to take away the following day!) and the calm surrounding countryside.
