Day 2 Saturday – Travel to Les Etangs Fleuris

[florida2010]

After an eventful first day travelling we had breakfast in the Beefeater with the intention of getting to the Eurotunnel terminal for around 9.15 as we had booked in for a 11.12am train. We’d not used the Eurotunnel before so wanted to have plenty of time ‘just in case’.

By the time we left the car park the majority of other roof box / seven seater travellers had already made tracks and headed out for the day. The short drive from the hotel was problem free and we arrived just after 9am. We managed to get a slot on the 10.12 – an hour earlier than planned which was a great turn up for the books.



After a quick stop for the loos we were back in the car and off on our way for the 35 minute‘ish journey.







Just before we boarded the train I switched my Tom Tom over to the French map and put in the destination of Les Etangs Fleuris so we could hit the ground running once we left the train.



Train left spot on time. Unfortunately no chance to have a quick rest on the train as DS (6) wanted the loo again which was a bit of a trek as we were in the middle of the carriages with the toilets only at each end of the train. Must admit to finding the Eurotunnel a cool way to travel and can't see us using the ferry at any point in the future as the tunnel is just so stress free and easy to navigate.

Once we left the terminal I was surprised how easily adjusting to driving on the right was – for the first few miles until we hit the toll road we only came across other brits heading south. Overall the drive south towards Paris was really very uneventful and easy to handle. We stopped for fuel on route to find the prices slightly cheaper than expected which was another plus. Liked the stretch of motorway which I think goes under Charles de Gaul airport.

Les Etangs Fleuris is around 30 minutes drive from Disney so we eventually had to leave the motorways behind and getting to grips with French roundabouts for the first time was an ‘interesting’ experience. Came across a number of local drivers who tailgate at 70mph plus with no interest in overtaking for some reason. After the first couple of days driving got used to this but admit it does keep you very much on your toes. It must take a reasonable amount of judgement and skill to stick so close to the car in front without actually pushing them off the road.

Les Etangs looked a little remote when I checked it out a week or so earlier using street view in Google maps but must admit to liking the area around the campsite/holiday park – just what you would expect rural France to be like. The nearest village to the site is Touquin – presume all of the locals are themselves on holiday somewhere else in August or the place must be the least populated village I’ve ever seen - we only spotted two locals and a range of various cats all week.

Thanks to the trusty Tom Tom we found the site easily and got a warm welcome from both Sophie and Olivier who own the site. It’s a great little site for camping and has some really nice holiday homes – well worth checking out the website: paris-campsite/ Nice pool that we didn’t plan on using as we had lots of Disney plans for the week. Great little rural French bar selling lots of inexpensive wine and supplies and a pizza and snack bar during the summer months.

After a couple of hours unpacking and getting ready for the main Disney assault we all decided on an early night – the only one we had all week.

Day 3 Sunday – Annual Pass Day

Trip Index

[princess allie]

Thanks for posting this. Takes me back, we stayed there a few years ago and loved it. Look forward to reading more!

[florida2010]

Originally Posted by princess allie

Thanks for posting this. Takes me back, we stayed there a few years ago and loved it. Look forward to reading more!

See more...

What was funny was my DW bought a bottle of wine from Sophie to realise we didn't have a bottle opener and had to go back to get it opened. Sophie said we must be mad as we travelled all the way to France without a bottle opener? What were we thinking about?

Overall the site was spot on and provided everything we needed. Planning on a return trip asap. Would hate to have tried to have found it without my Tom Tom and Google maps.

One thing that I liked about staying at Les Etangs Fleuris was that we picked up some of the 'real' France on our holiday and got a real feel for the area in a way that wouldn't have been possible if we'd stayed on site.

Would recommend the experience to others.

[MFras23]

You can't make the most of Disney with early nights so you made a good call really!

[Jet]

Originally Posted by MFras23

You can't make the most of Disney with early nights so you made a good call really!

See more...

Me and DH were couriers at this campsite in 2008...it was Sophie and Olivier that made it special for us...they really are a lovely couple.
And you are right ...Touquin is lovely...very French and rural...we used to love the cake shop in the village...and the little restaurant in the house...it was like something out of allo allo.