From Loire Valley, we drove north to the port of Saint-Malo in Brittany. After we parked our car at the ferry terminal, we took a fast ferry to Guernsey, one of several Channel Islands in the English Channel. We explored the picturesque and very British town of St. Peter Port on foot. In the afternoon, we took another ferry to the second Channel Island of Jersey which is our final destination for the day.
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| Beautiful sunrise over Loire Valley greeted our early drive to Saint-Malo. We had to start early in order to make the ferry sailing to Guernsey |
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| We have never seen such inefficient and frustrating ferry boarding process! In the name of passenger safety, we were not allowed to walk to the ferry from terminal. Every passenger had to be driven in a small van onto the boat. Worse, we had to repeat the whole process again when we disembarked, adding to sailing delay! |
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| We could see the pretty old walled city of Saint-Malo from our ferry. The journey from Saint-Malo to Guerney took only an hour on fast ferry |
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| Guernsey is not part of United Kingdom or British Oversea Territories. Together with Jersey and Isle of Man, these three self-governing islands are classified as Crown dependencies. They are not EU members but enjoy free trade status |
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| I found it amazing that these tiny Channel Islands have been able to resist France invasions throughout history even they are only 20 to 40 km away from the French coast |
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| There is no mistake Guernsey is under British influence from the look on the streets in St. Peter Port, capital of Guernsey |
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| Lots of British tourists come here for vacation by cruise ships. The official currency here is British pound |
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| Town Church |
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| Hauteville House - the famous French writer Victor Hugo stayed in Guernsey during his exile from 1856-1870. He wrote famous works like Les Miserables and the Hunchback of Notre-Dame |
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| Beautiful view of the port and Castle Cornet in the background. While taking pictures here, we met several visitors who had just disembarked from the cruise ship in the harbor behind us |
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| A local told us that development in Guernsey is straightly regulated to preserve the feel and look of the island. This is in sharp contrast to its neighbor Jersey where runaway development has made that island overcrowded and exceedingly touristy. We were lucky we had planned to spend most of our day on this lovely island |
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| Panoramic view of St. Peter Port in Guernsey |
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| Prince Albert Statue to commemorate the naming of the Albert Pier in 1863. He is the husband of Queen Victoria. We had to be careful when crossing the roads since cars drive on the left side |
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| Lovely shot of the town St. Peter Port from the marina |
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| Castle Cornet is a military fortress guarding the town. Once on an island, it has been linked with a breakwater to the port since 1859 |
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| This 2018 heart warming romance film, The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society, is filmed on location here |
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| Fortress inside Castle Cornet |
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| After we hurried back to the ferry terminal to wait for the Jersey sailing, we were wondering why the hall was so empty... and I suddenly realized that Guernsey is one hour behind France! We could have done longer sightseeing |
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| Our next ferry was a slow boat. It arrived late and took 2 hours to arrive at St. Helier in Jersey |
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| Land around Elizabeth Castle just outside the harbor is exposed during low tide and people can walk to the island |
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| We stayed in this Radisson Blu hotel right next to the port. Very unfriendly staff |
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| Tourist buses lining up to take people on tours outside the port |
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| We had a great view of the harbor and Elizabeth Castle from our hotel |
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| In complete contrast to St. Peter Port on Guernsey, the town of St. Helier is ugly and totally devoid of charm due to unplanned runaway development. We saw vast hotel complexes sprouting up everywhere on this tiny island during our ferry trip here |
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