10/18/22
Today we left the apartment at 7:30 and arrived at Dubrovnik airport about 8:15. It was too early to check in for our flight so we had Americanos. These had airport pricing of 20 Kuna - more than double what they were at Biker's Caffe. I did learn that many bars will include "caffe" (with the double "f" spelling). I didn't think it meant anything special. But it actually means that in addition to cocktails and beer, they also can make specialty coffee drinks.
Our flight took off on time at 11:25. Great two and a half hour flight. We gained an hour and landed at 1:05 PM. Such an easy immigration process. For the United States and several other countries, they had kiosks much like the Global Entry ones used at US airports. No lines!! You just had to scan you passport and the gate opened up.
We headed to baggage claim and both of our pieces made it!! Our next adventure was to figure out the train. The train station is located directly in the South Terminal of Gatwick so it is very convenient if your plane uses one of those gates. The kiosks were easy to use and they had many people to ask questions.
We boarded the 2:09 train. We had to change at one station but made it to Portsmouth and our hotel by 4:00 PM.
Kepppel's Head Hotel is right in the heart of Portsmouth Harbor. Minutes away from a large outdoor shopping area. Probably fifty restaurants within a ten minute walk of the hotel. (Angie here - I booked a very basic room to offset the extra we paid for the Airbnb with a view in Dubrovnik. Glenn was NOT impressed.)
We ate at Tin Tin for some Chinese cuisine. It didn't disappoint. We were so early for dinner, they had to turn the lights on. Wonderfully crisp and tender salt and pepper squid was the highlight along with their signature Tin Tin Fried Noodles with pork, prawns and chicken. Such great flavor in the pork from five spice powder and ginger!!
10/19/22
Today was a combination of errands, appointments and adventure. First, we had an appointment for our COVID test. The results of that are needed for tomorrow. More on that in tomorrow's post. We went to a local pharmacy and it was super simple. We also needed some more toothpaste and deodorant since we still have two weeks left of this trip.
Our next errand was to change money. And not what you might be thinking. We already had some British Pounds from a prior trip. What we didn't know is that the British currency can be outdated. The newer currency has a cellophane/plasticky quality. The older is just paper with serial numbers. We had tried to pay for some drinks with the older money and were told it couldn't be accepted. However we might be able to exchange it 1-1 at a local bank. That's what we did and it was super easy. The clerk was very understanding of our dilemma. She somewhat jokingly asked if we were member of the bank. We also leaned that since Queen Elizabeth died, they will be issuing all new paper money. So the travel tip, at least for the UK, is to spend all your pounds before you head home since you may not be able to use them.
The adventure portion of the day was a ferry ride to the Isle of Wight. This is just off the coast of Portsmouth and a 22 minute ferry ride. We walked down the long pier and found a place for lunch at Ryde Castle Hotel.
A really terrific beef pie along with a beef lasagna. We also had a terrific starter of fried halloumi cheese. This reminded me of Mexican frying cheese. It is also the same type of cheese we had grilled when visiting Lakrum Island in Croatia. And for those from the Midwest, when fried it has the squeak of cheese curds.
After lunch we figured out the bus system and headed to Sandowm Beach.
In the high season this must be quite bustling. Lots of hotels and restaurants. Inside an arcade was a terrific beer bar with about ten beers on draft and many more in bottles. I tried a couple and one was brewed on the island. We walked to the train station and got the 4:45 ferry. Nearly completely filled with school kids and people coming home from work.
10/20/22
Today's the day!! We checked out of our Portsmouth hotel at 11 AM and caught the 11:23 AM train to Southhampton. It was only a fifty minute trip. A quick six minute taxi ride once at the station and then we arrived at our accommodations for the next two weeks. We are onboard the Celebrity Silhouette which is a transatlantic sailing to Miami. Stops in Lisbon, Madeira and Tenerife (Canary Islands) before seven sea days to "cross the pond".
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