Rough Seas to the Isle of Jersey

We skipped breakfast at Premier Inns (as it was not included in the rate) deciding rather to have something to eat on the Condor Ferry.  The drive to the ferry terminal only took ten minutes despite one major wrong turn.  We queued up and were quickly waved on board as I had pre-booked and prepaid.  We parked on the upper car deck and went to our comfortable club class seats.  The attendant brought us some tea, and shortly after embarking I had a quite good baguette with bacon and cheese while Elaine had a buttered tea cake.

It was sunny and cool outside but the previous day’s wind and rain were still causing some rough seas.  No problem for these two intrepid travelers who have survived a force ten gale on the Princess Grand between Oslo and Southampton on a previous ocean adventure.  But there were lots of sick people.

The ferry first stopped at the Isle of Guernsey, a journey of three hours and fifteen minutes.  We remained on board while passengers and cars disembarked and more were loaded on.  Then it was up anchor and off to St. Helier, the largest city on the Isle of Jersey.  These Channel Islands are part of the United Kingdom but geographically Jersey is much closer to France than England.

Jersey and Guernsey were the only part of the UK that Hitler managed to conquer, occupying the islands for several years.  In fact, Hitler had all residents who could not prove they were born on the islands sent to concentration camps in Germany.  Remarkably, many survived and eventually returned home.  Alas, quite a few did not.

On driving off the ferry we had hours to kill before we checked in at our B&B.  It was lunch time, so we drove up the coast a bit and stopped at St Aubin’s Bay.  There we found a little snack shop on the harbor.  I enjoyed a delicious lamb burger and Elaine had a very good bowl of soup.  It was so good we might return for lunch again tomorrow.

Jersey is heavily fortified with bunkers and forts, and just off the mainland from our lunch spot is St Aubin’s Fort.  You can walk to it at low tide (it wasn’t), but it isn’t open to visitors anyway.

We continued up the coast and stopped again at the lighthouse at St Corbiere.  With the view many pictures were in order here.

Moving on we stopped again at a old bunker that houses the Channel Islands Military Museum.  Military museums can be large and boring.  This one is small and rather remarkable, a hidden gem that should not be missed.  It tells the entire history of the German occupation of Jersey during WWII.  The collection is detailed and complete, and the stories they relate with the exhibits are remarkable.  As we were leaving the one attendant and ticket collector was chatting with another gentleman.  It turns out he was a resident during the occupation when he was just a young boy, and he had no good words to say about the Germans.

Now it was 4:00, so we searched out our well hidden B&B, Eulah Country House.  Our splurge accommodation of the trip, our room is rather large and amazing.  Located up the hill from the sea, it commands a wonderful view of the ocean and the town.  We opened a bottle of wine and sipped it enjoying the panorama.

For dinner we called Aromas Restaurant and luckily, it turns out, got a reservation.  It’s a small place and rather wonderful.  And it was full to the brim.  This was the best meal of the trip to date:  Kudos to the chef from Belfast who we had a chance to cat with as we left.

Starters

Elaine:  Prawn and Avocado Salad

Joe:  Smoked Pepper Mackerel with Horseradish Sauce

Mains:

Elaine:  Steamed Mussels in a delicious Red Chili, Tomato, and Cream Broth.

Joe:  Grilled Sea Bass with Shrimp – the best sea bass I have ever had.

Desert:

Elaine:  Pear and Almond Tart with Vanilla Ice Ceam

Joe:  Deluxe Jersey Vanilla Ice Cream (yummy!) and a glass of Tawny Port.

See you tomorrow.