The map is not the territory

One of the key NLP presuppositions is that the map is not the territory.

As a seasoned NLP-er that makes sense to me (if you want to know what it means- ask). But doesn't help when I am about to embark on my late summer hols and find that there's no map!

The holiday company have given me an address and a postcode (that's a zip code to my transatlantic friends).

I've tried every which way I know to find one or other or both on the internet. And neither the address, the postcode, nor variations of the same are recognised...

Last time I had real (and I mean REAL) problems locating a holiday home I found myself faced, in the dark and seemingly in the middle of nowhere, by a man with a shotgun. As you might imagine, I scarpered pretty quickly!

Once I found a town and found the gendarmerie closed and no signs of life I was in despair - until I saw a sliver of light from under a window shutter. I couldn't find a door so just hammered like billy-o on the shutter. And am forever grateful for the kind French people who interrupted their Very Posh dinner party to escort (nb - not to give directions, but to lead the way) us to our destination.

I hope that won't be necessary this time. And, if it is, that the natives of the Lakes are as friendly as the natives of the not quite Loire valley.

Meanwhile, I shall ponder what it means to have neither territory nor map....