Guernsey

Hey folks, as promised this is the 2^nd part although it took me longer to get to it than I had hoped.  Sorry but I hope you still enjoy!!

Guernsey, UK

First we need a little history lesson.  During WWII, the Channel Islands were the only part of the UK to be invaded and taken over by the Germans.  Since they are closer to France than to England, King George de-militarized them because he needed his forces for the mainland.  For one reason or another, the Germans were not notified that Guernsey was de-militarized and they bombed the main harbor of St. Peters-Port.  Then the Germans invaded the island and took control for the next 5 years.  The last year or two of the occupation, the food supply became very limited because the Germans were losing the war and supplies were not being sent over to the islands.  For the last year, it was just as rough to be a German solider on the island as it was to be a citizen.  When the citizens were finally free, lots of German soldiers stayed on the island to help remove the mines, barbed wire, etc.  Apparently, they were happier to stay there and help clean it up then to be sent to some prison.  That is the very short, abbreviated version of course.

Now you are probably wondering how I know all of this.  Well it’s from 3 parts.  1 part from reading a fiction novel about the island (Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society, very good), 1 part from visiting a German occupation museum on the island and 1 part from talking to a British gentleman who lived on the island during the occupation. 

I had first heard about Guernsey through my boss, Bill, because his wife (Penny) is from Guernsey.  All of the pictures I had seen of the island were absolutely beautiful so I told myself I really wanted to go!  After talking with Bill and his wife, I realized the dates I wanted to go happened to be while they were visiting the island as well.  This meant I now had a personal tour guide from someone who had grown up there, yay! 

I took a plane over on Saturday morning and it was a short journey, about 1 hour.  I grabbed a cab from the airport to my hotel, which was in the main town of St. Peters-port.  I wondered around the high street for a while, and then decided to take a bus trip around the island.  I was told it takes about an hour and since it was only £1, it seemed like a great deal! I hopped off at one of the bays and had lunch staring out into the ocean.  It was breathtakingly beautiful.  After lunch and some more walking along the beach, I hopped back on and went back to town.  That night, I met with Bill and Penny for drinks and they took me to dinner in Cobo Bay.  We had a table looking out at the water and the sunset was amazing.  The only place better was in Oia, Greece, on the island of Santorini.  We didn’t stay out drinking too late because we had an early boat ride over to the island of Sark.

Lunch Spot

Coming up to Cobo Bay 

The boat trip over to Sark on Sunday was great, it was a large ferry boat but we could still be outside to see the surrounding islands.  We passed the island of Herm along with all of these little rock islands sticking out of the ocean.  At several points you could see nothing but open waters and the next closest body of land was probably the east coast of the states.  After arriving at Sark, we started to make our way to the restaurant for lunch.  It was a 45 minute walk because there are NO cars on the island.  Everyone gets around by bike, horse-drawn carriage, or tractor.  We had lunch in a hotel garden and a few pitchers of Pimms & Lemonade (so delicious).  Next we went roaming around the island and found some cliffs overlooking the sea.  I felt like I was standing on the edge of the world because everywhere I looked it was nothing but water.  We couldn’t have asked for better weather either, a perfect 72 and sunny!  We walked around the town some more and took into all of the beautiful beaches. 

Boat Ride to Sark

Carriage outside the Restaurant

Nothing for miles!!!

We headed back late Sunday evening and had a relaxing night in watching the Euro cup finals.  Felt bad for my Italian friends but it was a good match.  Monday I was supposed to have a rib trip around the island of Herm.  Apparently it was a large rubber boat (fits 10peoepl or so) and it whisks you around the island and you get to see various beaches and wildlife spots.  Well the weather turned to crap on Monday so the trip got cancelled.  The captain said the seas would have been too rough.  I was bummed but I did get some shopping in to cheer me up J  Instead of the rib trip, we visited the occupation museum.  It was amazing to see all of the pieces they still had from back in the day.  I also found out that Penny’s dad was here on the island during the occupation so after we finished at the museum we went back to his house and talked to him for a while about what life was like then.  It was incredibly interesting!!  It is also rare to meet someone who lived on the island then because most children were shipped off the island before the Germans invaded.  Women and most children were sent to live with families on the mainland that would take them in. 

Because of the crappy weather, I was a little afraid I wasn’t going to be able to get off the island.  When I was dropped off at the airport, the fog was so heavy that you couldn’t even see the runway.  Thank goodness the fog cleared and planes were able to land.  My flight was only about 15minutes late taking off so it wasn’t too bad.  

I would have to say that my favorite part of this trip so far has been Guernsey!  Most British people I talk to ask me about it, I show them pictures and they are amazed at how beautiful it is.  Apparently it’s not a popular destination for British folks because they would rather go someplace farther down on the Mediterranean, like France or Italy.  I would guess that for every 10 people I ask, maybe 1 or 2 has been to the Channel Islands. 

If any of you ever have the chance, do it!!  It is truly amazing.  Well I leave you with some fabulous pictures from my trip.  I will try to write one more time before I head back to the states on Friday.  I have some good stories from the last few days. 

Guernsey Castle

My preferred method of travel once im rich and retired (i can always dream right!?)

Car Rides

Hey folks, I think I may be one of the worst bloggers ever.  I keep meaning to sit down and write about my adventures but then a book or the TV pulls me in.  Probably didn’t help that my computer totally crashed on me a week ago and I was left without any computer for 4 days.  I’m still playing the recovery game L 

But on a happier note, I have made friends! It only took me 3 months but I have finally met people.  And I met people on my travels which have been quite lovely.  I am going to do a two part blog just so it’s not too long.  Plus last weekend in the Channel Islands was just too amazing to try to cram in with everything else.

Cambridge/Windsor

Windsor Castle - about 1/4 of it 

Three weekends ago I went on an overnight trip to Cambridge and Windsor.  I woke up early Saturday morning and made the 3 hour trek down to Windsor to see the town and the castle.   The state rooms were closed so I didn’t get to see the whole castle but it was still very pretty.  The gardens were just gorgeous and it is so much grander in person than in pictures.  After a tour around I headed over to Cambridge for the night.  I was staying at a little B&B about 2 miles from town.  I took a cab to a local polish restaurant that came recommended.  It was a little odd since it was me and 1 other couple in the restaurant but really good food!  I had never had pierogi’s before but they were quite scrumptious.  After dinner, I high tailed into downtown to check out some bars.  I made new friends at the first bar I stopped at, I guess they had pity on me since I was by myself drinking and reading a book.  I hung out with them for a while and it was so nice to socialize with people!  We chatted about US politics (they assumed I loved bush since I was from Texas but I had to set them straight), what I liked about England, the difference between the North and the South, etc.  I hung out with them till 1am or so and it was the latest I had stayed out in a while.  I was a little hung-over in the morning but at least it was a good time, made me miss all of you guys!  Sunday I took a punt boat tour through Cambridge and they pointed out a few of the colleges.  Definitely have some wealthy students attending.  Unfortunately I couldn’t tour around the colleges because they were in the middle of May balls which is their version of graduation celebrations except in tuxes and formal gowns.  Before heading out of town, I had lunch in one of Jamie Oliver’s restaurants and it was very good!  Since it was father’s day there were a bunch of families and I tried not to get home sick, but it didn’t work so I left earlier than expected but I still had fun.   

Claire College (?) said to look like a wedding cake 

Punt boats outside trinity college (wealthiest college) You stand on the back of the boat and push you way around the river with a  big long pole

Portmeirion

A coworker of mine had told me about the city of Portmeirion in Wales.  When I looked it up, I saw that it is only about 1.5 hours away from me so I decided to make a day trip in my little car.  I was telling my mom that I was thinking about going she said “I wonder if it’s the same place that makes that pretty pottery”.  Well sure enough it is.  A gentleman named Clough Williams-Ellis wanted to build a city to prove that you could build something beautiful no matter where you put it.  Well he decided on North Wales.  The city looks somewhat like an Italian village with its bright beautiful colors and Mediterranean architecture.

City Center complete with Italian Gardens

  It’s a small city with only 10 or so shops and restaurants but its right on the water so it looks out onto an estuary that leads to the Irish Sea.  While it didn’t occupy a lot of my time it was still nice to get out and see something different.  I also picked up a few gifts for myself and friends, mainly pottery since that is one of the things they are famous for but I couldn’t resist doing a little shopping. J  The drive there was also quite spectacular, instead of taking the coast; the GPS took me through Mount Snowdon so I went on a bunch of windy narrow roads through the mountains and forest.  I stopped off at a castle along the way but didn’t go in since there wasn’t much left but a tower.  I had originally planned to go to another village in North wales that was close by but I didn’t get up as early as I had hoped so by the time I finished up at Portmeirion it was almost 4 and the shops close at 5.  I headed back to Chester and instead took myself to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner.  Felt a little silly to be drinking champagne by myself but I deserve it right?!

Leads to the Irish sea

Random welsh Castle sticking on the Hilll

Euro Cup Match

Thursday night I finally met up with friends!! Yay for me.  I had run into some of Davids friends when my parents were here and we had exchanged numbers.  I had not gotten around to calling them (lazy really) but I heard from them early last week and they invited me out to dinner and to watch the Italy-Germany Euro cup game.  I met them at an Italian place and that was great.  The TV location was crap since it was above me on the wall but it was neat to watch an Italian match in an Italian restaurant with mainly Italian people.  Our table alone had 4 Italians, 1 Spanish woman, a brit, a Mexican and a Bulgarian.  Kind of funny how we all meet but I seem to not be hanging out with British people but I am OK with that.  They offer great travel tips!   

Well I need to be heading off to bed so I will leave you guys with a few pictures of my trips and the anticipation of the Guernsey blog.