The ferry was away on the dot of 8pm and had a smooth crossing arriving in France at 9.30 (10.30 their time) ,
,as it was so late had decided to head down the A16 to Abbeville and stop on the aire at la Baie de somme
This is the first motorway aire i have stopped on but it seemed a decent stop and did not feel unsafe (dedicated parking for caravans/campers seperate from the cars and trucks)and the place has a nature theme.
Sunday 20th June
After a good nights sleep and breakfast we set off for Rouen, after coming off the Paige i decided to stop at one of the roadside aires to check the address for the intended stop at Rouen,it was here while checking the map out that we had a chance meeting with fellow wildcampers Bill and Ange(pioneer)Pete and Ali(zeezee) and Nigel and Judy (Nigel 54) who i thought would be well on their way as they had got the ferry early sat morning (but then realising they were celibrating birthdays and they would have had to sober up a bit before heading on their way).Anyway had a brew and a bit of cake with them and scrounged some eccles cakes off Nigel and then gave them a farewell and headed of our separate ways. Arrived at Rouen intending to stop on the Quayside on the opposite side of town only to find it all decked out and some sort of frame being built on the bridge.As the monday was Festival De Musiqe in France i presumed this had been done for this or for the July festivals.There were half a dozen Italian vans parked on the road nearby so parked amongst these and went for a tour of Rouen.With it being sunday it was a bit quiet but we visited the churches of Notre Dame and Joan of Arc and had a pleasant few hours.Back at the van decided i would not stop on roadside and would head up to the aire at Oissel.On arrival at the aire which i knew had only 2 dedicated spaces we found they were taken (by 2 british vans) so decided to have a look at the other aire close by that was listed in satnav.This aire turned out to be a Leclerc supermarket so went back to Oissel and as it had many car parking spaces and they were empty tucked myself into one of these and after a brief walk round the village settle down for the night.
Monday 21st June
Beautiful sunny monday morning so after filling with water etc we set off for the Camp PA.J. at Versailles
€7 per night per person includes basic toilets ,showers and emptying facilities.Cross between an aire and a campsite but really handy for the Gardens and Palace at Versailles.The station is also only a 15 min walk and i think it was in area 2 and on the main line for the Eiffel tower so also handy for Paris .(I had already booked campsite but in hindsight it would have been cheaper to stay here and easier to get into Paris)The gardens are literally across the road from this site but one to note is the Palace is shut on a Monday.This particular monday was the Festival De Musique so there was some sort of band on almost every corner in the centre of Versaille so we had a really good day and night and we even found a Starbucks.
Tues 22nd June Decided to do the tour of the palace on the tuesday so parked on the road outside the camp as there were no restrictions and parking in Versailles a nightmare ,so walked through the gardens to the Palace,unfortunatley the queues were massive so decided to give it a miss and headed to the campsite at Camping Beau Village and chilled for the rest of the day