Jersey Gold!

As promised I have returned to give you a more wordy update on my Jersey holiday. I really can think of it as a holiday now as it was extended due to the rather fortunate weather! We left home last Monday rather early at 4am but the clouds were forecast to make their first drop that morning so we didn't mind getting there in plenty of time. We had a good journey, got our car at the airport and made our way immediately to our favourite beach - St Brelades Bay. The beach scene above greeted us and I instantly felt my shoulders drop and myself relax. Although it was incredibly cold in the wind, when the sun was on our faces it was warm and lovely. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to charge the camera battery after Christmas and of course I discovered this as soon as I began snapping away! But I was able to get a few lovely shots to remember our first return visit to our beach in almost 9 years.

We then headed to a recommended restaurant for lunch. We had some fantastic suggestions from TripAdvisor when we went to Gozo in the summer and used it again for Jersey reviews and were not disappointed. In fact The Boathouse at St Aubins became our ‘haunt’ during our short stay. We shared the local fish platter whilst watching the oyster catchers dip about in the quay and boat sails singing in the wind.

With full stomachs we ventured into the capital St Helier to find our hotel. Oh and what a treat we found! If anyone who reads this or knows anyone who visits Jersey I can highly recommend this hotel – The Club Hotel and Spa in St Helier was a gorgeous little boutique hotel. Upon our arrival we were ungraded to a suite (my gorgeous hubbie had told them about my birthday) and greeted with a box of chocolates and champagne in our room. The suite had an entrance lobby, a sitting room, archway to a separate bedroom and superb large granite bathroom with separate 2 person shower cubicle! I didn’t want to get out of the shower in the mornings! The room was immaculate and so, so very comfy – the soft, snug sofa and the huge, high feather bed. There was nothing that you couldn’t find in the room or that you couldn’t ask for – I can hand on heart say this really was the best hotel I have ever stayed in and any hotels in the future will have a lot to live up to. After the champagne and chocolates were consumed and we had settled in, we took advantage of the DVD player in the room to have a lazy winter afternoon followed by turn down service, complete with bottled water and homemade shortbread cookies (to die for!)

During our stay we revisited lots of places we had been to 9 years ago. My husband went to Jersey every summer for many years when he was younger so he knows the island well. One of our favourite places is Jersey Zoo, it has the most fantastic enclosures for the gorillas and orangutans. This is the zoo where, the older ones amongst us may remember, in 1986 a little boy fell in the gorilla enclosure and the silver back Jambo amazed all with his caring and protective response. The snow and below freezing temperatures unfortunately kept most animals inside and the tinted nature of the glass made photos very difficult. We spent a lot of time in the very toasty reptile house and did manage to get some good shots. We were very lucky to have the zoo pretty much to ourselves and were able to spend ages with the animals on our own. One of my favourites had to be the flamingos –their colours were set off beautifully in the winter backdrop.

For the rest of our stay we ate very well; lots of locally caught fish including the best fish, chips and mushy peas I have every had! We visited lots of beautiful spots including St Ouens bay, Corbiere Lighthouse, Gorey, Jersey Gold and Jersey Pottery, frequently stopping the car just to take a photograph. We had a truly fantastic time and have returned (especially due to our little holiday extension) well and truly rested and eager to start the new year. I will return with a couple more Jersey related posts about my big 30 birthday celebrations and our delay due to the snow. Now off to start the big new year organisation and clean-up that I now feel half a month behind on! I will leave you with one more collage of various island shots and wish you all a happy week ahead. Have a great Monday, its great to be back.