Re: Foxy on Tour
By the time we returned to the ship on New Years Eve my big toe was the size of a large bratwurst, so after changing into something appropriate I limped my way down to the restaurant and enjoyed a splendid meal, all washed down with champagne and some red wine.....
The only place to dance properly on the Arcadia was the Globe, about the same size as a large pub, and it cost £100 to reserve a table, I was relieved to hear that all the tables were booked, so we spent the evening sat in the Rising Sun pub doing quizzes and looking pretty in our suits and bow ties, and that was just the ladies....
Unable to dance with a throbbing foot and limited space, I managed to take part in the traditional Auld Lang Syne and the following hoki koki....Where I made my escape up to the buffet restaurant on the top deck and enjoyed a ham sandwich followed by tea and biscuits....And a happy New Year.
The late night did me more damage than the single glass of Peroni and two glasses of champagne that I consumed all night...So after a very painful nights sleep, what was left of it, and a seriously throbbing toe, I finally surfaced around ten and staggered down to breakfast. I thought the ship windows had steamed up but no, it was thick freezing fog outside with visibility down to just a few yards, so together with the toe from hell my photo opportunity around Amsterdam was cancelled.
It gets worse.....
After steaming through the night we arrived in Zeebrugge, my throbbing toe had settled down so we left the ship to visit Bruges. P&O had laid on shuttle busses to take us to Blankenberg? We were dropped off at the station where a train could be caught to Bruges.
An old surly ticket seller peered through a small window and informed me that my debit card was not accepted here and I would need to pay in cash, he gestured to an ATM on a wall opposite so I fed it my card.......It was the last time I would ever see that card again.
A message on the screen said "Card withheld, Machine now out of service"...
The surly ticket seller threw his hands up in the air and said "Nothing I can do!"
We left Blankenberg on the next shuttle bus back to the ship.....