Four and a half months after arriving on Guernsey I boarded a plane again and left the island. I had said goodbye to all my mates at Hotel Jerbourg. The last couple of nights after work I enjoy a few drinks with all the crew and prepared myself to leave.
I also said goodbye to my girlfriend Jess once again not knowing if I would ever see her again. This was quite a difficult thing to do. Although we had left each other before this time was different because we were possibly never going to see each other again.
A couple of weeks before I left the island one of my University mates Max flew over and stayed a few days. It was great to see a fimiliar face and the opportunity to show a friend around an island I had grown to like and call home for a few months.
I left Guernsey and arrived back in the city London. The initial shock to the body was intense. The business of the roads and pedrestian traffic was something I had to once again get used to.
My arrival in London coincided with my friend Leah's birthday. So I spent my one free day drinking with her and her friends at bars in Notting Hill.
The following morning I waited out the front of the hostel in London to get picked up and once again tour Europe.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Back on tour Paris and Switzerland
Prior to leaving Europe I wanted to see some of Italy, Greece and Croatia. Therefore I went on the net and researched many different ways to get around and found the best way was going to be on a tour bus and I once again booked with Top Deck.
This tour I was the experienced one, I knew what touring in the coach was all about and I was just so excited to be out exploring Europe again. Our first stop after the ferry from Dover to Calais was Paris. We arrived in a couple of days before the Tour De France riders were due to finish, so almost exactly a year to the day I had been there previously.
I had climbed the Eiffel Tour and visited the Louvre so this time around I spent the free day exploring the Catacombs, the Notre Dame and the Père Lachaise Cemetery. I went to the cemetry in search of Jim Morrison's grave. That night in Paris I also went on a river Siene cruise and I felt I learnt so much more about the city this year than when I was there the year before.
The next stop after Paris was into Switzerland where we stayed a couple of nights in Lauterbrunnen. The mountains offer some magnificent views and I was excited to get to the top and have a look around. The easiest and quickest, yet not the cheapest way to get to the top of the Jungfrau is to catch the train. Being on a restricted timeline it is what I opted to do. The train drives through tunnels nearly the whole way up the mountain. To give all passengers a chance to look around the train stops a couple of times on the way up where you can get out and have a look out a glass window. When we looked out the cloud was so low and thick you couldn't see a single thing and it was highly unlikely it was going to change for the day.
When you reach the top you walk out of the station through an ice sculpture museum walkway till you reach the outside. I probably spent a couple of hours outside at the top and walked to a little hut which has been turned into and bar. The cloud did move enough for me to get some grasp on just how big the mountains were. I boarded a train late in the afternoon and headed downard back to our cabins. That night I caught up with more previous bus driver from the tour the year before and enjoyed a massive drinking session with him.
This tour I was the experienced one, I knew what touring in the coach was all about and I was just so excited to be out exploring Europe again. Our first stop after the ferry from Dover to Calais was Paris. We arrived in a couple of days before the Tour De France riders were due to finish, so almost exactly a year to the day I had been there previously.
I had climbed the Eiffel Tour and visited the Louvre so this time around I spent the free day exploring the Catacombs, the Notre Dame and the Père Lachaise Cemetery. I went to the cemetry in search of Jim Morrison's grave. That night in Paris I also went on a river Siene cruise and I felt I learnt so much more about the city this year than when I was there the year before.
The next stop after Paris was into Switzerland where we stayed a couple of nights in Lauterbrunnen. The mountains offer some magnificent views and I was excited to get to the top and have a look around. The easiest and quickest, yet not the cheapest way to get to the top of the Jungfrau is to catch the train. Being on a restricted timeline it is what I opted to do. The train drives through tunnels nearly the whole way up the mountain. To give all passengers a chance to look around the train stops a couple of times on the way up where you can get out and have a look out a glass window. When we looked out the cloud was so low and thick you couldn't see a single thing and it was highly unlikely it was going to change for the day.
When you reach the top you walk out of the station through an ice sculpture museum walkway till you reach the outside. I probably spent a couple of hours outside at the top and walked to a little hut which has been turned into and bar. The cloud did move enough for me to get some grasp on just how big the mountains were. I boarded a train late in the afternoon and headed downard back to our cabins. That night I caught up with more previous bus driver from the tour the year before and enjoyed a massive drinking session with him.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Hotel Jerbourg
Hotel Jerbourg is located on the south-east corner of Guernsey at Jerbourg point. It has a restaurant and 32 guest rooms and it was the place I called home for four and a half months while living on Guernsey. The staff at the hotel were of many different nationalities. I was the only Aussie and worked with Spanish, Latvian, German, Hungarian, Scottish, English, Portuguese, Venezuelan, Polish and Welsh. It is the most international team I think I will ever work with. Although we all came from different backgrounds we were able to get along and work as an effective team. At times language barriers caused confusing although we were usually able to laugh about it. Many of the hotel guests also travelled to Guernsey from Europe therefore making it difficult for me to understand their requests.
My contract stated I was to work roughly 50 hours a week although this often meant over 60 hours a week and for no extra money. I was paid a monthly wage of 600 pound no matter how many hours I worked. The 600 pound a month was on top of food and accommodation. I once worked it out to be about 2.50 pound an hour. The hours were long and we often had to back up a late night working with an early start. Throughout the months I worked at the hotel I worked three weddings, each a 16 hour day starting at 10am and finishing 2am the following morning with only 30 minutes off to eat dinner.
I had at least one day off a week but never more than two. I organised to have Mondays off which my girlfriend Jess and I would spend together visiting the sights of the island and the neighbouring islands.
Guernsey do not have a minimum wage which is the reason they are able to pay so little, which is also the reason many Eastern Europeans work at the hotels on the islands. The little pay you get would still be a lot more than they would be paid in their native countries.
The low wages and long hours were what I most disliked about working at the hotel. The staff were friendly and helpful and the restaurant was very rarely at capacity. From the first day I started in the job I knew what day I would be leaving therefore I counted down the days and tried to make the most of my time on Guernsey.
My contract stated I was to work roughly 50 hours a week although this often meant over 60 hours a week and for no extra money. I was paid a monthly wage of 600 pound no matter how many hours I worked. The 600 pound a month was on top of food and accommodation. I once worked it out to be about 2.50 pound an hour. The hours were long and we often had to back up a late night working with an early start. Throughout the months I worked at the hotel I worked three weddings, each a 16 hour day starting at 10am and finishing 2am the following morning with only 30 minutes off to eat dinner.
I had at least one day off a week but never more than two. I organised to have Mondays off which my girlfriend Jess and I would spend together visiting the sights of the island and the neighbouring islands.
Guernsey do not have a minimum wage which is the reason they are able to pay so little, which is also the reason many Eastern Europeans work at the hotels on the islands. The little pay you get would still be a lot more than they would be paid in their native countries.
The low wages and long hours were what I most disliked about working at the hotel. The staff were friendly and helpful and the restaurant was very rarely at capacity. From the first day I started in the job I knew what day I would be leaving therefore I counted down the days and tried to make the most of my time on Guernsey.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Jersey
Jersey is Guernseys bigger neighbouring island. Just like Australia/ New Zealand and Canada/ USA there is a strong rivalry between the two islands. I really wanted to visit Jersey to see what all the fuss was about and decide for myself which island I preferred.
Jess and I both managed to get a Bank Holiday Monday off which was the only way we could visit Jersey without staying the night. A ferry left early on the Monday morning and we arrived on Jersey roughly an hour later. We spent the day catching buses from beach to beach and I really enjoyed it. I thought the most obvious difference between the two islands was Jersey had better and more accessible beaches. For an island I think Guernsey doesn't have a lot of sandy beaches and many you have climb down hundreds of stairs to reach them.
Jersey is much more commercialised than Guernsey and for the first time in months I ate McDonald's food for lunch and Pizza Hut for dinner. Jersey does have a different feel to Guernsey. Jersey to me felt more Australian with lifeguards on beaches and lots of billboards and advertising. I feel I would have enjoyed living and working on Jersey although with my time on the Channel Islands coming to an end I caught a ferry back to Guernsey thinking I may never again step foot on Jersey.
Jess and I both managed to get a Bank Holiday Monday off which was the only way we could visit Jersey without staying the night. A ferry left early on the Monday morning and we arrived on Jersey roughly an hour later. We spent the day catching buses from beach to beach and I really enjoyed it. I thought the most obvious difference between the two islands was Jersey had better and more accessible beaches. For an island I think Guernsey doesn't have a lot of sandy beaches and many you have climb down hundreds of stairs to reach them.
Jersey is much more commercialised than Guernsey and for the first time in months I ate McDonald's food for lunch and Pizza Hut for dinner. Jersey does have a different feel to Guernsey. Jersey to me felt more Australian with lifeguards on beaches and lots of billboards and advertising. I feel I would have enjoyed living and working on Jersey although with my time on the Channel Islands coming to an end I caught a ferry back to Guernsey thinking I may never again step foot on Jersey.
Monday, July 12, 2010
FIFA World Cup
In the months and years leading up to this years World Cup the English newspapers were publishing articles stating just how easy England would win. I was caught up in all the hype and began to believe the English may win. The Aussies again had a strong team and were looking to make it to the round of sixteen.
Many of the pubs and bars on Guernsey played the World Cup on television all day long which lead to some pubs advertising 'World Cup Free Zone.' These pubs had no televisions no newspapers and no radio during the month of the World Cup finals. Out of interest I entered these pubs a few times to find they were playing Michael Buble cd's on repeat and there was never a line at the bar.
Hotel Jerbourg, the hotel I worked at, had a cup sweep. Each staff member paid five pound and were given two teams. I drew out Spain and Nigeria. Spain were the bookies favourite for the tournament although Nigeria were unlikely to win a game. The Aussies lost convincingly 4-0 to the Germans in their first match of the group stage and it didn't look good. Australia then managed a formidable draw against Ghana and beat Siberia 2-1 although it was not enough to continue to the round of 16.
The English didn't fare much better, a 1-1 draw with the USA followed by a 0-0 draw with Algeria and a 1-0 win against Slovenia. Luckily for them the rest of the groups results went there way and they progressed into the round of 16. The journalists were tearing the team to shreds.
With the English looking unlikely winners and the Aussies out I started supporting the Spanish as the win meant a lot of money for me. The Spanish kept doing just enough to win and progressed to the final against the Dutch. England got thrashed by the Germans 4-1 as the Germans were looking good till the lost to Spain.
I managed to talk my way into getting the night off to watch the final as it was on about 7pm on a Sunday night Guernsey time. I headed to the sports bar in the town and found a place where I could see the television. The bar was full of orange as that is the Dutch colours, Guernsey is a very popular holiday spot for Dutch families. The game itself I found fairly boring with only the one goal scored. The Spanish again did enough to win and for it was a good win for me as I collected a handy 60 pound.
The few Spanish on the island partied long into the night as they did all over the World.
Many of the pubs and bars on Guernsey played the World Cup on television all day long which lead to some pubs advertising 'World Cup Free Zone.' These pubs had no televisions no newspapers and no radio during the month of the World Cup finals. Out of interest I entered these pubs a few times to find they were playing Michael Buble cd's on repeat and there was never a line at the bar.
Hotel Jerbourg, the hotel I worked at, had a cup sweep. Each staff member paid five pound and were given two teams. I drew out Spain and Nigeria. Spain were the bookies favourite for the tournament although Nigeria were unlikely to win a game. The Aussies lost convincingly 4-0 to the Germans in their first match of the group stage and it didn't look good. Australia then managed a formidable draw against Ghana and beat Siberia 2-1 although it was not enough to continue to the round of 16.
The English didn't fare much better, a 1-1 draw with the USA followed by a 0-0 draw with Algeria and a 1-0 win against Slovenia. Luckily for them the rest of the groups results went there way and they progressed into the round of 16. The journalists were tearing the team to shreds.
With the English looking unlikely winners and the Aussies out I started supporting the Spanish as the win meant a lot of money for me. The Spanish kept doing just enough to win and progressed to the final against the Dutch. England got thrashed by the Germans 4-1 as the Germans were looking good till the lost to Spain.
I managed to talk my way into getting the night off to watch the final as it was on about 7pm on a Sunday night Guernsey time. I headed to the sports bar in the town and found a place where I could see the television. The bar was full of orange as that is the Dutch colours, Guernsey is a very popular holiday spot for Dutch families. The game itself I found fairly boring with only the one goal scored. The Spanish again did enough to win and for it was a good win for me as I collected a handy 60 pound.
The few Spanish on the island partied long into the night as they did all over the World.
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