Guernsey (Channel Islands), UK

 July 30 - Guernsey ( Channel Islands), UK

 We arrived at Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, this morning where we are anchored off the harbour.  Today we are sharing our excursion with Deb & Glenn, and Dana & Michael and we had a very interesting and informative tour with Amanda Johns, whose family has lived here for several generations.

Our tour began with a drive out of town, passing by Victor Hugo’s house where he completed Les Miserables, and from there on to the top of a bunker overlooking the harbour and the other Channel Islands. At one spot we could see the coast of France. 

Our next stop was The Little Chapel, possibly the smallest chapel in the world. It was built to create a miniature version of the famous grotto and basilica at Lourdes in France. The Little Chapel, measuring about 16 ft x 9 ft, is beautifully decorated with seashells, pebbles and colourful pieces of broken china.

The rest of the tour was an account of the German occupation of Guernsey between 1940 and 1945.

First to the German Occupation Museum - 

Because some of Amanda’s family had lived through the German occupation she described some of their personal experiences; she told of how theGermans bombed the harbour and then Churchill made the decision to offer the choice to evacuate or stay and families had one day to decide and pack up! About half the population left.  She shared actual letters that her Grandfather had sent to his sister where he was only allowed to write 25 words!  In one letter he had to tell her of the death of their father.  

The museum gives glimpses into the daily life of civilians under German occupation, equipment used, newspaper clippings, the Red Cross Ship with food parcels for families which saved them from starving.

From there we went to the German Underground Hospital and Ammunition Store. The maze of tunnels comprised about 75,000 square feet and is built into the side of a hill and therefore not visible from the surface. Using ‘slave labourers’ from various European countries it took about 3 1/2 years to build, but was only in use for about 9 months!  It was an incredible structure and the conditions would have been deplorable.

It was a fascinating tour made all the more interesting by Amanda, whose passion about this part of her family history made it come alive for us.

 Back to the ship for the first ‘formal’ night!  Oh joy!  LOL  We are not really keen to get all gussied up, but we do our best!  We’ve decided to go to Sabatini’s, one of the specialty restaurants, for an Italian feast!  

Mangia!  Mangia!

Oh boy!  Started with Prosciutto and a pufffy pastry of some sort, then antipasti- lamb skewers for Mary, roasted peppers for Dorothy, then Pasta- lamb ravioli for Mary, seafood fettuccine for Dorothy, and for the main course - Veal Marsala for both of us.

But the dessert….. a small selection….

Tiramisu,  Zabaglione, Panna Cotta, and a chocolate extravaganza!

We asked for wheelchairs to get us back to the cabin!  Oh my!  Thank God for elastic waistbands and hopefully all the walking today will cancel out the calories!

Next stop, Cork, Ireland!

Love, 

The Stuffed Travellers!