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Friday the 2nd.
The coach departed from the school at 11.30. The journey down to Rosslare was uneventful, with the coach arriving at the terminal at about 3.00pm, just in time of the last lunch serving. After lunch the group boarded the ferry, swiftly dumped their bags in their cabins and set about exploring the ship. The ferry departed on time at 4.30pm. As is usual on Ferries there was not a huge amount to do. Reading seemed to be a popular choice for all, as indicated by the fact that the newsagent on board was quickly out of stock of a variety of interesting titles. The seas were not particularly calm, which might account for the fact that many of the kids did not go mad for an evening meal. Most of the adults however were initially undeterred by the motion of the boat, and booked in for a meal at 8.00pm. Those that were still waiting their 8.00pm table at 10.30pm were quite glad, as they were now forewarned about what to choose and what not to choose off the menu by some of the other adults. As the evening went on and the weather got worse most people retired to bed to escape the motion of the boat. Marianne O’Leary and Mirette Slattery braved the elements to check on the now rather sick kids, and distribute copious amounts of seasickness tablets. On their rounds they did encounter one cabin that seemed to be braving the storm better than most, so much so that they well were well enough to be able to practise their French in the company of some fluent speakers. Despite to obvious educational benefits, Marianne and Mirette suggested that they would be better practising their language skills when they got to France the next day. And so the lesson ended. While some of the older lads enjoyed the disco under the discrete but watchful eye of a number of the adults, most of the group were in bed by 2.00am, mindful of the long coach journey ahead the next day.
Saturday 3rd The boat arrived into port at about 11.00am, with most of the party happy to be able to set foot on dry land again. Once all the bodies and bags had been loaded and counted, the coach departed from the port and left the town of Cherbourg at about 12 mid-day. The 300-mile journey was an uneventful one, with most people taking the opportunity to catch up on sleep that they lost on the boat. The coaches arrived to the Hotel at about 9.00. As can be seen in the pictures below the lads poured off the coaches, tired but happy.
There was a bit of waiting around while Christy sorted out the rooms at the hotel reception. When the wait was over, the room numbers were efficiently distributed to the group, and once all the bags had been deposited in the rooms, the group sat down to dinner. Dinner wasn’t over ‘till 11.30, so once Christy’s customary after dinner speech was finished, most of the kids headed off to bed for the night, while some of the adults enjoyed a relaxing drink at the bar, before also retiring for the evening. |
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