Normandy by Van

18.05.23

From Cologne to Criel-sur-Mer

Normandy

Yep, we're on the road again😊 After observing the weather situation for the past few weeks and .... Let's say .... Not really convinced, we decided to head towards France. So we start comfortably in the morning, it's a public holiday everywhere and therefore no rush hour.

At around 1pm we see the sea and in the distance England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 So let's have an Aperol🍹

At Sangatte we come across the Côte d'Opale and drive along the sea and the cliffs. A mixture of England and Norderney😉

Since it's also a public holiday in France, the coastal towns are pretty crowded and most of the parking lots have a height restriction of 2.10 m ... no chance for us and Rudy.

via Escalles and Wissant we then return more inland to get to Criel-sur-Mer, our first stop for today. Inland off the highway, the area is rather poor and the landscape is like the Westerwald😂

The campsite is located on the cliffs overlooking the sea.

After I managed to get out my first French sentence, the reception is really friendly and we get a spot overlooking the cliffs.

A baguette for breakfast is also already ordered🥖

Criel-sur-Mer is a small, manageable seaside resort with a pebble beach and chalk cliffs and colorful beach huts, but they are all still closed.

Hard to believe that England is right across. It's low tide and there are plenty of shell collectors out and about to provide dinner. There's not much going on here and we cook some pasta for ourselves. Unfortunately, it's too cold to sit outside. Too bad, it's supposed to be our summer vacation🙄

We watch the sunset on the cliffs with a bottle of champagne. A nice end to the first day of vacation.