The alarm went off at 05:00, and we attacked the day with vigour. With a hot drink inside us, we hit the road at 06:15, and by 07:00, we were parking at Southampton Airport. It took a full 2 minutes to walk from the car to the bag drop-off, and a minute or two later, we were sitting in Costa Coffee with another hot drink and a croissant while watching the sun drag itself over the eastern horizon.
Our plane was only one-third full, and we managed to leave early. 35 minutes later, we touched down in Jersey. It had taken us longer to drive to the airport than it had to fly to the Island.
We grabbed a taxi to take us to the hotel. It only took about 10 minutes, and the driver was eager to hang on and take us on a tour into St Helier. We politely declined as we had not yet got a firm plan for the day.
Though it was only just after nine, our room was already available, and the porter/concierge, Greg, took us to our room and gave us a thumbnail sketch of the Island and most of his life story since leaving his home in Budapest.
The view from our room is superb. The sun was shining, and our balcony was quite sheltered. We stood there admiring the view for a while, then decided to make the most of the conditions and go for a walk along the promenade.
We turned right out of the hotel and walked towards a church. Some beautiful gardens were being lovingly tended by a couple of gardeners. There were also several restaurants and cafes. We stopped for a coffee and took it back to a bench in the gardens where we could drink in both the coffee and the view.
We didn't walk as far as the church because the promenade ended several hundred yards short, and we didn't want to walk along the narrow roadway, as there was no pavement. We turned around and headed back the other way, stopping to chat to one of the locals outside another cafe.
We returned to the hotel and checked the bus times and where the buses stop. We had a 20-minute wait, but caught the 12A bus into St Helier. It was about a 30-minute trip, but once we were there, we found our way to the visitor centre (at the museum), then wandered back through Liberation Square. Liberation Square is a central public square in the heart of St. Helier, close to the harbour, shops, cafés, and Liberty Wharf.
What did stand out, however, was the covered market that we found behind the main drag, off one of the side streets. The Central Market is a Victorian-era covered market hall right in the heart of St Helier. Though the market itself has roots in the island’s trading culture going back centuries, the current building was largely rebuilt in 1882 in typical Victorian style, with metal and glass architecture that makes it one of Jersey’s architectural gems.
The market reminded me very much of the covered markets we had seen in Spain and the Canary Islands. It had significantly less farm produce (though it did have some), but had more craft, curios, gifts, bakeries, and patisseries. It was charming.
High cloud had drifted in, and the temperature was dropping. Rain was expected. We made our way back to the bus station and headed back to the hotel.
We spent the last part of the afternoon looking at the maps and guides we had collected during the day, and, of course, read our Kindles.
This evening, we went down to the lounge bar, rather than the restaurant. We weren't very hungry after the burgers we had for lunch. In the lounge, we settled down, and Di had a sandwich with some applewood-smoked cheese while I ordered a chicken Caesar salad. It was simple, but it was all we needed.
We were back in our room by eight, and I suspect it will be an early night after today's early start.
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