Portchester Picnic

We had no idea (none of Kurt's friends told us/knew) that Reading was such a party town. Since today - Good Friday - is a national holiday, everyone was treating last night as a Friday night. We tried to eat a late dinner at a pub restaurant we dined at on Sunday, but were turned away by a walkie-talkie loaded security guard who told us kids are only allowed in before 6:00 (18:00). So we walked past clubs, pubs, and fast-food joints from 20:00 to 20:20 until we ran across Chili's. URGH. But we ate and went to bed and Ian got his pizza (he was getting really angry that we weren't taking him to the nearby Pizza Hut).

Today another of Kurt's work mates picked us up at the train station roundabout and whisked us off to meet his family. We split between two vehicles and drove through motorways of all descriptions to Portchester Castle. It's right on the water near Portsmouth and one of the naval fleets. It's distinguished history includes Roman occupation, Richard II, and even service as a prison camp during the Napoleonic wars. It also has the distinction of being off the beaten track and very relaxing (except for the locked loos).



We loaded up on audio guides and toured. Ian and Megan had 3 playmates - all girls ranging from 6.99 years to 1.75 years. Yes, the precision is important;-) These ruins were very nice because they still had a bit of the original carved arches & window frames. Upstairs in the keep you could even see a bit of wall mural that survived from the Middle Ages. We all braved the spiral stone steps - more precarious than Warwick Castle - and walked the edge of the entire square keep. I took a few pictures, then squatted down trying to quiet the tornado in my chest before walking back down. Megan, on the other hand, kept leaning up against the wall and hanging her arms over - probably the source of most of my fright.



We ate a lovely picnic lunch in the green surrounded by the outer walls. We heard a neighboring dad shout something to his ball-playing son that you would probably never hear in the States: "Mind that you don't fall in the moat!" We ate lovely mini meat pies, picnic eggs (breaded meat shells that contain a bit of egg salad in the center), and carmelized-onion-balsamic-vinegar crisps. The English are SO adventurous with their crisp flavors (and they're really good).



We tried to get Ian to walk around the path outside the castle walls, but he was only interested in GameBoy since he'd eaten a cheddar cheese sandwich against his will. So Ian and I walked through the walls one more time and sat by the car while Kurt, our friends, and all the girls skipped stones in the ocean off the path. Once reunited, we all got ice creams from the van parked in the parking lot. And then we noticed the best sight of the day: the loos had been unlocked!

After that relief we headed to our hosts' home. The kids enjoyed sliding, building sand castles, and chattering away. We had a lovely tortilla supper out on the patio on newly-varnished IKEA furniture, topped off with our choice of strawberry-rhubarb (mmmmm) or blueberry pie.

All the children enjoyed each others' company so much they didn't want it to end. But end it had to - baths were needed all around. We adults hated to say goodbye as well, but we will cherish this memory always since it was a PERFECT day.

Cheers,
Jessi

Quote of the Day:

Ian, handing one of his new friends a daisy he picked from the grass - "I've gone from like to love. Here's a flower for you."

Megan, while walking between the two older sisters & holding their hands - "I'm going to separate you two!"