Have you ever gone somewhere or eaten something simply because you read about it in a book? I did that in Jersey. Well, it was actually several places and one new-to-us food, and as we did them on my birthday, my guys grinned and bore it (bared it?). 🙂
I first read Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens in October 2021 and listed it as one of my favourite reads of last year. I reread it before our recent visit and stuck mini Post It notes to the pages that mentioned specific places I wanted to visit.
On page 73 (Chapter 7), Ted drives Laura to the village harbour of Rozel (pronounced R’zelle) and buys her a hot chocolate from the Hungry Man Kiosk.
Ted claimed that the Hungry Man did “the best hot chocolate on the island.” I agree that it was good, but I wouldn’t go any further in my praise. 🙂 Laura had hers topped with cream, marshmallow and Malteasers. The Malteasers were missing from mine, not that that was a deal breaker.
On page 81, Laura shows Ted a green rock she’s been given by a child on Rozel beach.
“Sea glass“, he says. “It’s all over these beaches. It’s old glass – rubbish, worn down, and tumbled smooth by the sea … my mother used to collect it. She’d say the sea was trying to give us back something beautiful from the ugly things we throw away.”
On page 74, Ted suggested that Laura try “Jersey wonders – my mother used to make them, they’re like doughnuts. You’re only supposed to fry them when the time is going out.”
Crikey, these were hard to track down – I ended up asking the concierge at our hotel for a recommendation. 🙂 We found them outside someone’s house in Grouville. The verdict from the three of us? Tasty, if a little greasy. We bought them first thing in the morning via an honesty box, so it’s possible they were a batch from the day before.
Laura goes to a party on the beach overlooking St. Ouen’s Bay (pronounced San One’s Bay), near the village of L’Etacq (pronounced Lay Teck). Laura described the beach as the best one for “gazing at the horizon and resetting your soul.” I’d have to agree.
I posted on Instagram about visiting these places and Sophie Cousens sent me a message. Which pretty much made my day. 🙂
This West London Life 
How lovely that the author saw your post! I bet you had fun tracking those places down. I think this book may have to make it into my suitcase to read while I am away! The beaches in Jersey are just so beautiful aren’t they?
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It is the perfect holiday read!
I kept saying, “when we live here …”, as if we could meet the financial element required for Jersey residency!
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Now that’s how you make a trip special! And seeing as you had been to Jersey before, this book gave you new eyes to see it with. Bonus that the author of said book acknowledged your insta post about this.
I have made meals or bought specific wines around movies, as part of our theme of pretend travel during the first lockdowns of 2020. In 2021 I continued on with favourite drink recipes from our Caribbean trips along with the scrapbook of these trips & re-lived the experiences.
Yeah for books, yeah for scrapbooking. Yeah for trips (real or imagined).
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I have never bought a specific wine after reading about it in a novel but I do have a restaurant in town ear-marked after reading about it in a Mhairi McFarlane novel. 🙂
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