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
