Southampton/Great Britain

26.7.2024 Southampton

For today, I had organized a trip to Portsmouth together with Robbie and Neal Sparks. We met at 8:00 a.m. and disembarked together. We went to the "Pick Up Point" and from there I ordered a ride for us via the Bolt app.

Ten minutes later, a Toyota Prius arrived and we got in. After about 40 minutes, we reached our destination: the Spinnaker Tower.

I had ordered "high tea" there for 10 a.m. We had almost an hour to look at Gunwharf Quays: a neat collection of shops and restaurants right by the boat harbor.

We arrived at the tower on time, I showed my reservation and we were allowed to get into the elevator straight away. This took us to observation deck 1.

From a height of 100 metres you have a fantastic view of Portsmouth. In the centre of the observation deck, part of the floor is made of glass. You can walk on this part without shoes and then you can look vertically into the depths.

After a while, the guests who had ordered "brunch" were asked to go upstairs. We were shown a table with a great view. Next, we were served an excellent English breakfast tea, along with a jug of milk, which we made ample use of. My Texan companions were not really tea drinkers, especially not with milk, but they clearly enjoyed it.

Then a tiered stand was placed on our table containing various foods, each in triplicate: sausage rolls and ham rolls, cheese rolls with loads of butter, sweet pieces and a pot filled with a mixture of mini marshmallows, blueberries and raspberries.

Well fed, we finished our meal and climbed to the top observation deck. There you stand in the open air and can enjoy the view in the fresh air.

It was getting close to 12pm and time to head back to Southampton. We left the tower, called a vehicle and headed back to the ship. The driver was chatty, pointed out sights along the way and was entertaining beyond that.

On the ship, I said goodbye to my companions because I now had to find the meeting point for my "Secrets of the Titanic" tour. I was well on time, found the place I was looking for and waited there for the tour guide.

The tour guide Brian is a young man who is full of enthusiasm for his city and the Titanic. More than 500 victims of the shipping disaster came from Southampton, which is why there are many references to this ship in the city area. From notices on houses to memorial plaques on churches and even restaurants, many things refer to the unfortunate ship.

After finishing our city tour, I drank beer in a restaurant with a couple I didn't know before, Anna and Antonio, who were also traveling on the "Serenade" and had also taken part in the tour. Then we had to hurry a bit to get to our ship on time.

That evening, the comedian Don Gavin appeared, who I found remarkably unfunny. Perhaps that was because I had difficulty understanding him.