Guernsey
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Yesterday was one of only four of the full days at sea on this itinerary and today we were visiting St Helier, Channel Island. However, the sea became a little rough and
the Captain decided to dock near Guernsey Islands instead. Guernsey is the second largest of the Channel Islands and is situated off the north coast of France, in the bay of St Malo. We left the ship by tender and as the sea was so rough it was quite a challenge. The day was very cool and we were so lucky to experience
beautiful weather up to now it didn't matter. We just loved Guernsey!
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The town of St. Peter Port was so English in its presentation, and the people was just a delight! The local "Bobbie" gave us directions and chatted to us about
Guernsey for some time. The first building in the town we saw was the clock, quite near the harbour. There were many boats in
and fishing is a trade high on the agenda here. The tide is renowned for rising some 40 feet at times which is why the harbour walls
are very tall. The narrow streets were cobble stoned
and there were lots of gift and curio shops here.
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We then caught a local bus and toured around the Island which took about one and a half hours.
We did manage to welcome onboard the locals and they took it all in good stride. The views from the bus were amazing and the bus driver gave an excellent commentary
all the way round. It was a great decision to take the local bus - we learnt heaps. Guernsey Island was bombed by the Germans on the 28th June 1940. Food became very scarce and at times life for the residents
and the German soldiers was extremely hard. 5 years later on 9th May, 1945 the war was over and celebrations could be heard far and wide.
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After our fantastic bus tour of the Island we walked to Castle Cornet on the point of the harbour. The castle has stood guard over the town and harbour
of St. Peter Port for eight centuries. It was built in 1205 and has seen many battles over time. There are beautifully crafted museums within the walls
now and the history of battles and attacks are well documented. The displays are well worth a visit to see and as usual we would have liked more time to explore this
historical place.
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