At some point earlier in the morning, while our eyes were still quite firmly slammed shut, the ship arrived at our first port of call – St. Peter Port, Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It was a day on our own so there was really no rush to wake up. Ergo, breakfast didn’t take place til about 8:30 AM. On a normal day I should be so lucky.
After eating, our priority tender vouchers safe in our pocket, we made our way down to the gangway. Again, this no-wait thing was greatly appreciated. The tender ride itself was quite smooth and only about ten minutes in duration. A quick walk along the pier beside the harbor and we’re at the main road showcasing the ocean on one side and retail/restaurants on the other. This is the outer edge of downtown.
Today is perfect for just wandering about, taking in High Street, peeking in the stores and marveling over almost everything. Prices almost seem…reasonable. Then we remember to adjust for exchange at which point almost everything borders on the how-can-anyone-afford-to-live-here. I stopped in an antique shop as there were a couple of items that caught my eye. One was a walking stick with an ivory dog’s head on the top. Hey…I kinda like that! Oh…hmmmm…675 pounds, eh? I think I may get a rather cold response from my dear wife if I drop just over $1,100 CDN on a stick.
Today’s five thousand steps took us along a number of streets very reminiscent of others we have enjoyed in previous adventures. Close quarters allowing more pedestrian traffic than vehicular, with old shoppes beside more modern names. Areas like this back home, I think, would provide excellent options to the towers of glass and concrete.
The clouds have thickened and the temperature has dropped a tad so a short stop for a later lunch seems in order now. So many choices but one that is as open air as it is covered looks good and not overly pricey. Interestingly enough, our entire walkabout had not one Starbucks, Timmy’s, McD’s or KFC. Apparently they are not quite as worldwide as one might have thought, which is fine with us.
The clouds have now decided to lighten their load and raindrops are falling on my head. The brollies are back on the ship and the decision is made that we should be as well.
While walking along the pier, when we first arrived, we noticed a boat-launch ramp down into the harbor, with water lapping up covering the bottom and up the ramp about five meters. Now, only a couple of hours later as we make our way back to the tender area, that same boat-launch is completely uncovered, and the water level is at least a meter lower than the bottom of that ramp. Quite the change.
Our tender ride back is certainly less smooth although far from problematic. Once again up the gangway and on-board. Now to sit down and start today’s ramblings. 🙂
Tonight is a two-fold hit. It is formal night (but this time I did Not bring my formal dinner jacket) and it is also the Stammtisch (wine tasting) at Vines Wine Bar. Or at least so I thought. First, the wine tasting that should have been tonight has been postponed til tomorrow night and second, the one we ~had~ booked was actually for Sept. 5. Apparently we are a couple of days early. But, no matter. We decided to change it to tomorrow and actually pay attention to our calendar.
Formal night for us, at least on This cruise, simply means wearing slightly nicer clothes rather than the full dinner jacket/tie/evening gown regalia that we have done in the past. A window seat awaits our arrival again for dinner, but in a slightly different location so our wait staff changed as well. No less accommodating and attentive, Jamie and Jon made sure we wanted for nothing. Once again dinner was more than necessary and absolutely delicious. During our repast, we struck up a great conversation with the couple next to us who were from a small city just outside of Toronto. Our talks ran the full gamut of political leader comparisons, to weather complaints to cruises and ports we have all visited and enjoyed. Certainly a delightful way to spend the dinner time-frame.
Tummies more than full and now close to 9 PM our room seems like the place to be. Tomorrow will be a much earlier day with travel and excursions throughout. Up by 7:30 to S,S and S, grab some breakfast in the dining room (for a pleasant differential) and then meeting our small tour group. Cobh, Cork and Kinsale beckon us.