Eating a little crow.

And I’m not talking about Sheryl either.

The following is in no way any sort of admission that my faith in human nature has been restored,  but only an attempt at setting the record straight.

This was one of the emails in my inbox this morning.






“

Dear R……,

We are really sorry and we understand that the closing of our restaurant is a problem for you.

We already contacted booking.com asking them to inform you that you can cancel the reservation and we will immediately charge you credit card off. You have then the possibility to reserve your room elsewhere.

We are really sorry indeed and please accept our apologies for the inconvenience.

We are then expecting your cancellation and we will send you via e-mail a copy of the charge-off of your credit card.

Yours sincerely

Emiliano Poli

-----------------------------------

Hotel Gardenia s.a.s. - Verona

tel. +39 045 972122

fax. +39 045 8920157    “

***************

Wow.

OK so,  should I run right out and buy a couple lotto tickets?  I was a little bit overwhelmed.  Surprised.  Flabbergasted even.

Does this sort of thing really happen?  Maybe I don’t have a complete grasp on the ins and outs of the Italian hospitality industry.  We are going to Italy, right?

Now,  I do realise that I have been using Booking.com for neigh on three years now,  so maybe that helps,  and perhaps there are indeed some sort of repercussions if the description of your hotel isn’t quite accurate?  I’m not sure.      All I do know is that I do in fact rely on the reviews of others,  both on that site,  as well as over at Tripadvisor.com.  I’ve been falling down a little when it comes to submitting reviews to Tripadvisor,  but that’s just a manifestation of laziness on my part.  The whole mess could have been avoided if in the description they had mentioned that the restaurant was closed for July.  I would have crossed that one off my list.

Simple.

There was another note from an actual person at Booking.com,  with another hotel recommendation (always appreciated) and before I could pinch myself,  there was yet another email with my cancellation.

Lord love a duck!

**************

And now for something completely different.

See,  where I come from,  there would be a mad scramble by a few guys with pick-up trucks to cart off a few select pieces of this tree.

It looks like an ash,  and to be honest I’m not entirely sure.  I seem to only be able to recognise wood species when presented as lumber.  If the tree is still standing there,  then I might also have a chance, but cut up into little pieces like this doesn’t really help.  

In any case,  since it’s still green, it wouldn’t work for firewood,  but taking a chainsaw to a couple pieces,  squaring them up and chucking them on the lathe would be a suitable pastime.  The tree is old enough that there’s some nice contrast between the pith (well,  maybe “early wood” is more accurate) and late wood to make a nice looking wooden bowl.   And no,  I won’t be going back with the two wheeler to lug any pieces back to the apartment either.  We’ve got lots of wood in Canada,  and many opportunities for a free harvest now and again.  My only hope is that this pile doesn’t just end up in some land fill.  That sort of thing just drives me ‘round the bend.



Oh,  and do I need a new label down below like,  “Feeling like a Jackass”?

Just wondering.





More on “Why Italy?”  tomorrow.





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