Kalyn Michele: Guernsey Island, A Crown Dependency

In 2012 I read the book The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and declared to Alex that I would someday visit the Island of Guernsey. Have you ever got lost in a book and felt such a connection to the setting without having ever physically been there? That happens to me often but the deep connection felt for this little Island in the English Channel was a special feeling I couldn't shake. Fast forward to 2015, we moved to Europe for a three year duty assignment and as we were compiling our travel bucket list, Guernsey was one of the first locations to get scribbled down. We had done a trip with some friends to Prague months prior and knew they would be great people to travel with again. After pitching the idea to them for a 4th of July trip to Guernsey Island, they were all about it. I hoped that all the Guernsey hype from my previous years of getting wrapped up in a book based on the island would live up to the hype and not be a total let down for all of us.

Getting to Guernsey takes a bit of planning because 1. it's expensive and 2. there's only one airline that flies into the island from England so it takes time to coordinate flight schedules and get logistics squared away. I was able to find relatively cheap airline tickets on EasyJet from Stuttgart to Gatwick but given the times, we would have to spend the night in a hotel and take an early morning flight from Gatwick to Guernsey on the sole airline servicing the island, Aurigney.

We flew in on a lovely day with blue skies, sunshine, and the perfect weather. As our plane descended, I peered our the window only to be overcome with the beauty of the place I had dreamt about for the last five years. The lush green countryside with cows roaming their pastures, dramatic cliffs giving way to the blue waters of the English Channel, and charming homes dotted the landscape caused a wave of excitement to overcome me and I couldn't wait to get off the plane and explore this idyllic island. Our stay at the Duke of Richmond in Saint Peters Port was incredible. The location was prime, we were treated so well by all the staff, and the English breakfast each morning was a real treat. For the next two days, we set out on foot to discover the island's spectacular coastline and uncover some of its rich history. A few highlights from our days were hiking along the coastline and finishing at a small beach where we relaxed with cold drinks and allowed the children to run in and out of the water, splashing and chasing each other / taking a private gin tasting and finding our favorite gin ever followed by dinner / throwing a red carnation into the English Channel in remembrance of family member whose plane went down in the Channel during WWII. This entire trip was everything I thought it would be and more! The island is one of the most charming, relaxing, and peaceful places I have ever been to.