WWII Trip - Calais to Dover & on to London

As part of the WWII focus of our trip, we wanted to cross the English Chanel to get a sense of the crossing and the views, even though we were not crossing in exactly the same place.  Getting to Calais from Rouen was easy and we had no problems turning in the rent car and boarding the ferry to Dover.  These ships are huge and carry an incredible number of semi-tractor trailer trucks.  Not having to pay for taking a vehicle across, we treated ourselves to the first class deck - OK, we weren't roughing it like the troops in 1944, but we were on vacation.

This is one of the sister ships to the one we were on as it was coming into dock.

There is nothing lovely or touristy about Calais.  It is a huge port and appears very blue collar and hard working.  We also found it very efficient.

                                              This is the name of the ship we were on.

On our way to the upper deck we passed through this lounge area where we found the "retro-ladies" who were having a grand time and drawing lots of attention.  They readily posed for photos.  All I could wonder was where did they get their hose with the seams in the back.

We loved the serenity of first class, not to mention the free champagne. Don't let this photo fool you.  There were lots of other passengers I just didn't think it appropriate to take their pictures.

In less than three hours we could see the white cliffs of Dover.  Soon we were on the train to London.