We arrived at Portsmouth and Southsea train station mid afternoon, feeling grateful that we had missed any service disruptions by being sandwiched between rail strike days. The weather was a bit gloomy and forboding for the end of July but it was dry so that was enough to keep us feeling positive!
We had booked ourselves into the Premiere Inn Portsmouth City Centre hotel which was ideally situated just a few steps from the train station. We arrived at reception half an hour before official check in time but it was unusual not to be offered early check in for a small extra charge. However the woman behind the desk seemed a bit stressed and she offered us a seat in the closed restaurant while we waited the 30 minutes for check in to open.
A handful of other families were also waiting and as they seemed to be being given their keys about 10 minutes before check in opened we joined the line and were given keys to the 2nd floor. We also took the opportunity to grab a business card for the local taxi company so we could pre book a taxi for 5.45am (EARLY! Even by our standards!). The journey from hotel to International Port would take about half an hour to walk but at that time of the day with heavy backpacks we didn't really fancy it and phoned to make our booking asap.
The room was as expected with a Premiere Inn which was exactly as we had hoped for, simple, clean and functional. A comfortable double bed, a sofa bed that had been made up for Jack and a bathroom with a powerful shower. Not glitzy or wow but a great option for location and sleep purposes. The view was a building and we could hear the gentle rumble of the trains nearby being so close to the station but it wasn't irritating, barely noticable and if you did hear it, it sounded like distant thunder which we have always found quite comforting. Our room was interconnected with another (but obviously the door was locked - I checked!), I was concerned for a brief second as we could hear another family talking and moving about but luckily they had the same plan as us and had an early night ahead of them.
Once we had dropped off the excess baggage we freshened up quickly and went out. Portsmouth Harbour should only have been a 15 minute walk away but we took a wrong turn and ended up in an area of Portsmouth of the beaten track, in all honesty it looked tired at best and potentially dangerous at worst. Jack was feeling a little delicate having had braces fitted the day before so a highlight for him was being told that his new post primary school haircut (complete with red hairspray) was super sic by a group of teenagers hanging around the park. Looking like rabbits caught in the headlights, a sweet lady approached us and asked us where we were headed to and promptly pointed us in the right direction!
Portsmouth is peppered with interesting naval buildings and sea related relics so it was fun for us to see random propellers and chains from ships dotted along our route; within a few minutes we were by the sea watching the ominous sky and the little fishing boats bobbing below in the shadows of great war ships. We then pottered around Gun Wharf Keys (the shopping precinct) which was the polar opposite of our walk there with up market restauratns, chic shops and cocktail bars with gatherings of newly graduated students celebrating their successes. This area was super stylish and with a backdrop of the Spinnaker Tower and the sky dramatically changing from moment to moment it was a very pleasant half an hour.
We would have eaten there but as Jack was still adjusting to his braces we needed soft food options and none of the multiude of restaurants seemed suitable. He was starting to look a little despondant and not feeling the holiday vibe which is when he spied Sprinkles Ice Cream Parlour and his face lit up. So dinner that evening was 3 large scoops of his choice of gelato. Nope not the healthiest option but he had been an absolute superstar travelling and through his last weeks at primary and we wanted him to enjoy his holiday like all of us. Generous portions of blue bubblegum flavour was matched with scoops of pistachio and mint chocolate chip - who knew it would be a Masterchef worthy combination and Mike and I looked on with scepticism but Jack was thrilled and therefore we were too! Sprinkles had a delicious arrage of incredible looking thick creamy gelato from jammy dodger to forrero rocher and I am fairly sure I gained 5lbs just crossing the threshold! The whole place was a nod to the 1950s American ice cream joints and you half expected Danny and Sandy to start serenading each other from one of the booths!
Post shower and baths (so good after travelling!) we were tucked into our beds by 8pm. The hotel was very quiet all night and the room temperature was pleasant. A functional and practical hotel that gave us a brilliants night rest. Alarms set for 4.45am - Normandy - the Down to Earth Explorers are coming!
Fantastic start to the adventure, loved all the detials and photos of Portsmouth,looking forward to the next installment.