We have arrived!

We have arrived in Jersey! 

After booking in to our hotel we had a brief look around St Hellier, when Wilson insisted on phoning his mum, Mrs Vermilingua, from one of the cute and unfamiliar yellow phone boxes. 

Then we returned to our hotel and spent an hour in the bar before retiring to to our room for the night.

Although we're still technically in the UK, Wilson is VERY excited to be 'abroad' for the first time!

We set sail

Once we set sail Wilson soon relaxed and stopped worrying about sinking. 

We went out onto the observation deck, where he posed for this picture. It was VERY windy, so we quickly returned inside where Wilson headed off to Duty Free to buy some gin, the staple ingredient of Ant Gin. 

When he returned he said that it was a bit cheaper, but not much. 

'I think I can buy LiDL's own-brand for less,' he said, 'so that's what I'll do when we get back to England. Unless they've got a LiDL in Jersey, of course.' 

My spirits sank a little at the thought of travelling to a holiday destination then traipsing round a low-end supermarket where the staff shout at you…

We settle down for the trip

Leaving the car we made our way up to the passenger decks and found our seats. 

Wilson was a bit nervous about being sea-sick, or the ferry sinking. 

I gave him a junior aspirin and told him it was a seasickness tablet, then he settled down to read the safety brochure about emergency exits and evacuation procedures.

This might be a long trip.

Departure!

At last, the day of departure dawns! Before going to the Ferry Terminal, we went to the harbour to take a look at the vessel that was to transport us: the mighty Condor Vitesse. 

Wilson didn't think it looked very big and got it into his head that the cars would have to park on the triangular deck at the front — he begged me not to drive over the edge into the sea, and to be sure to put the handbrake on. He also said that perhaps he'd get out of the car before I drove onto the deck at all, 'just in case you do drive over the edge!'

In the event, though, all was well — we drove through massive doors into the car deck, which was as big as a multi-storey car park. Wilson was greatly impressed.

A disturbed night

We were torn from deep sleep at 4.30am by the fire alarm! 

It stopped after thirty seconds or so, and I was content to think it was a false alarm and go back to bed. Wilson, though, had other ideas; he grabbed his (well, my) VISA card and rushed down to reception, where he announced 'I'm not having a Good Night, and nor is my New Dad — I would like to claim my guaranteed refund, please!'

The receptionist was very apologetic, confirmed that it had been a false alarm and refunded the price of our room without question.

Wilson seemed very happy when he returned to our room, punching the air and shouting, 'Result! I may spend our refund in Duty Free on the ferry tomorrow!' 

Then he jumped into his bed and was snoring again within seconds. 

A good night's sleep

Wilson unpacked his 'essentials' then climbed straight in to his bed, saying that he was going to read his Jersey Guidebook and plan our itinerary before settling down. 

Within minutes the book had fallen from his paws and he was snoring contentedly. 

I hope he gets a good night's sleep as he has a big day tomorrow!

Hotel life

Just when I had begun to think that maybe the Jersey holiday was nothing more than a myth, a pretext to get me to drive him from one amusement park to another, we arrived at the Premier Inn in Poole and Wilson announced that we would be stopping here overnight and catching the Jersey Ferry the following day. 

While I took our suitcases from the car, Wilson tried to attract the attention of a bell-hop to carry the luggage up to our room. 

While he has watched Grand Hotel and Separate Tables, even Gold Diggers of 1935 on tv, I suspect this is his first experience of a budget hotel. I hope he's not disappointed by its lack of opulence… and room service.