Portsmouth and Isle of Wight

My luck with weather has continued and here I am in the sunniest place in GB, the Isle of Wight.

We started our journey from Victoria. Luckily, two days ahead of Queen Elizabeth's funeral. Dan, our driver, is from Neath in Wales, so I am thoroughly enjoying listening to the beautiful Welsh accent once again. The tour is multi-national, so some are struggling a bit to understand both accent and colloquial language.
 Our first stop was Portsmouth, where I had been only once for a trip with Di and Ian on their boat. Fortunately for me with my sea sickness, there was a storm and we didn't sail. However, I recall having a great weekend at the marina!
Anyway, I certainly do not remember the city, which is on an island, very well. The Spinnaker Tower is new and an outstanding landmark.

We definitely made the right decision to take a lift 100 metres to the lookout floor. With such fantastic weather, it offered the most breathtaking views over the marina and towards the Isle of Wight.

I am not sure why, but suddenly I felt quite brave and despite normally having no head for heights, I walked across the glass floor.  In fact, I managed it several times, and even looked down. I felt exceedingly proud of myself. 
Trudi joined me too.
The short, 30- minute ferry trip to the island could not have been more pleasant, nor the view from the top deck more beautiful.

We have good accommodation up on the hill above Shanklin beach. We had the most delicious, and huge meal at The Village Inn, recommended to us by a local friend of Di's. a fantastic recommendation it turned out to be.

Trudi's pork ribs were absolutely sensational. I had to help her out!

Our first day of our 7- day Rabbie's tour was over, and very enjoyable it was. 

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