St.Peter Port

Our first Port of call was on the Island of Guernsey at St. Peter Port.

We were booked on a Princess tour and we had to meet in the Wheelhouse bar at 8:30. This was a tender port and we had to leave the ship in a group. It was a small group of 25 people and we were on Tour Silver 6. The tender ride was only about 12 minutes long but it was rough so I came very close to getting sick, in fact I had to call for a barf bag. But fortunately it ended before my stomach came up. This was a 3 hour Walking TOUR and we met our guide on the dock. Her name was judy and she was carrying a yellow shoulder bag. As we toured she kept taking things out of that bag. She had photos and artifacts to show us as we went along.

She told us much about  the history of St Peter Port which is the capital city of Guernsey. The island was occupied by Nazi Germany during WWII and so there is a lot of history here. But the city goes back to pre 1066 with the Norman conquest.

The streets are hilly and cobbled and the different architecture is wonderful. The city is very pretty and well kept. Judy told us that each year they have a competition for the most beautiful neighborhood in the city so there are flowers and flower boxes everywhere.

The history included lots of old superstitions among which were  stories of witches. There were many witch trials and executions here. She told us of a tradition of putting a witches rest on your house to provide a place for witches to take a rest when they had been flying around on their broomsticks 

The resting spot was to make certain they did not perch on the chimney pot and fall into the fireplace below when they fell asleep. If they fell into the house below there would be a mess of soot and the witch might get angry and put a curse on the occupants. Here is a picture of the witches rest.It is like the end of a piece of 8x8 sticking out of your wall.

After a great fire like the fire of London fire insurance was created. Houses that had fire insurance were marked by a plaque, some of copper and some of lead. If the house had a plaque then the fire department would put out the fire but only if you had the place of their fire brigade.

Ken is holding one of the copper signs.

Judy also told us of a construction project where the purchaser was told the building would have a green dome. When completed the building was still bright copper. It had not yet weathered to turn green. The buyer said he would not pay until he got what he paid for which was a green dome. Well the builder with the help of the knowledgeable local blacksmith turned the dome green over night. You see the smithy knew that urine from pregnant mares turned copper green. Problem solved, money paid.

Judy also pointed out a very old church which is in Guinness Book of world records for being the church closest to a pub.

It is just called the Parish Church of St. Peter Port.

From her bag she also produced a flag of Guernsey. it is a separate country and needed its own flag.

There are no parking meters in St Peter Port, but there are zones of parking for certain lengths of time. In place of meters each vehicle has a parking clock. When you park you put this clock on your dash with the time set. If the “Yellow Terror” goes by and you are over parked you get a very large fine of about 100 pounds. Judy showed us a parking clock.

They have a light house here in St. Peter port. The wall around it was damaged during the past winter so we could not walk to it but we could get a good picture from the castle.

The Castle Cornet was our destination. It was built in the 13^th century to guard the harbor. Its strategic location made it very important down the years.

The castle is well preserved and very interesting to explore. Part of our tour included a stop for  refreshments. We were served a slice of gauche which is a fruit bread, a local specialty and  cup of tea. There were wonderful  paintings lining the walls here.

There was a nice little gift shop and I bought a magnet of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie society. I had read this book before the cruise and it only seemed right to buy the magnet.

We had to really keep going to get the tour completed in time to catch the tender back to the ship. Because it had been so rough going over I took a Gravol for the return but it was not necessary because it was a much smoother trip.

Our first Port of call was amazing!!

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