After our stay in Brussels we were on our way to Calais. The next morning we were getting the ferry back to England and sadly completing the last leg of our trip. We had an amazing time but the next trip will definitely be longer and further!
On the way to Calais, we stopped to see the abandoned bunkers of Dunkirk. Last used in the second world war, the bunkers have now fallen victim to coastal erosion, graphiti artists and small mirrors.
Seeing as the bunkers date all the way back to the 1800s, it’s no surprise they’re a bit wonky. Having only a bit of a rebuild after the first World War, they are in pretty good shape though!
The coastline of Dunkirk is stunning and we had a beautiful, clear day for our visit. As beautiful as the beach was though, there was an unsettling chilling feeling of being there, knowing the history and sadly the amount of lives lost.
We needed to waste some time before checking into our Air bnb, as our host had messaged us saying someone had smoked a cigar in the cabin so it would take longer to clean it… Who smokes a cigar when there’s a no smoking rule? The stinkiest of all smoke and they smoked a cigar! (when we got there it still smelt a bit). Anyway, we stopped at a bakery for lunch and coffee. I think I could eat French pastries every day, if only they were 0 calories and 0 sugar.
The Air Bnb was a little hard to find but then again we get that with most Air Bnbs… However Google maps was trying to tell us it was in the middle of a cetemetry… Now that would of been an interesting stay but I was very certain that wasn’t where we’d booked. After a quick phone call we got the right address and finally, after a long day we had a place to relax for the night.
We kept it simple and got some pizzas from Aldi and had an early night. The next day we were back to the UK home by 4:00pm. The trip was short and sweet and has definitely given us a drive to explore more of Europe by bike. We’ll just have to see what happens when brexit eventually happens, that is if it doesn’t get delayed… again!
THE BLOG OF TRAVEL 
Wow! That’s a really neat trip. I have seen the movie, but didn’t really think about the present day of it. Really cool to see, but I’m sure also sad and difficult to grasp the loss of life.
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Nice one, those bunkers are interesting to look around aren’t they? So much history remains right along the French coastline. Have to agree too that Starbucks coffee isn’t great. In fact I generally go without rather than buy anything from Starbucks.
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It’s so bitter that it tastes burnt… Maybe it is burnt… Either way I’m never buying another!
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Not a fan of Starbucks at all. Avoid at all costs.
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So much of history (Europe’s included) is shaped by war, it’s hard not to come across sad moments when visiting such places. It usually leaves me a bit more humble and grateful. Starbucks is an acquired taste. We enjoyed Nero’s while in Westminster.
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Love to visit Dunkirk!
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Hi Emily,
Love the adventures on the coast. We have that in Southern California as well. One of these days I am going to see Europe. Thanks for sharing. Just for fun our school hiking club was inspired to do a little photo travel blog called, The Road Over There on Word Press. Maybe you can be in of our first followers and we can share our California adventures with you.
Thanks,
Gary
On Sun, Oct 6, 2019 at 10:33 AM The Blog of Travel wrote:
> Emily posted: “After our stay in Brussels we were heading off early to > Calais. The next morning we were getting the ferry back to England and > sadly completing the last leg of our trip. We had an amazing time but the > next trip will definitely be longer and further! ” >
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An enjoyable read! Sounds like you had a great time too!
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Those bunkers are awesome! We have a lot of bunkers and lookout points in Orkney (Scotland) and they’re pretty fun to explore, but I love what’s been done with these ones.
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oh my! I had that exact mug that tragically broke in a dish washing accident. RIP. I love these photos !
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Oh no RIP mug! That’s a shame because it’s the perfect size 😁
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I’ve actually been there and very scary would have hated landing there very very brave men
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