When I say home, I mean our Down by the Sea home. This year has not been a great for us when it comes to holidays. We had to cancel all our plans in the summer because of ill-health and death in the family. It’s the way life goes sometimes. We understand that. But thought we’d try just one more time with a few days away for our anniversary and headed to the beautiful island of Jersey.
Well, I think The Devil (pictured below, he turned up unexpectedly) had a hand in the proceedings.
We did enjoy some amazing meals and our hotel was lovely…but oh the weather! Rain, wind, cold, more rain, more cold and really strong winds. It’s a teeny tiny island and mostly should be enjoyed outdoors. Luckily the sun broke through every so often for a few minutes and we leapt out of out little hire car to snap a view.
We ate and drank amazingly well, and I’ll share some of our meals with you later. But for the moment, we’re staying put. If I mention going away on holiday for a while, please slap me round the face with a wet fish and remind me that There’s No Place Like Home.
Chica Andaluza 
It does look lovely regardless, but I do appreciate that the costal parts of Britain can be even wetter than the rest of it. I hope the food fair was good 😉
The food fair was great – there were menus offered in most restaurants for a max of about £17.50 for 3 courses (although we did go “off piste” one night) so we got to try some lovely dishes. Oh yes, and lots of wonderful oysters 🙂
Excellent!
It is a gorgeous scene & you did have divine food, but “always remember where the bluebird of happiness can be found” my Mama used to say as I was heading out the door for faraway places with strange sounding names.
Your Mama was a wise woman! Thanks for visiting 🙂
Lovely views. Look forward to hearing about the food! 🙂
The views were spectacular – more so when it wasn’t blowing a gale!
Wow, you’ve got a wonderfull journey in a wonderfull place…
i guess home is the best sanctuary foe everyone….
It was such a beautiful island, but we are also so very happy in our lovely little home too 🙂 We’re very lucky people.
I agree… home is the best place ever! I start to dream of coming home before I’ve even left. Silly I know, but I miss the animals too much… and my own bed! xxx
I did miss the pups, even though I knew they were in safe hands. And my bed too – it’s new and sooooo comfy!
I fear my completion of our fully enclosed veggie garden has caused this worldy deluge. It’s been raining ever since I laid that last stone and I am starting to wonder if it is winter again! Nothing wrong with getting complete enjoyment out of grub and booze…often the best holidays are a haze of foodie memories tempered with the odd hangover of remembrance 😉
Aha – you’re to blame for the bad weather then?! Ok, as it was you, I won’t bear a grudge 😉 Luckily, because we were eating….erm…plentifully (that’s my posh word for “like two starving hogs”) there were no hangovers (or 24 hour flu as we call in our family 😉 )
Pure genius…24 hour flu…I am going to pinch that! I like to eat like a starving hog for both Steve and myself. I feel it is important to keep up the side as he lets it down on a regular basis. Food is there to be predated. A humans natural place is at a dinner table. That’s why eating is one of our needs you know, NOT so we can pick at a few celery sticks and call ourselves stuffed…we were designed for communal banquets with roast boars and trays of pears dripping with juicy possibilities. Humanity makes itself smaller by limiting the opportunities to celebrate with food and I, for one, am NOT going to let the Sidmouth side down! Every night is a narf7 banquet :). I feel a 24 hour flu coming on at the completion of this unit on OH&S by the way…in fact…I think it might last 48 hours to be honest and I might have to take to my bed for the duration (with the odd trip to the fridge of COURSE 😉 )
Love the idea of frequent communal banquets! Good luck with the studies – sounds tough 😦 The 24 hour flu thing came about around 30 years ago when my brother who was probably not quite 18 had his first new Year’s Eve out with his pals and of course over did it. The next day was a big Italian family lunch at our house (complete with eating lentils for luck) and he wouldn’t get up to join us. My dad was furious and dragged him downstairs to “be with his family even if he did have a hangover…and it was all his own fault”. My brother of course denied having touched a drop the night before (under age and all that) and with the most pathetic face he could muster told us all that he thought he had a touch of “24 hour flu”! Of course, the story went down in family history and now we all refer to a session of over indulgence in this way…mind you, now we’re all getting older, it takes a lot longer to recover from a night on the vino, so perhaps it will be your 48 hour version that we will be dealing with now 😉
“Mi casa es su casa” or in this case the reverse (but I can’t be buggered fandangling the vernacular 😉 ) and fair do’s on the sharing but we need to keep this hush-hush or it won’t cut the mustard with family and friends 😉
Shame! Good old “British” weather. It’s one of those places I nearly went to but never quite made it. A few days away is nice, anyway. Belated Happy Anniversary 🙂
You’re right, a few days away and discovering somewhere new is always a good thing! God Bless the British Weather 🙂
Boo to British weather! I’m glad the sun came out occasionally and that you ate well. Always a bonus.
Do the hire cars still have an ‘H’ on the number plate? A friend who lived on Jersey for a while told us they were referred to as ‘horror cars;!
Yes, the sun did come out occasionally and we rejoiced when it did. And yes, the hire cars do all have H on them 0 we thought it was to help the locals steer clear of all the “outsiders” driving like frightened kittens on their teeny tiny roads 🙂
Well your pictures certainly belie the fact that you had such awful weather, but what a drag. Glad there was good food and drink to cheer away the weather woes. And yes, there’s no place like home!
I don’t know why I’m always so disappointed when we have bad weather for our anniversary celebrations – it is November after all! Hey ho, we kept smiling (and eating and drinking) 🙂
Such a shame about the weather, it really can make all the difference… Look forward to hearing more of your food adventures while there!
Yes, sunny days make everything lovelier, but it’s November, so I shouldn’t really be surprise when it rains for our anniversary!
Ah, Lillie Langtry!
Yes, but Big Man was more interested in the fact that Nigel Mansell was born there!
Beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing!
Glad you liked them Shanna!
🙂 I like all of your recipes! And your photos and stories. Have a great day, Chica Andaluza ;-). – Shanna
Well, what do you expect from Channel weather 😉 ! Glad the food somewhat made up for the cold and the wind! Please do raise our appetites a litle whilst you still remember ~ if I recollect the franglais influence was quite pronounced in many of the places!! And the lovely local dairy produce and vegetables!!!
I know, I think I build up these totally ridiculous expectations that we’ll have fabulous weather wherever we go even though it’s November! There was definitely a very good Franglais thing going on (with a heavy dose of Portugal thrown in). The meals were so good – they really do have fantastic raw materials to work with.
Maybe the weather thought you wanted to stay indoors to celebrate! Home is where the dogs are xxx
Ah…romantic moments inside! We just mostly braved the weather but ut was nice to get in to the warm and dry as well. It was such a wonderful “welcome home” we got from the dogs when we got back 🙂
It looks lovely, in spite of the weather. It is a lovely feeling, though, to come home again. I feel cozy just thinking about it.
It is a very beautiful island and I can imagine how much more stunning it would be in the summer. It’s good to travel, but I agree it’s lovely to get back home again!
It looks beautiful, but so sorry to hear about the weather. That’s never fun on a holiday.
We should have had a Staycation like you! It was beautiful though, just rather cold, damp and windy 😦
I can handle cold and damp, but I just don’t like the wind, especially when combined with cold and damp.
Tell me about it! 😦
Jenny and I gave up on holidays many years ago. We’ve been to places that had never seen rain and greyness before our arrival. The home we’ve found here is our holiday:)
That seems to be what happens to us as well! Maybe we should retire from taking holidays and just enjoy what we’ve got – which is really rather a lot and very lovely when I think about it 🙂
I’ve never been to the Channel Islands, Tanya – what a shame about the weather. Still, I’m sure you enjoyed the break 🙂
This was my first visit – I think it would be amazing in the summer – it really is a very beautiful landscape.
T – I will have to access your Fish Lady in order to comply with your request!
I’m sure she’d be happy to supply you with a large piece of hake!
Always nice to get away, regardless of the weather but always the best to get back home.
🙂 Mandy xo
It’s a lovely feeling to get back and my parents had lit all the lamps and drawn the curtains and the pups went crazy with delight – wonderful!
You are very lucky. Our cats usually give us huge amounts of attitude for a while because we left them alone! 😀
Cats are superior creatures to us…and they know it!
What a shame about the weather because I’ve heard the island is lovely. At least you had good food while celebrating your anniversary. Congratulations and may you celebrate many more wonderful years together.
Ah thank you for your good wishes. The island is stunning, even in bad weather, I think we just got a bot fed up of being wet and windswept 😦
Oh, I would LOVE to visit the Island of Jersey. Looks beautiful. Congrats on your anniversary! 🙂
I can highly recommend a few days (it’s tiny, you can do a lot in a little time) but aim for the summer – it would be spectacular!
Well at least you got a chance to get away. It looks beautiful, even if rainy. Happy Anniversary! At least you’ve been dealing with the adversity thrown your way with a sense of humor and place. Looking forward to seeing more meals from you!
We did laugh about it… although after several years of similar anniversary celebrations (well, it does fall in November) Big Man has announced that next year we will buy a lobster and a bottle of champagne and have a romantic candlelit dinner at home – sounds good to me 🙂
The pictures are quite stunning! Happy belated anniversary!
Thank you Melissa!
I for one, agree there is no place like home!! Vacations are fine, but no permanent moves!! So sad to hear about the weather, from the pics those are beautiful views…had the sun been shining, even better! Can’t wait to see all the foods you enjoyed!
I think you’ve had enough moving for a while!
I am enjoying your blog as I do love gardening and the country side but where are the photos of your mountain cottage and garden please? Mary 🙂
So glad you are enjoying the blog but for the moment we are living and working for afew months in our little home Down by the Sea on the South Coast of England. The Mountain garden and house are having a winter rest!
I love Jersey, one of my favourite places in the world! Shame you had such crappy weather, though. At least you had good meals 🙂
It is indded a beautiful island – and the food was amazing 🙂
Well Happy Anniversary to you both!! You’re “weathering the storm” so to speak, lol, I bet you had a lovely time indoors despite the weather. What a scenic place to visit.. very special place for a very special occasion!xx
It was indeed very beautiful despite the weather, I can imagine how wonderful it must be to be there in the summer 🙂
Mmmmmm… looks inviting to me! Love the photos…
Thanks Rachel! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip 🙂
Sorry Old Nick was nasty to you on the occasion, Tanya! But you are smart to make the most of it no matter what the weather, and also to know that cosying up at home will take the sting out of nearly anything. Happy anniversary to you two, and may you enjoy many more years of delight, whether tucked in by the home hearth or wandering abroad!
Thank you so much – we are pretty good at laughing off adversity 🙂 Thank you for your good wishes and I love your new photo!
Sweet of you, Tanya!
🙂
What a beautiful part of the world! Thank you for taking photos to share with us – we had friends who lived in Jersey for years, but I never knew it was so stunningly picturesque!
Hi Celia and thanks for visiting! I had heard (from my late grandmother in fact) that it was a beautiful island – and it certainly was. Even with the horrible weather, the beauty f the coastline and the interior was stunning. As was the food!
Lovely scenery! I do agree that there’s no place like home… something I can’t really feel right now since we’re staying with my wife’s parents until we get settled. I feel like I’m on an extended vacation right now, lol!
I love that statue… I don’t think I’d want it myself but in the right setting it must be really evocative!
It is a bit unsettling when you are not in your own place. I expect your in laws are loving having you and little William there but you’ll be happy when you can make your own “nest”. The statue was quite sinister, but it was supposed to be – there is a path that leads to a blow hole called Devil’s Hole!
I couldn’t agree more, Tanya. There really is no place like home. 🙂
I expect you feel the same right now too – good as it is to travel and see loved ones, it’s lovely to be back home. Sigh!
Gorgeous views, nice pictures! Too bad about the weather but sounds like you had fun at the food fair too. Boy I would love to visit there sometime.
It’s a beautiful island but think it would be even more stunning in the summer months!
That demon picture or statue?
A statue!