Drove from Beaune to Chablis -- took the scenic route (that's code for I took a wrong turn and got totally lost!) Nice drive though -- again, areas I wouldn"t have seen otherwise. Arrived around 2:00 only to learn that my wine tasting options were quite limited -- small town thing again -- not much was open. Found one winery that was open, and again, I was the only one there -- nice to have personalized service, but quite a bit of pressure -- trying to taste wine while someone is staring at you looking for a reaction is somewhat intense. At least I can say I tasted Chablis in Chablis!
Found the BnB I had booked a room at -- my room was like a dream! Or, more accurately, a nightmare! The room was on the fourth (top) floor up a flight of steep stairs -- the first two flights were wood -- the last two were a combination of two century old wood and crumbling brick -- I have to stop going for the "cutesy" room listings! It had one window that had been closed in 90 degree weather and a skylight that didn't open -- room was a tad warm. A bed but no chair(s) -- had a desk, and a bench for decoration, but nothing to sit on -- just the bed.
But the oddest part was that once you opened the door you had to walk down a thirty inch wide fourteen foot long corridor to actually get into the room -- might not have been so bad except it was between two dormers (which meant sloped sides half-way down) and was only 5' 10" high -- I'm six foot -- so there I am hunched over trying to carry a suitcase, backpack and a computer bagdown the corridor, literally bouncing off the walls -- only to get to the end of the corridor and find a twelve inch step down into the room -- should've known something was up when I arrived and the owner kept saying "Are you up for something different -- we have you in our most unique room." Fortunately I was only there one night.
Next morning it was up early with a long drive to Zeebrugge, Belgium to catch the ferry to England. Pretty drive -- or at least it was until I got to the port. The harbor is a major seaport on the Atlantic with all kinds of cargo moving in and out on hundreds of ships and, like much of Europe, has "signage" issues. After stopping twice to get directions, I finally saw the sign for "Car Ferries" -- all four inches tall by two feet long -- black block lettering on a white background sandwiched in between huge signs with shipping company names and dock listings -- similar to the proverbial "needle in a haystack" -- but at least I found them. Got the car on-board, got me on-board, found my "stateroom" -- a seven by ten foot room with bunkbeads that would be my "home" for the next fourteen hours.
Not to burst anyone's "bubble", but taking a slow ferry from Belgium to England across the North Sea is not at all romantic -- you have the random metal clanking noises throughout the night combined with the impact of the boat crashing into large waves (similar to someone continuously kicking a leg on your bed every 15-20 seconds) and the voices of people in the cabins around you (really thin walls). Maybe if you had company, in the other bunk or somewhere, it would be more tolerable!
Arrived in Hull, drove off the ferry and into the wonderful world of driving on the wrong side of the road! Hey, it really has turned out to be an adventure so far! Plus, my communication problems are over -- I'm back in an English-speaking country!
