16th August 2019 – Let’s do breakfast and have a think.

Croissants and hot chocolate for the first time on my trip. Four chocolates seemed about right. But my effort on the orange juicer was a complete fail.

Plan A – assume that I get in touch with Mam and Dad. Luckily, the E-star leaves from Lille! After a faff about, I booked a seat with food for 38 Euros at around 1930. This gets me to London in 1hr 30mins.

Back in le hotel, Dad managed to call me on Whatsapp. I’m being collected from Baillileu at 1837 today for two nights camping. That makes it eight nights in the tent on this trip, which just about justifies taking the tent. Will these be the final nights in the Hogan?

My rucksack is in the hotel, leaving me to wander back to the cathedral. I gave queuing, but gave up. How great would the view be anyway? Instead, I’m in a bar with an espresso, soon to be followed by a beer and food. It’s 1236 and my train is 1517 – the only direct train to Lille today. 12 Euros for a 1st class seat booking.

I think leaving on 18th August wraps things up well. And if I use my stove, than means I’ve used everything I’ve carried around.

I’m settled here. More Django would be better than Lionel Richie, but you can’t have it all.

Thinking about my camera. Pictures are fine, but they can’t tell you what 26 hours on a Flixbus from Brasov to Zurich feels like. It feels like magic that I’m in Strasbourg. As if by magic, my blog posts will increase by about twenty. Writing will definitely help my memory. How you feel certainly adds to everything. And right now I feel positive and happy. My dark beer has arrived and has a picture of a unicorn on the glass. With Brexit, Strasbourg seems a fitting place.

Just waiting for my crying tiger duck breast salad. I’ll go vegetarian when I get home. Life is cruel.

The beer is like a sweet, flat Guiness at 6%. Train time is not far away.

I shouldn’t go away as soon as I get back home, but the car will need a good run out. My final task is the Via Ferrata in Honister.

The food hasn’t arrived, but I’m cool with that. When you order food and drink, you’re hiring a seat at a table.

I knew I was right in earlier blogs about phone or camera. Impulse got the better of me. I’ll upgrade my phone contract and spend the insurance on a Chromebook that doesn’t freeze up.

It’s 1330: one more Unicorn will take me nicely to 1400. Is that the Backstreet Boys in the background?

Puzzle #19 of IQ Puzzler Pro took 28 minutes and I hardly touched my Unicorn beer.

1558 and I have one last sip of beer, then I’m back to the hotel to use the wifi with plenty of time in hand.

I made one final attempt to see if my camera had been found. This time a girl at the desk filled out a lost property report form and gave me the details. I had a little time to spare before jumping on the train at platform 2. Baby noise and a child with a mobile made the buffet car a better option for the journey to Lille.

Now, where does the 1815 to Bailluel leave from. Ah! The other station. Time for a rucksack run and to the Dunkirk train. I met Mam and Dad and they drove me to an unimpressive campsite. All the facilities are there. I’m in a shared kitchen area and it’s fine. The toilet block is very good, but the site is a bit uninspiring.

Last night, we crossed the border to Belgium where I had a nice steak that was cooked to perfection. The parents had Croque Monsiur which was the main conversation on their part.

It’s raining. Will my tent survive the night?