Wednesday 22 July 2015

Portsmouth

Well, hello there! The first week of the summer holidays found us driving back and to to Portsmouth every day. E had a week's work experience at the Mary Rose Museum and so, to save petrol and money, I bought an all attractions ticket and spent the week loitering around the historic dockyards. The weather was kind and there was such a lot to see that I had a lovely time. 
After dropping E off, I generally started the morning with a pot of tea in Boatyard 7 and then chose my main attraction for the day (some, I enjoyed so much that I did them twice!). Lunch was a picnic in the Porter's Garden followed by a bit of patchwork and then another potter round the dockyard before collecting E and driving home again. She had a fantastic week but was very tired and fell asleep in the car every single journey!
R has wanted to visit for years but never managed it and E didn't get to see anything except the Mary Rose, so I feel another trip during the holidays is probably on the cards.
Here are a few photos of my week:
The Victory:



The bell of the Mary Rose:
 The Mary Rose herself. Next year she should be dried out completely and the ducts will be removed, allowing a much better view. The sense of history is spine tingling though. My favourite part was a hands on exhibition where you were allowed to handle a bit of the original deck.
 The cafe where I had my morning pot of tea and a little read of my library book:
 Spinnaker Tower:
 The Warrior:
 The Porter's garden:
Time for a little patchwork:
 Beautiful stained glass in the museum: 
 Taking the water bus to the opposite side of the harbour and going on a WWII submarine:
 My favourite fact of the week was that Nelson used a Spork! After losing his arm he used to give them to his friends so that they could invite him round to dinner, safe in the knowledge that he would be able to eat. I also learned that a cannon is only called a cannon on land - on a boat it's referred to as a gun and the cannon balls as round shot. My favourite artifact from the Mary Rose was a beautiful backgammon board, however the rooms were kept quite dark and flash wasn't permitted, so the photos were rather dark and out of focus.
If you live near enough to visit and have never been, I would heartily recommend it. After spending an entire week there, I would happily go along again with R and E when they go.

Other happies recently include:
Another trip to Cambridge:
 .... and buying a blender. I am now Queen of the breakfast smoothie!
 It has really revolutionized our breakfasts. Not only are they actually 'delicious and nutritious' ( a phrase which normally instills fear into E's heart) but they really do keep you going all morning without a single hunger pang.
Anyway, that's all for this week. E went off to Germany on tour with her orchestra this morning - after a 5:15 drop off I'm starting to flag slightly, so a cup of coffee might be in order. Sadly, I can only drink decaff but, bizarrely, it does still seem to wake me up! I'm looking forward to catching up with all your lovely blogs.
Toodle Pip for now. x

12 comments:

  1. I loved your photos of Portsmouth. It's my home city and I am long overdue a visit! Although I have been to the Dockyard loads of times, I haven't seen the Mary Rose in its new home yet. Glad you enjoyed your trip.

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  2. What a busy time you've been having! I read this post with interest as I grew up not far from Portsmouth and remember visiting the Victory when I was 5. There seems to be so much more there to visit in recent years, and I still haven't been to see the Mary Rose yet. What a fantastic work experience opportunity for E and a lovely week of touristy trips for you, I like the idea of a pot of tea and a book, as well as lunch and patchwork - very civilised!
    Cathy x

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  3. This is one of my favorite blogs to see in my inbox! I welcome the chance to step out of my Ohio life and into yours for a short time. I adore your writing style, and live vicariously through your words and photos. Such a treat ! Thank you for the time you take to write and post.

    Julie @ Pink Dixies

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  4. Looks as though you made the most of the time you had!! I have that set of tins, they are cute aren't they! xx

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  5. Wow, it looks wonderful. I'm really excited for E to have a chance to work in such a place, what a great experience for her. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself during the week too. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Gosh you must have been worn out after those busy days! I definitely think there is a good quiz question there - when is a cannon not a cannon?!

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  7. I've often wondered whether a smoothie actually fills you up. Do they just taste of banana? What are your favourite combinations so far? I've never been to Portsmouth, but it looks very interesting. I'm sorry that I've missed your last few posts. I have had a lovely catch up!
    Leanne xx

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  8. What a wonderful place, thanks for taking us along. I also always keep a bit of crafting in my bag, just in case I get a moment... :-)
    Amalia
    xo

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  9. Portsmouth is a fascinating place to visit with so much to do. I haven't been for awhile and really must as it is not too far from home. I would love to visit the Victory again, I haven't done that since I went on an outing when I was in the Brownies, (more years ago than I care to remember)! xx

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  10. I live about 20 minutes outside Portsmouth but haven't been to the Dockyard yet. We've been talking about taking the kids on a day out there but it's not cheap.What a great idea to buy a ticket and spend as much time there as possible, soaking it all up. When I was doing my A levels, I had a summer job as a waitress and we'd often work on HMS Warrior doing corporate black tie events. Everything had to be carried on and off the ship at the start and end of the evening. It was exhausting! x

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  11. What a fabulous way to spend a week! I saw the Mary Rose years ago, as a child. I still remember the visit. Care to share some smoothie recipes? They sound good!

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  12. What a fantastic place, I did enjoy this, I do love all things boat too!
    For some strange reason I haven't been receiving email notifications of your posts of late, I did try to re-follow, but am still following....how odd!xxx

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