There are many beautiful places in this world, Jersey is amongst one of those many  beautiful places to visit and explore. We flew from Heathrow in to Jersey. The flight time is an hour and fifteen minutes, but it had been the most cherish able memories on a flight, pour moi. We were lucky to have  a clear sky on that day. The view from the plane was breathtakingly beautiful, azure blue skies sans  fluffy white clouds, a limitless blue spread  ahead , merging with vast blue waters of seas spreading  below,  and me  on the window seat of an aeroplane, a  tiny  speck of the vast universe, tiny but not inconsequential. The site was one to behold for a lifetime, an experience to remember.

When we landed in Jersey, the weather was brilliant with clear blue skies and Sun shining brightly. We took a bus from the airport in to the city to our hotel. After checking in the hotel and leaving the luggage in, we went out exploring St Helier. On first day we decided we will visit the Elizabeth Castle. It is a castle situated in the tidal island. When the tide is low, you can walk in from a causeway in St Helier to the castle, and as the tide sets in castle is gradually surrounded by sea. You can take a boat to and fro from the castle or walk in to the castle and walk back to before the tide sets in. We decided to walk to the castle as the tide was low. The castle is part of Historical monuments of Jersey and has a display of muskets ,canon firing and a small talk about the battle of Jersey . The view of sea and shorelines from the castle is very beautiful. We walked back from the castle before the tide set in. There was a restaurant on the shore with a views on to the castle. We had our lunch watching the tide set in and the castle gradually being surrounded by water. The rest of the day we spent in leisure , walking on the shorelines and promenade.

The next day we went to see the La Corbiere’s light house on St Brelades. The name means where the crows gather, but there were no crows in site. The light house has been witness to many shipwrecks.  During Victorian times La Corbiere was a train terminus for Jersey Railway line from St Helier.  The day we visited the light house, there were no tours available and we could not go in to the lighthouse or climb up the lighthouse. The  lighthouse stands on rugged shores surrounded with  rocks submerged in water, and strong tidal waves crashing in wildly. On the way back, from Corbiere’s  we stopped over at St Brelades Bay for a lunch. St Brelade’s Bay is ideal for swimming, with shallow waters and that day coupled with perfect weather. The beach was crowded with swimmers of all ages. It was a very hot day, we decided to return to our Hotel and spend a quiet evening in the lounge, reading a book.

Later in the evening, we decided to see Gorey Village and walk around a bit the Gorey Pier. Mont Orgueil Castle is situated there and is part of the Jersey Heritage Site. The Castle was closed by the time we reached the village, so we decided to go to the shores, we found a flight of stairs leading to the sea, we went down the flight of stairs. We met a duo, Nanny and her little granddaughter who were walking their dogs, Sam and Hamish, and engaging in a little playtime with them of throw and fetch in the sea.  They were kind enough to let us join in the game of throwing a ball in to the sea and then watch Sam and Hamish wade through the waves to fetch the ball back. We had a great evening with the duo.

The next day we did a guided tour of the Gorey village and learnt a little about Jersey and its history. All the legal documentations in Jersey is done in French, I found this piece of information amusing, a Jersey, a country part of Great Britain, yet French is the language of legal documentation. I found out from our guide that the island has no longer any working railway services and habitats use cars and buses as a mode of transportation. Later in the day we walked around in the Liberty wharf wondering where we should we head next. I find these little mindless wanderings in a new city, very captivating. In those moments of mindless wanderings, you may chance upon an architecture ,a building or a place which is not much talked about, or you might strike an interesting conversation with someone or you could talk to someone, who may be an inspiration for your next journey. I had three interesting conversations during this trip, which I will perhaps remember for a long time. One of them was at Liberty Wharf, we mindlessly walked into a shop, were looking at some pearls. I started chatting with the girl at the counter, who was very extremely friendly, and was being an extremely good host. And upon finding we were from London she mentioned she comes to London, to feel the buzz of life,watch the hussle and bussle of life and she absolutely loves London for its frenzy, she finds it electrifying/charging. And I had to tell her we were looking for a quieter and calmer place, away from the buzz, where we could watch the sun set in silence, see the clear night sky with countless twinkling stars, which is impossible in London being ablaze with lights in night. Upon listening to me she suggested an eating joint called El Tico Cantina ,on St Ouen’s Bay. She said it had amazing views of sea, the best place to watch the sun set and it served good food. The previous morning while we were having breakfast, we met a mother and son, who were on a holiday in Jersey, we started chatting, they recommended that we watch the night sky, as they had done the same previous night on one of bays, the night sky was brilliant lit up with twinkling stars. We did go to El Tico, to St Ouen s Bay ,with the intention of watching the beautiful night sky. We tried calling and book a table at El Tico, but the restaurant does not allow bookings. We took a cab to St Ouen’s Bay, and El Tico is situated at an breath-taking location. The restaurant is on the bay, serves food and also has an Surfing school. There are deck chairs dotted outside the restaurant, with spectacular views of the vast waters, dazzling in sun and changing its colours with the sky. When we arrived we had a wait of half an hour for a table, we could sit outside on deck chairs with a drink while waiting for the table. No one was complaining about the wait. We sat outside watching the warm orange glow of evening sun, setting the sky ablaze with different shades of orange, the sea dazzling and shimmering in pink and orange, the site was spectacular, all you could hear the roar of waves crashing on the rocks. The tables inside the restaurant have the views on to the sea. And not to forget the food in El Tico Cantina is absolutely delicious and has vegetarian options too. The sky turned cloudy as the evening progressed, and we were not able the see the night sky. But I will always remember the roar of the waves, the glow of sun and colour of skies and waters. On the way back, from St Ouen’s I had an interesting conversation with the Taxi driver, who was taking us back to our hotel. He wanted to know what brought us to Jersey from London. I told him we were trying to find the beauty in simpler nuances of life; calm, quiet and peace and stop rushing about like headless chickens, drowning in the roaring white noise of urban life. He mentioned he has always lived in Jersey and loves living in Jersey. He likes to visit London to visit museums, gigs and music programmed and he loves the buzz of life in London, which we were escaping. And I understand, as living in London, we are spoilt for choices for activities and entertainment. We all need a change from time to time, to see the world in a different perspective. As the conversation continued he said, the islander are much more simpler and naïve, and very innocent and he lives in Jersey for those exact reasons ,having been born and brought up in Jersey, he considered himself to be an islander, even though he is English by origin. And after a few weeks in London, he wants to get back to his simple ways. I couldn’t agree with him more.

The next day evening, flying back home from Jersey, I was once again gazing out of window and watching once again the evening glow of sun setting in the sky, with the song of Aladdin playing in my  mind” A Whole New world”

“But way up from here it is crystal clear,….I am like a shooting star, I’ve come too far, I can’ t go back to where I used to be,..With new horizons to pursue, I will chase them anywhere …”