Euronews' Jack Parrock charts his voyage from the heart of the EU to Brexit London on the last day of the UK's membership. Bon Voyage!
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With this in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to mark the day that the UK leaves the EU by making the journey from Brussels - the city where I have lived and worked for the past six years- to the UK, the country in which I was born.
At 3 pm Brussels time I set off from the European Parliament with an old friend from university and a last souvenir from the EU to the UK in hand to give to Euronews colleagues in London.
As we drove to Calais through the flatlands of Flanders, we pondered over the true historic nature of the day. Can a day that marks a peaceful political division really be seen alongside such momentous events as the fall of the Berlin Wall, Kristallnacht, or Tianaman Square?
We decide that history can’t be decided in a day, these kind of things can only be judged when looking back.
The last ferry out
Taking the ferry felt like the best option, and for me it brings back memories of holdays to France as a child, sat in the middle seat - me being the youngest of three - with my travel sick-sister looking green next next to me.
To our surprise as we enter the holding bay there’s probably 20 or 25 cars, and certainly less than 100 passengers in total
In the cabin we speak to a group of Germans who all tell us they are sad that the UK is leaving, and that they weren’t initially aware that they booked the ferry on the day that the UK leaves the EU.
On deck, we speak to Jessica Savery, 22, a student from the University of York.
She explains how sad she is that after graduation she may not be able to work in EU institutions.
For me, this is the last time I will enter Britain with an European passport. I studied European politics and languages, and spent a year studying in Germany.
But as somebody whose professional career has been dominated by Brexit for the past four years, like most Brits I'd like to think that this day means that we have finally begun to turn a corner.
