Day Thirteen - Guernsey to Jersey - 15 April

We were up bright and early for breakfast, finalised packing and headed for the bus at nine forty-five. Our ferry to Jersey was leaving at eleven thirty but we had to check in at ten thirty. It was a sunny day but a cold one with a maximum again of about eight degrees. By the time we got to the ferry terminal after walking along the long harbour esplanade and long pier Henk said he couldn’t feel his ears and my teeth were starting to ache from the cold. The huge ferry left early at eleven ten so we guessed all those who had booked had arrived and were on board. The sea was very choppy but we made good time and landed at Jersey at noon.

Our hotel, La Haule Manor, St Aubin’s, is at the opposite side of the very large bay from where we landed at St Helier. We took a taxi to the hotel and we had a good view of the bay along the way. Our hotel is amazing. We felt as if we had landed alongside the Mediterranean from the hotel’s architecture and its position overlooking the turquoise blue bay.

The hotel manager made us a pot of tea and we had this in the hotel lounge surrounded by dozens of newspapers and magazines. I was in heaven! We have immediately noticed the differences between Guernsey and Jersey and were pleased we had visited Guernsey first. Jersey is larger, busier and more sophisticated than the laid-back Guernsey. At two o’clock we headed out for lunch and to do some exploration to get our bearings.

Opposite our hotel on the esplanade we found a beachside café, The Cabin. We sat outside in the warm sun and sheltered from the chilly breeze and had a delicious lunch. It made us feel very fortunate. We walked to St Helier along the esplanade which was a distance of about five kilometres. Everyone was rugged up but they were also making the most of the sunshine.

We found the Liberation Square Bus Terminal at St Helier and purchased five-day bus passes from Monday to Friday. This will give us the freedom to hop on and off the buses as much as we like all over the island. Despite it being very cold we had a “real Jersey icecream” at Liberation Square soaking up the sun. Just as in Guernsey all the shops are shut on a Sunday and the High Street was quiet. As our hotel is on the esplanade we have a number of choices for buses. We returned to the hotel at five and I slipped into a lovely warm bath to thaw out. We have a number of restaurants nearby to our hotel so we are going to have fun trying them over the next seven days whilst we are here.