Tag Archives: IBIS Hotel

The Road to Diamond,Day 325, Part I: Portsmouth’s Daylight

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Historical, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Travel

October 18, 2025, Portsmouth, England- Dawn came, the ravers and revelers had gone home and it was time to ready for another train ride. So, after the morning routine, I headed down to breakfast-greeted cheerfully, with a bit of wariness, by the Scottish hostess. It was a lovely full English spread, with bacon, scrambled eggs, grilled tomatoes and baked beans-along with the buffet standards- fresh vegetables and fruit, croissants and toasting bread, a few pastries, hot and cold beverages. It looked to be the last such buffet on this journey, so I took my time and enjoyed.

After breakfast and devotions, it was time to see Portsmouth, on the morning after. There was no huge mess left over-the street crew had come early and was still out in force. I headed first, through the east end of Guildhall with the goal of the near waterfront.

Here are some scenes of a Portsmouth morning.

Triangular office building, Guildhall

Crossing the busy intersection, looking right, left and right again (It’s even written to do so, on the pavement), I walked past fields of young men practicing on the Rugby field-a Royal Navy facility. Portsmouth is RN headquarters, after all. At the end, there are the monuments to science and technology, with Spinnaker Tower to the right of the lower round building. Spinnaker is a place from which to get breathtaking views of Portsmouth, Southampton and the surrounding area. I had little time, though, before the scheduled train, so this was my look at the area.

Spinnaker Tower (center) and Science complex (round towers)
Street art (and “Sir Isaac Newton”) This rather offbeat focus on vision, and “sea aliens”, was at the entrance to the small wood that is in the background.

Heading back to IBIS, I retrieved my bags and started towards the train station. The majestic Guild Hall was no worse for the wear, after hosting many flirtatious youngsters and others, the previous night. It is now an event center, and does its job rather well.

Portsmouth Guildhall

Guildhall Square honours tradition.

Queen Victoria, Guildhall Square
Hampshire War Memorial

With that, I headed to the train station, expecting to board the train towards Salisbury. Yet, there was no train to Salisbury. Britrail has an occasional cancellation. This was one such. The Transit Officer explained what I would need to do to re-route, so about forty minutes later, I was on a train to Fareham, and from there to Southampton, where I changed trains again. The rigmarole meant that the train would arrive in Salisbury at 3 p.m. This meant that I would not be going to Stonehenge, as the last bus to that venerable site leaves at 2 p.m., during the “winter months”, which in tourism parlance include October.

This gave me more time to focus on Salisbury itself, and on its majestic Cathedral. More on them both, in the next post.

The Road to Diamond, Day 324, Part II: Across the English Channel

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October17, 2025, Portsmouth, England- The instructions given me by the young man who worked maintenance for the city of Dieppe only revealed to me how often he has been on the far north side of his adopted city. I got in another good walk, thanks to the clarification I received from the middle-aged couple who had emerged from a cafe along my initial route.

I found the port city, about an hour northwest of Rouen to be struggling somewhat, trying to decide where to modernize and where to preserve. It can be an attractive city, especially if services between the Train Station and the Ferry Terminal, some 2 kilometers to the west, are better advertised. Right now, the shuttle is only promoted by a phone application. The question persists- What if phone service hits a dead zone? I have run into that situation with buses in one or two cities along the way, as well, though not in France.

Long story short, I did reach the ferry terminal, after a 30-minute walk. It is an austere, but still comfortable place, lying almost under the white chalk cliffs that are mirrors of the well-known cliffs of Dover. The charming purser was the first person to mention the shuttle to the train station-for those arriving from Newhaven, Nonetheless, if there were her counterpart at the train station, it would save a lot of difficulty for some of those in not so good shape.

Here are some views of Dieppe, from the train station to those white cliffs.

Old Customs House, Dieppe
Main fishing pier, Dieppe
White cliffs-of Dieppe (above and below)

Once on board the vessel, I went into a cabin-a new experience. Being able to catch up on writing, whilst on board a ship was an experience I’ve had on only one other occasion: The Tiger Cruise from Honolulu to San Diego, in 2014. I also slept for an hour or so. When curious about our progress towards England, I could monitor on this laptop. I did miss interaction with others, but managed to be among the crowd for the last 20 minutes of the voyage.

At the small port of Newhaven, it didn’t take much time to process into the United Kingdom, as customs and immigration are streamlined and train passengers are processed first, so as to not get stranded in the small town, with few lodging options. I was on the train to Brighton, then to Portsmouth, in short order.

Portsmouth on a Friday night is a revelation. The Guildhall District, where both the train station and IBIS Hotel are located, is also the home of University of Portsmouth. The club scene is especially lively tonight, but no one bothers the lone traveler walking with backpack and wheeled suitcase. They are all just having a great time and music fills the air. I’m happy to see it all.