Guernsey cows and silver

  Guernsey, United Kingdom
Friday, June 1, 2007

Greetings from Guernsey, Channel Islands.  We arrived on this sleepy island 3 days ago after flying in from Croatia via London.  After doing the hotel thing for a few days we were back to family hospitality, this time Mark's grandfather's place.  He retired here many years ago after being a pediatrician and now lives among the farms of this 20 square kilometer island.  The whole family arrived together to be greeted by Desmond and his wife Annette.  They drove us the short distance to their home, and Allison was thrown off by seeing them driving on the left side of the road, being her first time in a British area.

The house they live in is beautiful and overlooks the local church.  We were back to being treated with first-class hospitality, and Annette prepared an amazing dinner that included salmon in a pastry shell.  If that wasn't enough, every night she seemed to top the last with her home-made desserts.

Guernsey is a relaxing place to visit, and we indulged in the great local past-time of window-shopping.  Duty here is very low, so high-ticket items like watches and jewellery are quite reasonable here.  This even intrigued Mark enough to go and get a fancy watch and Allison got a matching shiny one to boot.  Kath and Zora also got into the rings a bit too.

Our most interesting visit of the trip was a tour of the house Victor Hugo lived in for 15 years during his exile from France.  Victor was an outspoken writer and ended up criticizing his uncle, Napolean II, by writing a book 'Napolean The Small' (ouch!).  He lived somewhere else before buying this house, and really fell in love with the area.  The house overlooks the ocean and from his rooms he can even see France on a clear day.  He had a taste for collectibles and bought knick-knacks that he incorportated into the decor of the house, leading to the most ecclectic interiors you may ever see!  It is amazing and a must-see.  There was also a beautiful garden in the back.

The next day we went for a morning visit to the Occupation Museum, documenting the 5 years the Germans spent on the island during World War II, the only British soil occupied by Germany.  There were fascinating stories and artifacts from this period, and many were quite tragic and uplifting.  It was amazing how much happened in that short time, and it was sad to see how many landmines and ocean mines were laid in that time.  We spent a good 2 hours there and could have spent more.  There was even a recreation of a street from that time period.  In the afternoon we decided to go to Herm, an island just 20 minutes off of St. Peters Port, the main town on the island.  Normally this a beautiful day-trip, with long sand beaches and cliffs and full of sea birds and farms, with no cars to be seen.  Unfortunately as soon as we got there we were hiding under our umbrella and we were pummelled by rain for over an hour as we walked around trying to see the sights.  By the time we arrived back near the port and found the Ships Inn restaurant, the rain had stopped.  We enjoyed the tea and local cakes, topped with special Guernsey butter made from Guernsey cows.

One of interesting features on the island is the cement bunkers that dot the headlands overlooking the water, as Germany thought they would be attacked by sea during the War (although they never were).  A few of these are within easy walk along beautiful cliffsides and wildflowers from Desmond's house, so we decided to go exploring.  The flora here is unique, as the climate is moderated by the Gulfstream current, creating an amazing array of colours and displays.  Going inside one of the towers was a little freaky as it was dark and damp, but it was exhilirating.  There was also a reconstruction of one of the guns that could fire 22 kilometers away and the bunkers that surrounded it.  It gave us an appreciation of what it might have been like in those times.  The locals tried to blow up a lot of the features after the War ended but they were so strong they decided that they were a part of their history and could be kept.  Annette also gave us a tour on our final night by car to see a Neolithic tomb (about 5000 years old) and some fortifications that were added onto by the Germans.  It was nice to watch the sun set straight into the Atlantic Ocean.

The visit was short and relaxing, and it was a short time for Mark and family to catch up with Desmond and hear some more stories of school and running days gone by.  He is a little quirkier in his advanced age though, as evidenced by the morning we left.  We had to catch the 7:00 flight, and so being worried that we might not get up he came into our room and woke us up at 4:15, 90 minutes before we had to leave for the 10 minute drive there!  It was quite a shock to the system!  But is was nice he had a chance to see his great-granddaughter as he doesn't travel much anymore.

Next is jolly Ol' England...