Darn Saarf: Part 2

I lied about Tuesday, there isn't a part 2 there.

Wednesday

Up at 5am (eeks!!) and it was off to France. "Take the ferry, darling" says my dad's satnav in the voice of Joanna Lumley. We told her to piss off and took the chunnel as previously arranged. Silly old bint :D

First stop Boulogne (I think that's how you spell it)... something to tickle the Ulverston lads perhaps?:

The Chuck Wagon!
Tee hee... ok, for the benefit of The Rest of the World, the Chuck Wagon is a burger van in Ulverston, very popular with us lads after heavy drinking.

Worry not, we went next door for breakfast instead, a very traditional looking French café. Like most places they spoke English, which is good because I don't think any of us spoke much of their language! It's a good job nobody wanted duck either, as I heard it's canard - just like the rest o't'flipin' language.

Nice people generally.. I think most of the stick they get is from being a bit *too* peaceful. They totally bent over backwards in this place, which I suppose you'd expect for what it cost, like! As breakfasts go, whilst I prefer the ridiculously unhealthy English (fried this, fried that, lots of meat and tons of fat) theirs aren't half bad either.

Other than that it's pretty much just your everyday seaside town - albeit with a cracking fish market. Total stay there was about 2 hours, which left a dilemma - 8 hours to burn, but where?

Simple - Cité de Europe. I'm sure there are photos of this place in last year's archives somewhere. To say it's frickin' huge would be understatement of the century. Whilst we made a shockingly good effort at avoiding the shops due to some issues (heck, even I didn't think we went into enough clothes shops as 10 hour trips to France go, and normally I'm not a fan of those!) there were plenty of other forms of entertainment to be had. Food and beer being good examples.

I avoided the bucket of mussels this time - they're ok and it's something to say you've tried once for the sake of saying you've tried them - but in normal circumstances I prefer something that doesn't deposit sand in your mouth when you chew it ;) I can recommend the potato/cheese/meat/thingies as something which is somewhere in the middle - not an extreme lack of adventure like fish and chips (why go to another country and eat the same as you do in your own??) but not on the wild side of their own delicacies either (mussels are as extreme as I'll go, I draw the line at snails). Be prepared to pay well though, wherever you go - food from the people who brought you 99% of the lingo and ideas used in anything related to food is sure to have a substantial price tag. Especially in a place like Cité de Europe, which seems to be marketed directly at Brits.

Also to our astonishment we found ....



Newcastle Brown Ale on draught! I suspect it was some ludicrous price (€4-6) but I didn't see the breakdown of that particular bill. I haven't seen that stuff on tap for ages though, so it was a pleasant sight.

To cut a long story short, much drinking, shopping for booze to bring home, and arcade gaming went on. A good deal of fun as it happens and a very tiring day by the end of it! I've certainly dragged a few interesting things back, like a can of beer mixed with whisky...

Thursday and Friday

Not a lot to say actually, various things transpired that meant spending most of the past couple of days in the house. I took the time to catch up with the messageboards, go through another couple of Japanese lessons and enjoy not being at work.

Today I also succumbed to downloading the subbed version of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, after looking up the UK release date and moaning in horror. Glad I did - apart from learning more Japanese (I'd never have known what zuruzuru meant! And it was used with such depth...) you seem to get more out of it if you see it how it was originally written. I think because the Japanese can express their thoughts and feelings with more efficiency due to the intricacies of their language and culture, plus of course they don't have the "thought police" that we have so they can be a bit more clear about what they mean. And I'd just never have been able to wait.

The main highlights for me were the graphical achievements (the most stunning piece of CG I've seen so far), the usual gripping and emotional story that makes Final Fantasy what it is (if you don't get a lump in your throat at some point during an FF production you're not human), and finally some closure for Cloud. Cloud is the character that had such a gripping and involving story in the game that I felt the need to "borrow" the name for an online identity, and have used it ever since. Wondering for the best part of 8 years what actually happens to that character (and the others) after the abrupt ending that the game had. No more! Finally, the fella gets to the last chapter, and without giving anything away - it's completely satisfying.

Enough rambling... 2am approaches and several hours of travelling is due tomorrow as we return to the wooly part of the country. Laters!