We had the morning to explore Portsmouth before taking the ferry to Cherbourg, France. I love the varied colors of the row houses, the open space by the sea, and the relatively warmer and sunnier weather. For the first time in about six weeks, I am comfortable, at least when not in the wind.
Portsmouth is an island city with a population density greater than London. Even though there are more than a million inhabitants, Portsmouth does not appear as crowded as London.
We visited the Portsmouth D-Day Museum, which features large embroidered panels of Operation Overlord, the code name for the Battle of Normandy. These were extremely well done, with recognizable faces and realistic scenes depicting battles and injuries. There are more 50 different materials used in the making of the panels, including materials taken from uniforms of the armed forces involved in the battles.
We had a light lunch on a restaurant’s veranda next to the ocean, and then we scrambled to meet the Ferry. It is a three-hour crossing on the “fast ferry” and we arrived there around 8 P.M. French time (GMT +1). Left, first sighting of French soil. We had no trouble finding the B & B, had a late supper, tasted French beer, and went to bed. Traveling can be very tiring.