The Angelico Austrian Adventure - Crossing the Channel

In Dover we got off our bus and went into the waiting lounge, which was a sort of truck stop with a bit of fast food and a bar. Midga found power, which was good because I was down to 13% battery, but in the time before we were called for departure we couldn't manage to find WiFi.

On the bus we were greeted by our two drivers (they do it as a relay so the bus can keep moving all night) and told (lol j/k) to enjoy our trip to Blackpool. This is going to be a good trip.

The on-duty driver threaded the needle and got us on board the boat, and we were allowed to get off and enjoy the facilities. We found a convenient table with power and a view, and I got double duty with a phone on each USB port. Some noisy kids were hanging around for a bit but eventually they lost interest and left us in peace. There are SO MANY ferries passing us! No wonder they built the Chunnel - but I must say something's not right if the slow method is still very popular when the fast method is available. Maybe it's expensive. The lack of a view out can't be that important to truckies who do this all the time.

The sea is as flat as a pond - which reminds me, we passed a pond as we went through Kensington and I wondered if it was the Kensington Round Pond or the Kensington Square Pond - not that it matters, Ned Seagoon swam them both in his lead-up to the Great Regent's Park Swim with his bottle of green liquid.

The interior of the ship is quite dated - marbelled melamine walls, rivetted aluminium skirting boards, prominent air vents and sprinkler heads in the roof. Reminds me somewhat of Bob Ansett's story about the inter-island ferries in New Zealand. But the service is good - when Midga asked for a piece of ice to put on Asha's toe (which has swollen and looks like a bruise, which means it's broken) he got a whole bag full. He also got asked (very anxiously) whether the incident had occurred on board, in which case paperwork would have to happen. He was delighted to assure the staff member that this would not be necessary.

The furniture is quite convenient - side tables for laptop cases, I mean drinks, relaxing couches with plenty of padding and a view of whatever's out the window, and stone topped card tables. A lot more fun than being crammed into the bus. I wonder if that will still be true when Smart Passengers brings in buses with 2+1 seating at 1167mm pitch for intercity services where there's no rail reservation.

Right now I've got just about a full charge, the phones aren't far behind and the humans are about to head to the restaurant to do the same. The next post will be from the continent. Maybe I'll put on an accent.