Gorey Scanvenger Hunt

 Hi Friends!

You would think that an island this tiny wouldn't be so divided, yet there are 12 parishes of Jersey and they all operate differently AND there's a great divide between East and West. It's hilarious, you'd think we were on the set of West Side Story with the Sharks and Jets. If you're curious, here's a classic example with the island's very catchy song, Take That Grouville!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5xQ_hEmCVM

As you can see, these Jerriais take their parish loyalty and rivalry very seriously. 

Today Jes and I adventures to Gorey, the town Jes and her family moved to when she started teaching here. You can see Mont Orgueil Castle and the very low tide view we had upon arrival. It was so fun to see her old home and stomping grounds before she moved closer to the city center. 

They had this adorable gardens with the widest palm tree and beautifully manicured lawns and multimillion dollar mansions. 

Thank you Jes for being the perfect instagram boyfriend and always getting the shot!

We even walked onto the moorings to hunt for sea glass and shells. I thought this boat particularly matched well with my outfit, guess I'm off to sail the seas when the tide comes back!  Just kidding.

We then made our way to the Jersey Pearl to pick up a copy of their scavenger hunt. If you thought I was joking about the cow branded jewelry, in the shop they actually had Jersey milk carton charms for the mere price of $70. 

Like any good team, success begins with good planning. We went to the cutest coffee shop called Seahorse Cafe for oat milk lattes and a solid strategy session. Well, we might have gotten quite distracted with life chats, but that's just what happens when you're having too much fun and reunited after a year! 

After making the very difficult decision of picking a team name, (Haven't Been Kidnapped...Yet :)) we were off to the races, only to not make it very far because I couldn't help but enjoy how all their stone here is pink! Jes and I agreed that it brings lots of cheeriness and warmth to the island. 

The scavenger hunt took us all around the town, from the end of the pier to the top of the castle hills. I learned so many fun facts, and you guys know I love reading all the signs anyways. This challenge was right up my alley. If you look closely below, you can see the little squares in the sand, that's for lobsters from way back in the day, so the fishers could hold their catch whilst hunting for more. I also learned that in 1969, Denize Le Pennec was the first person to swim around the entire island of Jersey, she was only 19 years old and did it in just under 14 hours! Another interesting fact is that the harbor parking lot used to be a German bunker where they hid a war cannon and machine gun. I feel like it's always the parking lots that have the weirdest history. 

At the end of the pier we stopped to eat our lunch before continuing on our hunt! Also, I know my eyes are closed but it was windy and sunny and I left my sunglasses at home, oops. The smiles make the picture well worth it though!

As we walked back towards the castle, Jes pointed out this very large potato farm hill. She said that they have to rappel down the cliffside to farm the potatoes. She also pointed out that her favorite view on the island is at the top of the hill. To which I replied, no way we're walking up that, you can drive me! I am definitely an AC car girl. 

However, as we carried along  I was impressed that the castle was over 800 years old. Jes then explained that there 15 dolmen's on the island and the one nearby was over 6,000 years old! Bet you can guess where said dolemn was...at the top of the very large hill. Guess I can be convinced to climb a mountain for a very old rock lol.

And Jes was right, the view was beautiful, you got castles, lighthouses, the ocean, and in the far off distance even France!

We did pause our hike up the hill to snap a quick pic at this very pink hydrangea bush! I mean how could you not! It's so pink and matched my purse. 

We finally made it to Dolmen de Faldouet. It was built 6,000 years ago and aligns with the rising sun on the spring and autumn equinox. There are actually three dolmens like this lined up perfectly across the island. There used to be a few kids and adults buried here along with pottery, axes, and stone pendants. I wasn't brave enough to go under the big rock but I did take a picture by it! Also I did not touch any of the stones, I was not risking an Outlander moment and getting transported back 6,000 years ago! I love modern conveniences way too much. 

We continued back on the scavenger hunt after our dolmen detour and did everything from counting benches to learning about the local oyster farms. Apparently Jersey has it's own mother of pearl called Ormer. 

We also stopped for little photoshoots along the way. poor Jes has become the master of holding all my stuff and getting the perfect picture after all these years! I didn't do too badly snapping the pic above, if I do say so myself. 

For our final adventure detour we stopped along the fishermen's cottages. If you couldn't tell already, I'm in my pink era and found the perfect pink home should I ever move to Jersey! 

Feeling quite satisfied having finished our scavenger hunt, Jes and I went back to the pearl store to drop off our completed test. Can't wait to see how we scored next week. I wish I had convinced the shopkeeper to grade it then and there, not knowing the answers to the extra tricky bonus questions just about killed me haha. We did win a free pot of tea which we will be enjoying tomorrow! 

The weather had warmed up significantly, so we made our way down to the beach where we saw ponies! I was thrilled!!

We also treated ourselves to a very well deserved 99er, which is no longer 99 pence haha. The soft serve is made with Jersey milk, which is so creamy! Apparently their milk has 20% more protein and has a higher nutritional value as well as fat content. Guess you can't win them all, but they definitely win for flavor! We enjoyed them on the beach and if you can't tell by our smiles we were having the time of our lives that afternoon. Even the wind died down to give us the perfect beach weather! 

After the beach we reunited with Pete and made our way to a modern Korean fusion restaurant called Awabi. I did stop along the way just to show you I wasn't joking about the Jersey cow and puffin themed decor.

The food was AMAZING! We got korean fried cauliflower, mushroom veggie wontons, hot and sour eggplant, and mixed greens. Each dish was an explosion of flavor and not a crumb was left by the end of our meal. 

We even got a Hong Kong french toast to finish off our meal! It was filled with condensed milk custard and absolutely divine! I would definitely come back here again and recommend it to all my friends, should they ever find themselves on this little island. 

On that sweet note I'm off to bed. 

Love you lots, 

Carolyn

Made it to Jersey!

Hello Everyone! 

Weeeee'rrrreee baaaackkkk, this time reporting to you live from the Channel Islands. After an unexpected delay with our plane allegedly being too heavy and the runway being allegedly too wet (even though there was no weather on the island that day) I was stuck in London Heathrow for the night. I will have to give credit to my airlines for setting me up in a lovely free hotel from the 70s when they still smoked, think Vegas, with the green carpets permanently stained with ash and the smell of cigarettes that can never be removed. Sometimes my stubborn nature can pay off and this was definitely one of those times, I was rebooked for a flight the next night, and well that just wasn't good enough for visiting my best friend across the world! Hours of customer service lines, and an absolute refusal to take no for an answer, and I was booked the very next morning on the first flight out, one of three for the day, because island life. As you can see below, we had absolutely beautiful skies and even a little rainbow for the 40 minute flight! 

Jes and I started this tradition back in London 2019 where we come up with creative signs to meet each other in the airport with and this year did not disappoint! We started the morning with instant giggles and  fully belly laughs, so much so that our cheeks and abs hurt. 

She picked me up in the biggest smallest two-seater electric car, Ami, and thankfully we all fit with my luggage! 

After arriving to their apartment greeting Tiny, and having a quick outfit change, we immediately went on a walk to the local artists shops for some air drying clay for our trip's crafting project. Jes and I plan to collect seashells and sea glass during the trip and then press them into ring dishes before we leave. Life in my 30's is looking a lot different, but I can't complain one bit! I'm in crafters heaven! I almost had to laugh when I walked outside and it looked like Balboa Island.

Fun fact, Jersey has the third highest tidal range in the world, and it was quite obvious when we walked to the harbors where all the boats were on the sea floor! Apparently the island only has one harbor that has water all the time and there is a 25 year wait list to get a spot. 

We also walked past the old train station which was converted to shops, since there's really not much need for a train when the entire island is only 9 miles by 5 miles.  

Walking around, you definitely know you're in English territory. For example, here's a picture of the island's most popular bar, the Lamplighter. 

Jes is famous for her microadventures wherever she lives. Basically she gets strangers around the island to go for walks or sea swims or any cool activity you can think of! We walked by her book community box where I snagged a copy of horrible histories, Vile Victorians edition. I was shocked that it was a children's book! To be fair, most of history isn't pleasant, so I thought it did a good job of giving a more honest recap of the reality of the era. However, you can only imagine my jaw hitting the floor when the first page I turned to was "The Man Who Could Not Hang."

We then moseyed into the central market in town,. It reminded me a lot of the Gove farmer's market, with lots of little stalls open every day. I got a great pistachio filled cookie and had lots of fun walking into all the shops. There's a strong puffin themed decor on the island  (along with the infamous jersey cow theme) on pretty much any item you can think of, pillow cases, mugs, tea towels, and even necklaces! It's rather funny though because according to Jes there's really only 5 or 6 puffins on the entire island, and yet they've made a whole brand of it here. 

I think my second favorite part of the day was when I matched the purple State Assembly building! Maybe if California had purple buildings I'd work for them too lol. 

We also walked past the Piquet House which was used as Military Police Station up until 1926. Quite impressive that they didn't need anything more substantial beforehand. It adds to much of the island's charm, just like the honesty boxes. I imagine this is what small town living would be like. We've already run into a few of Jes' work colleagues today! And stopped for quick chats of course, because like in Prescott, they wave with all five fingers here instead of one like in LA haha. 

Continuing our way home we passed Liberation square. Guernsey and Jersey were the two islands occupied by Nazi Germany and this balcony was where they declared WWII and German occupation was over. Jersey has a special Liberation Day they celebrate with parades and reenactments to commemorate their freedom. It always takes me aback when I come across such historic places, because those were just things I grew up reading in  history books, but you can see that it really creates lasting wounds and memories in the places that survive history's horrors.

As we finished our exploration, we came across these morbidly cute benches which have the names of sunken ships around the island. I need to be more careful what I get excited about here, I thought they were adorable and super clever until Jes told me what they memorialized. Thankfully we were the only ones on the road so no one else overhead my faux pas, oops! On a lighter note, they also have benches with the NATO phonetic alphabet, which was lots of fun to walk by, each letter had the flag sign and Morse code.

We made it home just in time to rest a bit before tonight's dinner with local school friends of Jes and Pete. I realized I totally should have taken a picture at the jazz bar, (where they played old American crooner Jazz, to which I was probably the only patron who could sing along to every song) and at the yummy thai place by the beach where we ate dinner. I admit I did fail as a blogger for forgetting to take pictures with friends and food,  BUT we did see lots of bunnies on the lawn on the way home, so you can enjoy a picture of them instead! 

Signing off until tomorrow's adventure.

Sending you all love!

Carolyn

Last Day in Manila

Hello Everyone!

Today is our last day in Manila and I can’t believe our trip is over, time has been flying. We decided to go back to intramuros so that we could visit the churches and buildings we weren’t able to enter during our night tour because they were closed. We started at the Manila cathedral and there was an actual wedding inside but they didn’t stop tourists from coming it. It was so strange! But also really nice to see some of a traditional wedding here. 

You won’t believe it but the cathedral now has a cafe in part of the tower, so we stopped for some fries and coffee with a view. The locals like to joke it’s for a tax break, which may not be too far off lol. This cathedral was built in 1581 and has since been rebuilt multiple times because of a typhoon, fire, earthquakes, and even WWII bombing. Hard to believe that they kept building in the same space, I would have likely give up the second time but this cathedral has been rebuilt eight times!

Afterwards we walked to San Austin’s church where we stumbled upon a local market for food and crafts. They even had a live band so that people could sing karaoke. This church is interesting because it has Chinese lions here in an attempt to convert the immigrated Chinese population to Catholicism. They also have carved pictures of Chinese people on their wooden doors. If you look at the ceiling you’d think that this little church was more opulent than the famous cathedral. However upon second glance you might realize that it’s all paintings! The artists did a great job tricking the eye with their fresco. 

We ended the day at a very special dinner with my Auntie Kristine and her sister. They happened to fly into Manila right before we left so we met up at the famous Shangri-La hotel. Then we all went back to the very first mall of our trip, the Rockwell, for a dessert tour where we got our last taho, halo halo, and the street famous dirty ice cream! Don’t worry, the ice cream isn’t actually dirty, that’s just what they call ice cream in the street carts here. We were all in a total food and sugar coma by the time we said goodbye. And just like that, with our bellies and hearts full, we ended our time here in the Philippines. 

Until my next trip!

Lots of love,

Carolyn 

Shopped Out

Hello Everyone!

Today’s post is going to be short and sweet because it was another mall day. We met up with Uncle Vic’s cousins from Nuvali and went to the Glorietta mall. I realized that going to the mall here isn’t just for shopping, it’s an easy way to beat the heat and go outside for a few hours while still remaining in air conditioning, so it’s really used as a social hub for everyone. Isabel and I are kind of done with Filipino food, so we managed to find Korean for lunch and a salad place for dinner. What we are most looking forward to is coming home to Mexican food, only two more days left!

Miss you all,

Carolyn