A very Euro experience

Sometimes I forget how Europe works (or fails to). I'm going to the Etape with a European travel agency-- one is needed in any case to enroll in the event, so why not having them take care of the logistics?

I picked one I liked from the list, checked it up online, it looked good. I paid the fee, which being in Euros was quite high, and then sat to wait for a confirmation. And I waited. And waited. Four days later, I tried to call. The main number given on the web page was actually a fax. I must be wrong, I thought, and tried again a couple of times. Beeep beep beep twaingg.... Not good for my eardrums. What the heck I thought, and I dialed what on the webpage was indicated as the Fax number. Screaming kids. It turns out to be the personal home number of the owner of the travel agency. That was quite unexpected. Once we were able to understand each other over the wailing infants, he turned out to be a super nice guy. He told me he had been out for almost a week, but his assistant surely had replied to my mails right? Well, wrong, but what the heck, I was plenty happy to learn my money actually had arrived to destination.

I checked today on the web, the phone numbers are still wrong. Governments came and fell, and we entered a new millenium since I left that continent, so I'm happy to report, the more things change the more stay the same. But people are still nice, and I appreciate that.

Back to training now...