I have always had it in the back of my mind that I should write something about bathrooms… the ‘conveniences’ in Italy or rather more often than not the ‘inconveniences’. Now if it were up to my mother (yes, you Fay) she would say that I developed some sort of obsession (for want of a better word) with toilet facilities many years ago, when I was only 3 years old and held my little bladder full for some ridiculous amount of time (perhaps 24 hours, please correct me Ma) on a flight from Australia to the States. This really was a long time ago, because back then flights stopped in Fiji and Hawaii to refuel…. and I, well I just didn’t like the toilets on the plane or at the airports so refused to go and decided that crying was a better option (much to the delight of my family, the crew and the other passengers).
Over the years I have visited a number of interesting inconveniences in Australia and overseas, the filthiest was probably in a roadhouse outside Paris travelling with my brother and the boys enroute to Disneyland. I was warned not to go…. it was then I wished my pelvic floor muscles were as strong as when I was 3, in order to avoid that lovely French roadside experience. For those readers that are not Australian, we have a lovely variety of eco-bio-green-friendly-pit-composting toilet stops on our highways – I guess it’s almost the same as going in the bush!
In Shenzhen, China, together with Mandy and Ange, I experienced inconveniences that were very ‘busy’. Squat toilets have never really bothered me in any way – they are certainly good for your thigh muscles – so this wasn’t the issue in China. The one bathroom in the local shopping centre was the only water source for the 3 level building, a building full of shops that were open seemingly all day and night. So on entering the inconveniences we joined the queue (with our own paper of course – because there never was any) and while waiting we were entertained by all the women congregated at the sinks, collecting water for their cooking, washing their dishes, even washing their feet (in the sink of course). It seemed so strange to go from a modern air-conditioned shopping centre into this room that seemed to be the life source for all its inhabitants.
Italy has also not disappointed! The inconveniences here are, more often than not, for both male and female and if they do have separate toilets, there is often a shared basin. Or in some cases, in a busy bar or restaurant, there could be one toilet that is shared, in a room the size of a bedroom with 5 basins! And a queue of people waiting! What the? In all that space, why not put 5 toilets and 1 basin? Quite frankly, I can never work it out. There is one lovely aperitivo bar in Milan where the inconveniences are in the basement. The stairs lead straight into this amazing space with gorgeous décor, several free standing basins in the centre, a uniformed attendant and, you guessed it, 2 toilets! The first time I went there I laughed, thinking of the old Playroom days at Tallebudgera when the guys would congregate outside the girls toilets. Here, they were congregating inside!
Then last weekend, I went to a small city called Mantova, with another girl from my art history class, because we wanted to visit a small, well known, frescoed room in the Ducal Palace. After exploring the town, I spied the local inconveniences in the park, similar to the self cleaning ones we have at home, although these of course cost 1 euro. I had a feeling there was something wrong with the one I chose when the door kept opening of its own accord, but when it decided to run the self cleaning cycle half way through my experience, all I could do was scream and run out trying to pull my pants up on the way. Hilarious for some… not really for me! It cost me my dignity as well as one euro!
The other ‘inconveniences’ in Milan are actually on the street. The ones dogs leave behind, the ones their pathetic owners never pick up. These little (or sometimes big) problems are everywhere on the streets and I have taken pride in the fact that I have never stood in one….. until a few weeks ago. It was getting dark, however luckily for me, it was also raining so I managed to wash my boots straight away in the gutter (as I was thinking of Carrie in Sex in the City washing her beautiful heels under a tap in Paris). That night I was grateful for the rain, because by the time I got home there was no trace of said inconvenience. I still have 8 weeks to go here… so I am hoping my luck lasts a little bit longer.
And I am also wishing my gorgeous son Dougal luck as well…. as he leaves the Coast this weekend and embarks on his new flying career in Sydney. Wish I was at home to say farewell and to tell him in person “you really are soaring now…. and you are not alone” xxx
Purtroppo, questa settimana, non ho fotografie di bagni (probabilmente una buona cosa), perciò questi sono alcune imagini da altre cose.
-
-
typical italian carpark
-
-
colonne di san lorenzo milano
-
-
clienti di panetteria
-
-
fresh focaccia in panetteria
-
-
milano graffiti – its everywhere
-
-
interior scaffolding duomo in mantova
-
-
old vespa in science museum
-
-
arco della pace – me and dona
-
-
spring has sprung
sandy dee - italiano, pasta e vino rosso 