The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: August seventh, previewing Jersey's Battle of the Flowers.

The five Channel Islands jut from the English Channel like epaulets on France's Atlantic shoulder. Though just 12 miles long by seven wide, the Isle of Jersey is the largest and most developed.

St. Helier, Jersey's only real city, is a quick, cosmopolitan place. It unfurls along the long curve of St. Aubin's Bay, with Elizabeth Castle posing picturesquely in its harbor. Once a port for trading between England and France, St. Helier is now a safe harbor for international finance, with sophisticated shops and French restaurants. It will be especially busy this weekend, as Jersey holds its 99th Battle of the Flowers and elaborate, blossom bedecked floats parade city streets.

Yet drive a mile or two inland, and Jersey regains its relaxed, rural air, with stonewall lined lanes, neat lavender fields, and long coastal vistas. Touring the island can become a low key treasure hunt seeking out quirky attractions on a maze of narrow roads. St. Ouen's Bay, a five mile sweep of sand that covers Jersey's entire western end, is a stunning a swath of scenery. Nearby St. Brelade's Bay is setting for some of the island's larger resort hotels. Gorey, a village on Jersey's eastern edge, is site of Mont Orgueil, a ruined Norman castle, whose turrets still offer distant views of France. Other Jersey gems include a neolithic burial vault, a zoo for endangered species and a warren of tunnels dug as a German army command center.

After checking the sights, visitors realize Jersey's real attraction is its unique blend of England and France placed in a most agreeable and manageable setting. Then they just relax and enjoy its essence.

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