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20 SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 2012

PACK & GOGreat last-minute deals

JERSEY is France withoutthe French.

If you love foreign travelbut don’t want to beinconvenienced by thewhole different language,different currency, drivingon the wrong side of theroad thing, this is foryou.

And even if you do like allthose things, it’s still afantastic place to go and,as it takes just over half anhour to fly there fromSouthampton, veryconvenient too.

I started to fall for Jersey

when I spotted a hugesandy beach against anazure sea out of thewindow of our Blue Islandsplane and fell more deeplyfor it with every cuteseaside town, tree-linedavenue, continental-lookingharbour and cliff-top viewof the Atlantic I saw.

It was a wonderful breakinto a different world, notleast because we werestaying in the lap of luxury

at the four star AtlanticHotel in St Brelade.

I felt very spoiled by thewhole experience. It’s lovelyhaving people open doorsfor you, slide your chair inunder you and call you‘madam’. Plus the viewfrom our room wasfantastic – looking out fromour cliff top position beyondthe outdoor swimming pooland tennis courts of thehotel to the Atlantic.

Celebrated chef MarkJordan is executive headchef at the hotel’s MichelinStar Ocean Restaurant and

unsurprisingly the food wasamazing.

I have to admit being alittle perplexed when itturned out that the ‘rock’that my boyfriend’s seafoodstarter came with wasliterally a large rock, onwhich his food was artfullyarranged.

But it didn’t just lookgood, it tasted amazing,from my perfectly freshasparagus starter through

the rich aubergine main tothe dessert of sorbet. Youdon’t go to a Michelin Starrestaurant for run-of-the-mill food and you couldhear ‘oohs and ‘ahs comingfrom various tables acrossthe restaurant as each dishwas served.

A highlight of therestaurant was the attentiveservice of the charming andchatty head sommelierSergio Dos Santos, whoseemed to take delight incarefully selecting theperfect wine to accompanyeach of our courses.

We also had anotherexcellent meal at Ocean’ssister restaurant MarkJordan At The Beach,which is, as the namesuggests, right on thebeach at St Aubin’s Bay. Itis less formal than Oceanrestaurant and has a laidback feel, while still offeringgreat service and wonderfulfood, which again was farfrom ordinary.

We had a lovely evening

n Experience the capital’s goldenyear first-hand and stay in the heartof London with Guoman hotels –from just £79 per room per night(including VAT).

Available for stays at any ofGuoman’s five luxury hotels untilSeptember 9, 2012*, this incredibleoffer means that everyone will beable to be part of history andexperience an unforgettable summer.

Guoman hotels are ideally locatedclose to some of London’s mostfamous sights, including the LondonEye, Tower Bridge and the Houses ofParliament, as well as being just astone’s throw from popular retailhavens such as the world-famousOxford Street, Bond Street andCovent Garden, meaning guestsstaying at The Cumberland, TheTower, Charing Cross, The RoyalHorseguards or The Grosvenor Hotelwill be able to enjoy the buzz of thecity.

Even if you’re not lucky enough tohave tickets to this summer’ssporting events, The London 2012

Festival –runninguntil thebeginningofSeptember – will feature over tenmillion performances and eventsacross the capital, from festivals tostreet art exhibitions, culminating inThe Mayor’s Thames Festivalweekend fireworks which bring anend to the city’s celebrations onSeptember 9, 2012.

For further information or to bookplease visit guoman.com/summer.

*Offer valid until September 29,2012 only. Subject to availability.Offer is only valid from August 12,2012 at The Royal Horseguards.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 2012 21

Into the blueInto the blueSALLY CHURCHWARD falls for azure skies,

crystal clear waters, wide sandy bays (andthe convenience of it all) in beautiful Jersey

enjoying a delicious meal whilelooking out at the stunningview across St Aubin’s Bay toElizabeth Castle.

This is one of a number ofcastles on the island. Wespent a relaxed afternoon atMount Orgueil Castle on theeast coast. This picturepostcard castle is well worth avisit, rising up over the prettyharbour below it offers greatviews across to France. Amedieval stronghold, it has arich history and is lovely towander round for a few hours.You can even have a go in thestocks!

With so much to do, car hireis strongly recommended. It’sperfect for dashing to eachattraction, stopping here andthere for lunch or to take in aview on the way.

We enjoyed plenty ofglorious sunshine but escapeda wet morning by exploring theJersey War Tunnels, anunderground complex whichwas built by invading Germansin the Second World War andnow serves as an evocativemuseum of life on the islandduring enemy occupationbetween October 1941 andJanuary 1944.

But, by far our favouriteattraction, was the wonderfulDurrell sanctuary and breedingcentre.

The headquarters of theDurrell Wildlife ConservationTrust, it is dedicated to savinganimals from extinction. Thebeautiful parkland featuressome amazing endangeredanimals, including gorillas,orang-utans, lemur, Andeanbear and my favouritesLivingston’s fruit bats.

Some of the animals are sorare that they can only befound at the sanctuary.

It’s quite unusual, in that

some of the enclosures havemixed species, to simulate thewild and provide a moreenriching experience for theanimals, which also meansyou can enjoy watching theminteract with each other.

Another highlight is thatmany of miniature monkeyslive in unfenced woods. I wasvery surprised to find a tinymarmoset just feet from me ona ledge. Jersey also has a lotof outdoor activities to offer.We had planned to go landyachting with JerseyAdventures, but unfortunatelythe wind had dropped too

much and we were too wussyto brave coasteering.

As well as all the attractions,Jersey also boasts someamazing beaches – hugeswathes of perfect golden sand.

While it’s ideal to pop over tofor a long weekend as it’s soquick and easy to get to, therewould be plenty to keep youentertained for a longer trip,whether you’re looking forluxury dining or sandcastlebuilding.

And all without having tograpple with a foreignlanguage or drive on the‘wrong’ side of the road!

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u Sally flew to Jersey from Southampton Airport with Blue Islands:blueislands.comu She stayed at The Atlantic Hotel (pictured above left) theatlantichotel.comand also ate at markjordanatthebeach.com (above right)

u Car hire was provided by Hertz Car Hire hertz-jersey.co.uk DDuurrrreellll WWiillddlliiffeeCCoonnsseerrvvaattiioonn TTrruusstt