With my son going on his first abroad trip with the school, it reminds me of my first ever trip overseas.
This was back in 79 and a trip to Belgium with my friend DF. A place called Mechelen which was about a twenty minute journey by train from Ostend. On arrival in Mechelen we began our search for my mate's uncle's abode, which ended up being in a field which housed four caravans ! We was greeted with warmth and was asked what we would like for breakfast. bacon & egg would be nice we said, but being in another country came our first surprise, cold meat sandwiches ! After travelling on the overnight ferry and feeling like we could eat for England this was not a good start to our first European adventure.
We was shown our caravan which was a two berth lonely figure, then thinking thing's can't get any worse, we was shown where the toilets were. We was led into the woods and shown a hole ! Our faces must have been a picture ! The only away round this was not to eat or drink for the next three days and let loose on the ferry home !
On this piece of land lived my mates Uncle, his wife, daughter and in the other caravan a friend who was in the police force. This friend joined us that evening for a few drinks and a game of Billiards (Pool was not heard of over there yet) in a local bar, the evening was finished off with a bag of chips.
We all staggered back to the field which was in complete darkness except from the lighting of the caravans.
We was told to be careful of mosquitoes and sleep well, we just laughed !
Next morning we awoke to find ourselves covered in bites and we both looked like we had measles ! Thankfully they never itched but we did look funny. We spent the day sightseeing and shopping around Mechelen and a few nik naks were purchased. The night was gonna be lively as we was going to a Disco !
Can't wait ! I was never a lover of Disco's but hey we was in another country, lets see how the Belgium boys and girls rock. My mates cousin was very attractive and once we was in the club she became the attraction to a lot of the men folk. Well if any guy got within one inch of her, my mates uncle gave a glare and they would slip away. You would not want to mess with him. The music was typical European for the time and songs I had never heard of, dancing was not even considered. I left everyone to it and said I was going back home. About 3am I was awoken by a thump on the caravan door. In crawled my mate,literally ! He continued crawling to his bed.
Next morning he told me how he had no luck with the ladies, but it was not through the lack of trying.
We had not been bitten again thank god, I dont't think there was anywhere else on our bodies to bite.
We spent the morning playing football, drinking beer and listening to my mates uncle and friend playing guitar.
That afternoon it was time to head back to England. On the ferry home we got chatting to a girl who had been in Germany and she told us that there had been a unusual mass amount of mosquitoes in Europe and that she also had been bitten badly but hers had faded. Our bites had faded and our first European trip had been lets say, interesting to say the lease.
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