Starting the day with a full English breakfast is always a
treat. And so with a full stomach I
vacated the room while M, recovering from a recent cold, remained behind to
relax in bed in a room with curtains drawn tight and a Do Not Disturb sign
hanging on the handle. Outside of the hotel I took a few moments to enjoy the
view out over the St Brelades ‘ bay. For
those with a love of sand and of heat – this indeed is a very worthy summer
destination.
Crossing the road I was able to look back towards the hotel. A four star hotel owned by the chairman of a
premier league football club and recently renovated and upgraded to include a
health centre and an impressive swimming pool – I felt the booking, this time
of the year, to be a bargain. A double
room in a four star hotel for only 65 pounds a night including breakfast – yes
that is value for money.
Saint Helier is the capital of Jersey with a population of
33,000 and it didn’t take more than ten minutes to arrive there in the Ford
Fiesta. The difficulty, as is the case with most towns and cities of Europe on
a Saturday morning, was to find somewhere to park the vehicle. Most of the car parks required a season
ticket of some sort – not something your average tourist is going to have
available. I found a multi-story, parked
the car and proceeded to wander through the streets of the island’s
capital. After the storms of the
previous week I was happy to be able to walk and to observe a city without the
rain and without the wind. The town
didn’t seem remarkable in any way, except perhaps for the sense of class and
order that will always percolate through the alleys and squares of any super
wealthy town.
After paying the computer in the car park the required fee I
drove back to the hotel to pick M up and begin out island tour. We headed east and parked the car on a
coastal allotment that was a ten minute walk from Mont Orgueil castle. Built in the early 12th century
the castle’s purpose was the defence of the island and it was later used as the
Island’s prison. We gave consideration
to a tour of the castle but a little cafe called Cafe Louise in Gorey village
caught our attention. And so we sat down
in the little cafe and ordered our soft drinks and also ordered a bite to eat.
We then took a walk through the village and a little art and
craft shop caught our attention. This
was artist Jane James’ second shop on the island. And so we entered the little
shop and on this sunny and calm day a most extraordinary change in the weather
occured. As quick as flipping a light
switch the weather changed from bright and sunny to dark and gray and the
village was a chorus of ice crystals as the hail fell from the skies.
Thankfully the artist allowed us to remain in the shop until
the mini storm had passed. M bought some
souvenirs in appreciation of the lady’s kindness and we recommenced our journey
around the island. We decided to visit
the Eric Young Orchid foundation.
Neither of us has a particular passion for orchids – but there is no
reason why vacant time, while away on tour, cannot be given to such an unusual
attraction. For those with a passion for
the orchid – this place would be a Disney Land of sorts to be sure.
Strong scents and stunning colours and beautiful designs of
nature. Such variety and beauty awaits
the visitor to this shrine of the orchid.
M and I decided on a little photo competition. As we rotated from flower to flower taking
photographs with our phones, I gave some reflection to our relationship. I had a love for her deep and mysterious,
bright and sweet. I cared for her
immensely and felt sure we could have a life together once our differences were
resolved.
Finished with the orchids we drove back to St Brelades bay
via St Heliers and continued past the hotel until we came to the Marquandeer
Inn. It had been a busy day and so
refreshments were ordered and we spent a good hour comparing our pics and
deciding whose would be best. Ofcourse
we each voted our own to be winners and so that was a bit of fun and a nice
ending to the daylight hours of our Saturday in Jersey.
No comments:
Post a Comment