Intermission: A Word About Dogs and Cats and Plumbing

Mandy and Bridget would be quite happy to learn (if they could understand us) that dogs seem to be quite high up on the social ladder in France and Italy. Many people have them as pets, and they're quite welcome on the streets and even in restaurants. They also seem to be more obedient than their American cousins, routinely walking along behind their masters without a leash, and never barking. Mandy and Bridget would also agree that there are much too many cats. Plague-protection not withstanding, the only birds that seem to be left are the swifts, house sparrows, and pigeons that all live on the sides of buildings and cliffs, away from the cats. Tom found some of the plumbing fixtures in the hotels strange, but did manage to work them out after a while. [Note from Mandy and Bridget: We could hardly recognize them when they got home!]