I Phell in Philadelphia

I phell in Philadelphia. Iph only I had been looking down instead of looking phorward I might not have phallen in Philadelphia. I wasn't even walking too phast, nevertheless I phell and now I have some pretty phancy bruises to show phor it. But I think I'll be pheeling better in a phew days! All I can say is...phalling is NOT phun!

Starstruck in Piazza Navona

Our Tuscany adventure began with a 2-day detour to Roma before we headed north to Tuscany for a two-week stay at La Montalla in Contignano.

Friday night four of us went to Rome's Piazza Navona, spent some time strolling and had pizza and wine until we realized that there was a movie crew setting up for a movie shoot.  As it happens the movie is Woody Allen's newest endeavor called "Decameron Bop."   We watched the shooting of a scene that, if it doesn't end up on the cutting room floor, will be about 45 seconds in the film.  It took about 3 hours to set up and about one hour to shoot.  we got a glimpse of Director, Woody Allen and one of the supporting actresses, Ellen Page, supporting actor Jesse Eisenburg. Alec Baldwin and Penelope Cruz are also in the movie but they weren't in the Piazza that night.

What else?

So the question is...Wouldn't you think that starting a trip having to meet three separate flights from 3 different airports on two different days using two different bus companies,THEN having the first bus be an hour and a half late to pick up the first group, THEN having a lady break her arm on the first morning of the trip, wouldn't you think that all THAT would be enough stress for a Tour Manager?  Wouldn't you?  I would.  I did.  But NOOOOOO...that evidently wasn't enough stress and aggravation for this Tour Manager.  Because on the last day the three factions of the group were to leave on two different coaches to the airport.  BUT the first coach didn't EVER show up.  And the second coach was an hour and a half EARLY.
After I called 5 taxicabs to get the first 19 people to the airport I then greeted the second bus driver with the news that he would have to kill an hour and a half because I had no intention of trying to round up the second 18 people from their various activities at Niagara Falls to get them to the airport 6 hours early for their flights.
I assume everyone is where they need to be, including me.  I'm at a hotel looking forward to my second of three tours which, I assume will be STRESS-FREE!  Please?

OUCH

I'm on a three-in-a-row week-long tour of Niagara, DC, Philadelphia, NY and back to Niagara.  I took Amtrack to Toronto to meet my group.  The group consists of 37 people who arrived on three separate flights, from 3 different airports in England, on two different days.  So after back and forth trips to the Toronto airport to pick up the three segments of my group I finally had everyone collected and we were to leave this morning from Niagara Falls, Canada at 8:15AM.  Feeling pretty comfortable that I had achieved the seemingly impossible task of gathering this disjointed group together and was ready to begin the tour I left my hotel room, took the elevator down to the lobby to meet my driver for the tour and as I stepped out of the elevator I was greeted by a gentleman in the group.  He uttered the dreaded words..."We have a problem..."
My mind instantly went thru many possible scenarios in a split second and then he finished his sentence..."my wife fell while getting out of the shower and I think she broke her wrist."
Really?, First morning of the first of three tours?  Really?
We were leaving Canada and heading thru NY to PA to our second hotel in Gettysburg.  I really didn't want to deal with Canadian Hospitals, and make these people have to find their own way to Gettysburg or make the whole group have to wait in Canada for whatever Canada might put us through so I got an ace bandage and some ice and we headed for Gettysburg.  She wasn't in much pain and some ibuprophen helped.  When we got to Gettysburg at 5:00PM we dropped off the group at the David Wills House (where Lincoln slept before he delivered his Gettysburg Address) for their tour, took Fay and Norman to a walk-in clinic where we were told that their x-ray tech had just left.  They said they would evaluate her but she would then have to go to the ER for an x-ray.  We declined their offer and went straightaway to the ER, where I left Fay and Norman to wait for treatment.  I went back with my driver to the David Wills House to get there just in time to pick up the group after their 45 minute tour and proceeded to the Gettysburg National Cemetery for the rest of their tour.    Then we took them all to the hotel and got them checked in by 7:00PM.  I heard from Norman at about 9:00 PM and he told me they did x-rays but had no results yet.   I waited until 11:00 to finally hear that they had results, her wrist was broken in a few places, they put a cast on it and sent them on their way.
Tomorrow we leave at 8:15Am for Washington DC.  The tour continues without skipping a beat, except that Norman and Fay have their own War Story to tell about their trip to Gettysburg!
Have I mentioned that I love this job??!!!

Decisions, Decisions

I'm on a two day tour to Niagara Falls from New York City with an international group of travelers. We left Manhattan at 8:00AM and we were not on the road too long traveling thru New Jersey when I realized that our driver seemed to be a little (a lot) erratic in his driving. He would drift over the lines and then overcorrect and drift over the other line. I became very alert to his behavior and it seemed to me that he was probably distracted or tired. He was not familiar with the route we normally take on this tour which, in itself would not be too much of a problem since it is the tour director's responsibility to determine the route and direct the driver. But as I gave him directions his reaction times were also sluggish and he was often confused. He was fidgety at the wheel and continuously snacking on cakes and pretzels and drinking coffee and water. These were all red flags to me that he was too tired to be driving.
So we made a rest stop and I contacted my company and explained the situation including the fact that several of the passengers had also expressed concerns and in fact were not comfortable getting back on the bus with this driver. After contacting the bus company and "strongly" urging them to replace the driver, they agreed to do so.
So our 30 minute breakfast stop turned into 2 hours while we waited for the new driver to arrive from Staten Island.
When I spoke to the driver he admitted that he was a little tired, didn't get much sleep (2 hours)but he assured me that he would be ok and that he was a good driver, and that he just needed to sleep for half an hour. I said "Not!" I told him that maybe on another trip he might have been a good driver but not on this one, and we were waiting for a replacement to arrive.
My passengers were all in agreement with my decision and were very patient waiting for the new driver who arrived about an hour and a half later and got us on our way. Everyone is much more comfortable and relaxed and now enjoying the ride. Our new driver is very competent and well rested.
So goes the life of a tour director. One never knows what decisions one will have to make along the way but it is always best to decide on SAFETY...schedules be damned!