It was only a request

Mary and Ann

Have met many nice folks on this tour...there are a few more memorable than others. Ann is a world birder, she goes all over to look at birds. She and her sister-in-law Mary are on the tour together. The first night we met I asked her if I heard her right that she is a birder and she launched into a story about going to Belize and getting butt larvae! That was at dinner! Needless to say, she is a colorful character.

She and Mary went to Paris prior to joining the tour like we did. They had a different hotel than we did, I think that is a good thing. Anyway, she was telling us that when they checked in they were handed their key and they headed to their room. When they got there, they had a queen bed. Ann went back to the desk with her confirmation in her hand which clearly said that they would like separate beds. The desk manager looked at the Ann as she showed her their paperwork and she replied very calmly that, "it was only a request". Ann stood there dumbfounded and said "but I requested separate beds and you confirmed that". The desk manager said that it was only a request and they are not obligated to oblige them.

So sometimes the language differences can be very glaring...like the french often say "it is impossible" when they really mean "i don't want to do something".

Ann also came on the tour hoping to see a stork. The storks nest in the area around Colmar. They have huge nests and usually lay their eggs in the spring and head out by this time. However, there are some that hang around year round. Dar and Tom saw about 15 of them out of the bus window two days ago. Ann, who was looking out the same side of the bus didn't see them. So Tom and Dar have to submit their applications to the Audubon society because they have seen the first bird on the "life goal list". I am thinking they will not be accepted since both of them would rather shoot them than mark them off a list!