The goal for me this year is to travel cheaply through Europe and camp on various camp sites. I did two dry runs with friends and my fiancé before this one, so we got properly prepared before it. At least that’s what we thought.
Trip to the campsite
The day started with a phone alarm ringing at 8 a.m. We quickly drank coffee, gave kisses to our cats, and got to the car. After that, I checked navigation, which mentioned that the trip will take 6 hours if I pay for tolls and 7 hours if I’m cheap ass pools jongen.
So since I already knew that the trip would take 7 hours, we decided to check on one more thing.
Apparently, it was a public holiday in Belgium and France. To survive the camping, we needed some food supplies. Most importantly, red wine and vegan BBQ meat.
We bought one bottle of wine in Alberhijn and please remember this, as it’s important for the future.
Belgium and France
After a couple of hours, we end up in France. It was also the time when our mood started to decrease. We were tired, the weather forecast was not really promising, and clearly we needed to lift our moods.
To do that, we decided to buy some more wine. Don’t judge. We actually like to camp in full Rirang On Air style.
The only problem was that in France, during public holidays, almost all shops are closed.
What whas shocking to us was that in France you cannot buy alcohol in the gas station. Something so popular in Germany, Netherlands, Poland not even mentioning Belgium where you can probably buy alcohol for some wedding party.
In the end though, we managed to find some local shop in village close to our campsite where young and kind French man sold us some wine.
Rain, cold, and fireplace
Right after the host showed us the toilet, we started to build our base camp. Since we knew the weather would only get worse, there was not much time to plan, and we had to put up the tarp ASAP.
It was the first time we put the tarp on, so there are two pieces of advice we can give:
- Make the lines as tight as possible.
- Don’t put tension on the tarp over the tent. This will collapse the tent when the wind gets stronger.
The end result was pretty nice. We put some firewood under the tarp, drank some beers and wine, and tried to get some good rest.
Sleepless night
Wind, rain, and lighting in the sky did not allow us to sleep well. Just before we got to sleeping bags, our tent collapsed, and I had to run around to fix everything.
I wish I had more waterproof shoes, and the grass was cut. Sadly, this wrong combination made me sick two days after camping.
In the very end, I only slept for like 3 hours. We woke up at 7:30 and the last time I checked my watch, it was 4:30.
Looking for cliffs
Quick coffee on the Tangria stove, and we were ready to hunt for cliffs. I was really tired at the time, but I knew that the sleepless night would hit me soon.
We again removed toll roads from navigation and started the trip. What a journey it was! The curvy, steep roads of rural France looked fantastic!
Sadly, we don’t have photos from the road, as most of them end up being of poor quality. Maybe it’s because of the speed of 30 km/h in every village. Or maybe due to truckers hitting the side of the road and throwing mud directly on our front window. Probably both.
Now the cliffs!
The Falaise d’Aval parking spot is tricky for foreigners. When you arrive there, don’t look for the spot on the street. There are two different parking spots. One is close to the beach, but it’s usually full. The other one is close to a park area. That one was really empty.
7 euros per 5 hours of parking, and we were ready to see the beauty of nature!
Here she is!
There were also cliffs!
We also managed to get on top of one of the cliffs. The wind was too strong, though, and it was really cold. We will probably visit this place again during the summer.
Beach-es
I think I have never seen such beaches in my lifetime. The whole coast was covered with stones, which were completely oval. Smooth as a glass of Champagne and shiny when small particles of light hit the transparent parts.
Hunting for some food
After a long walk, we decided to get some local food. The city of Étretat has many restaurants, but quite a few of them look like tourist traps. The food in them looks British or American. Not really local.
We decided to go to La Courtine because other good looking restaurants had quite a queue.
We did not go wrong on the food, though. Everything was really tasty. We tried snails, seafood, and some local liqueurs.
We paid like 94 euros for everything, but you know. I can go cheap on accommodation, drinks, and computer parts. Not for restaurant food.
Going back to camp
It was tough. The sleepless night really got me on our way back. Even though I felt warm coffee in my veins, it was not enough to keep me focused on the road. Due to that, I had to take a stop to get some rest.
It’s not a big issue, though. I’ve been tired since I was a student. To be fair, I can remember only two days in my life when I had a proper rest. The first was when we finally got a bachelor’s degree, and the second when we took lysergic acid.
Finally 8 hours of sleep
Right after we came back to the camp, I put my head on the pillow and went to sleep.
After 30 minutes, though, I had to wake up and align the tarp again due to smoke coming into the tent.
Trust me. After this whole trip, our setup smelled like sausage.
After a glass of wine, some French baguette, and some cheese, we finally went to sleep. And at least for me, it was good.
Antwerpen, why do you do this to me?
9 hours. 9 long, exhausting, and boring hours due to more than 1 hour of delay in Antwerp.
Dear god of spaghetti monsters, I really hate this city. Every time we visit our friend Tomek in Belgium, there is a traffic jam in Antwerp.