mdinbc

First off I want to thank all of you for all of your postings. I had planned this first trip of ours over the course of many months, and read so many of your posts and reviews and also asked for advice a few times! We were in Jersey for 5 days, and France from north to south, for 2 weeks.

We started off from Northern BC to Vancouver, then Gatwick and then on to Jersey CI on one very long trip that spanned 2 days. Gatwick we found to be confusing, but we sorted it out in time to fit a beer and cider in between connections, so arrived relaxed in Jersey on a wonderful sunny day.

We were lucky in that we were staying with relatives, and they had taken time off to spend with us, also to escort us and be our personal travel guides. What a gem this island is. I had been as a child, but had few memories. We were there Monday through Saturday, so really only had 4 full days.
We visited castles, visited many beautiful uncrowded beaches, visited an underground war museum and met extended family that I had never met.

My husband learned a few new terms "I'm going to spend a penny" and also the parish system - each parish having a parish hall, school, church... and right across the street, the pub! We even had a charming moment with some Jersey Girls (cows) that came to visit us and licked the salt spray from the bonnet of our car!

For a relatively small island, there is lots to see and do. We were very happy that we weren't driving - a combo of very narrow roads and 'wrong' side of the road would have been too much of a challenge for us! All in all a very memorable visit.

Saturday morning was off to St. Malo on the ferries.....

jamikins

Interesting report. I used to work in Jersey occasionally. It is a lovely island!

bilboburgler

child hood memories

mdinbc

So off to France for the second leg of our journey. The plan was to spend 3 days in the north, 4 in Paris, and the last week in the south. I took many recommendations from forum members for locations, hotels and which sights to see.

The ferry was on time and our car rental was waiting for us. The challenge - finding it in the parking lot, and once found, how to get going! It was a Peugot hybrid and we had never been in a hybrid, never mind driven one! We had a few laps around the parking lot to figure things out.

Parking was a bit of a challenge, and the first of many round-about experiences! We found our way to Saint Malo old city and what a lovely city it is! We had both recently read "All the Light We Cannot See' by Anthony Doerr which chronicles the lives of two young people during WWII including a blind young Parisienne that exiles herself to her grandfather's in Saint Malo. We did not take any formal tour, but just walked around the town and enjoyed the atmosphere and beautiful view from the ramparts.

Leaving the coast, we headed to Saint Brandan which is south of Saint Brieuc to see my ancestral home on my father's side. It was raining and gloomy by the afternoon, so it was really a quick jaunt to see the home town, but did not stay for long as we had wanted to get to Dinan by the end of the day. Should I have planned one extra day to explore the area a bit more? Perhaps...but hindsight is 20/20 as they say.

Arriving in Dinan late in the day, we did not have a hotel reservation. This was the only day that I hadn't booked, leaving room for last minute plans depending on what we saw in ancestral town (which was not much as it turned out - there were not any hotels to speak of). We did secure a hotel in Dinan - the Ibis Hotel which was a delight and one of the more inexpensive hotels we stayed in on this trip.
Having secured a pillow for the evening, we ventured out on a rainy walk, saw the beautiful mideaval

janisj

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