I’m a travel agent and I have been on holiday!!!!

I got my first taste of travelling overseas when I was about 13. Mum & Dad booked a Clarkson’s (you need to be a certain age to remember them) package holiday to Malgrat de Mar, Costa Dorada, Spain. I was captivated by the different culture and food. Everyone remembers the scene in Shirley Valentine when they sit down to dinner in the hotel. My brother who is 2 years younger than me was not impressed with Hors D’oeuvres (or as he called them Horses Douvres) and Dad said Olive could keep them when the waiter said they were Olives. But, for me it was all magical.

Of course, as many teenage girls did then, I decided I wanted to be an Air Stewardess and travel the World. However, being only 5’ 1” that was never going to happen so I joined an evening class to learn Spanish and decided a Holiday Rep was the life for me. Sadly, Mum & Dad did not feel the same and so I went to College to take a Secretarial Course.

However, travel has stayed in my blood and when I was at home looking after small children, I suddenly saw an advertisement in our local paper for a typist for a local Thomas Cook store. I had no hesitation in applying and that is where my travel career began. The reason for telling you this is because over the last 2 years I have really missed the experience of going away and discovering different countries and there comes a point where you really just long for that, together with the sun of course.

A couple of weeks ago I got the opportunity to go to Guernsey, somewhere I have never been and had wanted to go to for a while. In fact, I was meant to go on two cruises that were calling in there but I had to cancel one and the other became a victim of the Pandemic.

I was very fortunate to pick the week that we had a heatwave here in the UK. I was flying from Southampton Airport and as I packed my suitcase, that familiar feeling of excitement set in. Southampton Airport was very easy and felt very normal, although at the moment only Duty Free is open and there is nowhere to buy a coffee etc. I had completed my Travel Tracker but nothing was checked at Southampton at all. On arrival into Guernsey, there were no queues, I finalised my Travel Tracker, was given a blue wristband and sent on my way. My pre-arranged taxi was waiting and once out of the Airport, it was not necessary to wear a mask anywhere.

I stayed at The Old Government House Hotel which is in the centre of St Peter Port. It is the only 5* hotel on the island so I was expecting great things. The hotel did not disappoint at all. My room was very comfortable and the service was fantastic. What really made it though was the weather which meant that I was able to sit around the pool, read my book, go for a swim and generally relax – exactly what most of us go on holiday for.

As I had not visited the island before, I booked a guided walking tour of St Peter Port on Wednesday evening. Our guide was excellent and showed us many of the historic areas of the town and gave us a really good insight into how the town has developed and also about its unique role as the only part of the United Kingdom to be occupied during WW2.

The following day I took a local bus around the island, for a fare of £1.00, this is a very good way of seeing the whole island. There are some really lovely beaches on the other side. If you decide to get off and explore then when you get back on you pay a further £1.00. Still a very good value tour!!!

My trip ended on Friday evening and my flight back to Southampton was a little bumpy because of the storm that had blown up. However, the Blue Islands pilot avoided it as much as he could which meant we came in over Devon and then flew up the Dorset coastline ending with a very smooth landing into Southampton.

All in all I really enjoyed my few days away and finally feel as though I HAVE BEEN ON HOLIDAY AND CANNOT WAIT TO DO IT AGAIN.