Turn that frown … part two!
We ogle the millionaire mansions, count Rolls Royces (11 including four SUVs) and spot a few classic cars, including Christine (of sorts!)
Regular readers, or at least those who read yesterday’s latter segment will know we had an issue. During packing we learned that we were unable to check-in to our Virgin flight, it just errored. Whilst enjoying our canapés we tried again, only to get the message it was too soon, which it shouldn’t have been. Further investigation revealed that our flight date was a day later. We tried a test booking to discover that our correct flight wasn’t running, hence the change. Pretty shoddy service from Virgin, they haven’t told us about this, not by email (got plenty of marketing ones) and not by SMS (got loads of those re Covid too!)
Fortunately for us, less so for our dear agent Lexi, we’re friends on Facebook so I alert her to all this, and happily she’s still up at five to midnight. Lexi assures me she will sort it in the morning, but it doesn’t stop me from having a dreadful night. Up early we watch the ship pull into Port Everglades.
Anyway by the time we’ve had an early breakfast, and said a final goodbye to our Club Oranger Debby, there’s an hotel booked up the beach and the flights are all sorted. By 09:30 we’re in the hotel ($100 to get in early - bloody cheek!) changed back into holiday clothes and back out in the glorious sunshine.
So that frown is quickly turned upside down today, we may not have expected an extra day, but there we have it. As it happens, you will remember that my original walking tour of Fort Lauderdale was the other frown day when a timetable mishap stopped us from doing it? Serendipity has therefore delivered a replacement opportunity and we head off downtown as planned, just not on the right day. We walk along some lovely streets where the water and mangroves lap right up to the causeway.
It’s ten years since we last made this walk, but much of it is familiar. We’re in the same hotel (a favourite for cruisers) and my memory of these geographical things is stupidly accurate (don’t ask me what I did yesterday though) so it’s great to revisit places from ten years ago.
A few of the locals are dotted along the river.
We check out the science museum although I don’t demand a visit, the impressive theatre complex, walk along the delightful riverside path with so many bridges - road and railway in this one both lifting.
We ogle the millionaire mansions, count Rolls Royces (11 including four SUVs) and spot a few classic cars, including Christine (of sorts!)
We wander back to the coast and enjoy the sunshine, even though the sea doesn’t look inviting (red and purple flags, extreme conditions and jelly fish!) so aren’t tempted, and find a deli and buy the most ridiculously sized sandwiches, they aren’t even that good - hey ho!
Later we pass a Chinese restaurant we like the look of so book that for dinner, then carry on up the coast for a few miles north of our hotel.
After a long walk, it seems like it’s pool time again, so we head back and do exactly that, although the wind is pretty fierce. We break briefly to catch our glorious Nieuw Statendam leaving Port Everglades with new people visible on the balcony of 7090, not that we’re jealous obvs!
Before long a nice bottle of Chardonnay is beckoning, along with jumpers and the fire-pit!
We pop some trousers on and head back towards CJ Changs - totally forgetting that we still are in America, land of excess!
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