Panther Enthusiasts Club UK

Annual French Trip

Coucy le Chateau September 3rd to 8th September 2008

Rendezvous Wednesday 3rd September

Because some of those on the foreign trips have to travel a considerable distance before they even make their crossing to France, it has become the practice for us to meet in France at the Hotel De L'Escale in Escalles below Cap Blanc Nez. This provides us with a relaxing evening together and a leisurely start to the journey of the following day. We have done this so many times now the hotel owners know most of us by sight if not by name now.

Some of us arrived early in the day and following breakfast drove up the rural coast road to Cap Gris Nez, where we had a windy walk to gaze back across the Channel to the white cliffs of Dover. We've done this before of course from Cap Blanc Nez, but I don't think any of us has ever seen the cliffs at Dover so clearly. We lunched at a nice little restaurant and then drove back to Cap Blanc Nez to look at Dover from that higher view point, but the sheer strength of the winds quickly changed our minds - and so it was back to the Hotel De L'Escale's bar to have a few beers and watch the others arrive.

There were so many of us this year that the restaurant had to seat us at an "L" shaped table. Once again they coped with serving our hungry group with a wide variety of food at the same time. However, the young waiter had a hard time finding the owner of the dishes he was holding and wasn't helped by the poor memory of some who couldn't remember what they had ordered! (it's an age thing.) and all the animated chatter as everyone caught up with what friends had been doing since they last met and how their family members were faring didn't help.


A familiar scene at Escalles	with familiar cars

Dennis and Pauline's neat little 1.6 had no problems keeping up	We may only stay for one night, but we're certainly good for trade

We filled the bar...........	anyone who wandered in for a quiet drink was out of luck

The short part of the dining "L" and the .................	.......long. Note Nigel's traditional enamel saucepan of moules - very popular here.

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