Jersey, Channel Islands, GB

 It was in 1989 when the idea of visiting Jersey was first put on our agenda. We had three young boys at that time and when we weighed up the cost we realised that we could visit Disney World Fl. for not very much more. It may come as no surprise that a trip to the U.S. won the day. In fact we were so bowled over by Disney World and Florida in general, that we have paid many visits since.

But the idea of visiting Jersey has never completely faded and this September we made our wish come true. We are so glad we did. It is a great place to visit as a couple.

As per usual, I did some research before booking a hotel and saw that La Place Hotel, St. Brelade, had consistently good TripAdvisor reviews so I booked a four night stay there. I can report that the glowing TripAdvisor reports did not exaggerate at all, every aspect of our stay at 'La Place' was perfect. The only thing I would say is that it would be well worth the extra money to book a 'Superior' room rather than a 'Classic'. The differences between the two are significant.

Although Jersey is well served by a good public bus service, with routes going to most corners of the island, the inter connection between them all can only truly be achieved via the Liberty Bus Station in St. Helier. I will certainly consider hiring a car the next time we go.

Fortunately we are both fit and were able to walk or use the No. 9 bus to visit most of the many attractions to be found around the St. Aubin Bay area. St Helier, the island's capital, is situated at the eastern side of the bay and is certainly worth a visit. I was particularly attracted by the architecture of its buildings and the general sense of bustle around shops that are very familiar to visitors from the U.K. mainland.

At the other side of the bay sits the tranquil and picturesque harbour village of St.Aubin. It is very pleasant to stroll around its streets and harbour wall. It is well served by attractive bars and restaurants.
Other places of interest which we visited and would thoroughly recommend are - 
The 17th Century Elizabeth castle just of the coast at St. Hellier and
St. Matthew's Glass Church, St Lawrenece, on the west side of St. Hellier.

Most of you will know that the Channel Islands became a possession of the English Crown via William the Conqueror. They were lost and won back again during the 13th Century and were often subject to skirmishes between the English and the French up until the 19th Century but overall remained a possession of the English Crown. Therefore they have been subject to English laws, customs and language for around 600 years.                                     I only mention this because I was and am totally fascinated by the almost ubiquitous use of the French language when it comes to place and family names. This fact contrasts with a culture which could hardly be more English and the almost neutral accent of the spoken tongue [e.g. as compared with Scouse (Liverpool) or Cockney (London)].

Here is just a small flavour of Jersey, photographed during a short five day stay. -  

St.Helier

 Jersey Cows

 St. Aubain

French Nomenclature

St. Matthew's Glass Church, St. Lawrence

Le Petit Train

Elizabeth Castle, St Helier

WWII German Searchlight Bunker

WWII German 105mm Gun

Nick

Bermuda

Bermuda

Our main vacation this year consisted of a four night stay in Bermuda and a sixteen day tour of the Southern Atlantic coast region of Florida, starting in Miami Beach.

As most people know Bermuda still has the status of a 'British Overseas Territory'. In fact it is the oldest self - governed such territory and has the third oldest continuous parliament in the world.
The islands have been connected to Britain since 1609 but they were first discovered in 1505 by Juan de Bermudez, a Spanish navigator. The islands were named after him and apart from a short time when they were called the 'Somers Islands' they have retained the Anglicised version of his name ever since. 

The 'Somers Islands' were named after Sir George Somers a member of the Virginia Company who's ship 'The Sea Venture' floundered on the Islands' Eastern reef in 1609 on its way to the nascent English Colony of Jamestown, in Virginia.

Enough of the history although it is one of Bermuda's many delights, what is the place like now? Pristine, is one word that comes to mind, especially after looking at the photos on our return home. Everywhere is clean and well cared for. In four days it is impossible to see everything the islands have got to offer, we naturally concentrated on the things that interested us most; this involved visiting a large number of historical sites, as you will see from the photos. Hamilton is a vibrant, bustling and apparently thriving capital city. We liked it very much. It has the air of a British provincial market town with the emphasis on British. I hope that it doesn't offend any one but we liked that aspect of it very much.

One cannot escape the fact that there are a large number of commercial offices on the north side of Hamilton, including Bacardi's World Headquarters. The greater part of Bermuda's GNP is generated by 'offshore' financial businesses particular in the area of 'reinsurance' .
 I will not pretend to know anything about this type of business but I do know that Bermuda has been very successful in attracting such enterprises to its shores and it shows! It is also clear that there are a significant number of  'high net worth' individuals with residences on the Islands but particularly in the district of Hamilton.

I am interested in politics but even if I wasn't it would not be difficult to identify the tension that exists between the PLP (Progressive Labour Party) and the OBA (One Bermuda Alliance). This was brought home to me by the two well informed and charismatic taxis drivers who drove us to and from our hotel. The consensus appears to be that recent Governments have taken their eyes off the tourism jewel in favour of the the finance industry jewel.
Even based upon our short visit I would tend to sympathise with that view. I know that late November and early December cannot be considered to be prime dates in the tourist calendar, nevertheless one would have expected to see more tourists than we did see in 
St. George and  'The Dockyard' area. They were virtual 'ghost towns'.  Both deserve better.

So what conclusion do I come to? On our first walk into Hamilton from our hotel - Royal Palms (highly recommended and very convenient) we fell in love with it. For us it was the best of English with the added benefit of warm sunshine. We started (unrealistically) dreaming of buying a holiday home there. By the end of the four days the dream had faded mainly due to us but also I had let the politics get to me. Most people would not let themselves be so troubled.
It is a beautiful tranquil location with the required amount of tropical weather even at the end of the year. As I said earlier the hotel we stayed at could not have been better, old world charm efficiently applied. 

Here are some photos; no white sandy beaches edged by a turquoise sea and with beautiful people languishing on them, I am sorry to say, perhaps next time.

Hamilton's Administration and Historic buildings/monuments

Hamilton's Commercial District

Natural Beauty in Hamilton

Typical Hamilton Colonial Architecture

A Cruise Ship in Hamilton harbour - another important source of income for Bermuda

Dockyards - An important site for British and Bermudian history combined with modern commercial enterprise.

 Commissioners House - National Museum of Bermuda

St. George's -  Kings Square

A Replica of the Deliverance one of the two ships constructed after the wreck of the Sea Venture so that the original journey to Jamestown Va. could be completed in 1610.

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So that is a small glimpse of historic Bermuda. There is so much more to see and enjoy but we only had four days. Perhaps there will be a 'next time'.

Southern Florida

If you would like to read about the Southern Florida part of this trip you can find it here - 

http://travelling-with-nick.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/southern-floridas-atlantic-coast.html

If you want to learn more about Bermuda, particularly its rich history, then I recommend you to this website -

http://www.bermuda-online.org/


To view my other 'Travelling with Nick' blog posts go to the Index -
http://travelling-with-nick.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/traveling-with-nick-index.html

If you are interested in motor cars you can see all types, in abundance, here -
http://twincam-serendipity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/index-page.html