08 September 2002 - Only 1400 mile off course - it could be worse....?!?!
Another day, another fried breakfast. Hopefully the last 'Full English' we will be able to order for at least 10 days...

A brief, mumbled apology on check-out about the 'strangely broken glass from a light bulb" on the floor in our room, and we finally managed to leave Ashford.

After our 'early start' (Fullers ESB anybody? :-s) we managed to get a ticket on the Channel Tunnel for 12:30. Al remembered to collect his heat-sensitive Infrared film from the hotels freezer (NB this is going to follow us through Europe, mark my words...) and we were off, after the traditional search at customs - so convenient with a fully packed Mini. 24 hours late, but hey, we were moving.

Having *almost* avoided the traditional "I bet I can clear a carriage in one easy move" moment by Dan (check the Amsterdam trip in the news archive for updates if that doesn't make any sense) we reached Calais at about 2pm European Time and started the second (alright the first) leg of the journey. The time under the channel was taken up with careful preparation of the the gadgets - 2 laptops, 2 satellite navigation systems, global tracking and route monitoring systems, Europe-wide traffic monitoring, wireless internet connections, careful selection of CD's and MP3's (including a 'German Autobahn Selection' - vital for those 125mph moments), 1 kilo of pick-and-mix and a small box that goes 'ping'...

No real surprises on the way through Northern Europe - the E15 is becoming as boring as the M4 these days - and we reached Amsterdam at about 5pm. Having decided to pop in and see Phil and Colette for a cup of tea we branched off and immediately got lost (navigation systems are only any good if you pay attention to them). A bizarre hour followed whilst trying to navigate central Amsterdam in the midst of a flower carnival, until we finally reached Phil and Colette's place.

And they weren't there.

And Dan couldn't find a mobile number for either of them.

And there were some rude words exchanged.

And we sat there, on the off chance they may turn up, whilst preparing the next leg of the journey.

Fortunately, after about 40 minutes, Colette appeared and it looked like our cup of tea may be a possibility! 5 minutes later and Phil turned up with his folks, completely unfazed by the fact that there are 2 nutters from London sitting outside his flat demanding tea. Tea was provided (very kindly!) and plans for the evening were discussed. In the space of 5 minutes the plans went from "We can reach Hamburg tonight" and "We can reach Germany tonight", through "We can camp near Amsterdam tonight" to "Thanks guys we'll crash here, lets go and get some food and beer..."

After a great evening with Phil and Colette in a Cow-based Restaurant, followed by a tour of some of Amsterdam's more traditional Irish Bars (Hmmm, pints of Duvel anybody? only 8.5% volume...) it was time to crash.

And Dan crashed. Within seconds. Having taken off his trainers (phew) there was snoring within seconds at a decibel level banned by several British race tracks.

To cut a long story short, Al ended up sleeping on the balcony on the tenth floor, rather than share a room with Dan. The motorway and the rain were mild compared to the cacophony of the living room. Even Phil's parents came in at 3am to see if he really was snoring or if it was somebody putting up shelves with a pneumatic drill... It was unfair to inflict such unpleasantness upon our unwitting hosts, but hey, Al got a good nights sleep outside in the rain.

Day two was complete. We had covered 650 miles - admittedly 300 of them weren't necessary - and we had been fed and watered in fantastic company. The Arctic could wait another day or so...

Camping equipment? Nah, tomorrow...

More soon....

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