At the Risk of Being Crude: There Must Be Fifty Ways to Flush a Toilet: Trip Report from Rome, Florence and Pompeii.
Apr 23rd, 2008, 08:08 AM
#24
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I'll never forget the gorgeous marble, tile, and gold fixtured bathroom we had in a Rome hotel about 25 years ago. Gorgeous and not very funtional!
The toilet seat was square--don't know about you, but that part of my body doesn't go well with a square opening. And the flusher was activated by a push button behind the water tank--took a while to find it.
The ornate, gold sink water spout was so close to the back edge of the sink that you couldn't get much more than your fingertips under the water.
The gold showerhead put out a fine mist that looked great, but took forever to wet you down, with no way we (or anyone from the hotel) could find to adjust the spray.
But it was actually quite a pleasant place to stay.
The toilet seat was square--don't know about you, but that part of my body doesn't go well with a square opening. And the flusher was activated by a push button behind the water tank--took a while to find it.
The ornate, gold sink water spout was so close to the back edge of the sink that you couldn't get much more than your fingertips under the water.
The gold showerhead put out a fine mist that looked great, but took forever to wet you down, with no way we (or anyone from the hotel) could find to adjust the spray.
But it was actually quite a pleasant place to stay.
Apr 23rd, 2008, 09:02 AM
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I have been enjoying this thread. We have lived in Italy for a year and half and can't believe some of the toilets. At brunch the other day, an american friend of ours was discussing how the drop zone is different in the toilets. We all new exactly what they meant. Experienced italian travelers probably do too. I always pack toilet paper and hand cleaner.
Apr 23rd, 2008, 09:25 AM
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Timing is everything! We leave tomorrow morning for Rome and Pompeii! Will have to experience our own 'flushing' adventures and then compare notes. Looking forward to reading the rest of your trip report on our return.
Apr 23rd, 2008, 09:50 AM
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Really enjoying your trip report, italy06 - I knew I was going to like it the minute I saw the title. It brings back all the fascination (and sometimes disgust) I myself experienced with the wonders of Italian plumbing. Looking forward to the rest of the tale...
Apr 23rd, 2008, 11:29 AM
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Wow! Nice to know I’m not alone in my amazement of the puzzle to be solved on every trip to the bathroom. And after a bottle of vino bianco, my brain is not necessarily firing on all pistons…. Next report on its' way!
Apr 23rd, 2008, 12:09 PM
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I don't want to detract from the flushing theme, as I too have swung from puzzled to astounded to disgusted with facilities in Italy. There used to be one at Piazza Michelangelo in Florence that was so gross that no sentient being would step inside. I really hope that one has been corrected by adding a flush. But also watch out for the standup toilets with a flushing mechanism that goes all over your feet if you don't jump out of the way fast enough! As a Nonna with arthritis, I am not looking forward to them next month.
however, I also want to ask why it is that Italians devise so-called showers with no way to contain the spray and floors that slope AWAY from the shower towards the bathroom door, as we encountered in Positano. Our 20-year old daughter caused a flood that ran out and spread out right in front of the door to the room. Or the shower that sprayed all over a solid marble bathroom that became an ice- skating rink when wet and had not a single thing to hang on to, in Vernazza.
In Florence, they "solved" the shower pan problem by putting in a wooden rack over the drain that slipped back and forth like a balance board. Could not figure out what it was supposed to accomplish. Having been to Italy about 15 times, I could go on and on .........
however, I also want to ask why it is that Italians devise so-called showers with no way to contain the spray and floors that slope AWAY from the shower towards the bathroom door, as we encountered in Positano. Our 20-year old daughter caused a flood that ran out and spread out right in front of the door to the room. Or the shower that sprayed all over a solid marble bathroom that became an ice- skating rink when wet and had not a single thing to hang on to, in Vernazza.
In Florence, they "solved" the shower pan problem by putting in a wooden rack over the drain that slipped back and forth like a balance board. Could not figure out what it was supposed to accomplish. Having been to Italy about 15 times, I could go on and on .........
Apr 23rd, 2008, 12:26 PM
#30
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Charness – we had the same problem with our hotel bathroom. It had a bathtub and a glass shower door that only extended out about two feet. Unless you plastered yourself against the wall with the shower head, the slippery marble floor would be filled with water as it was most times. We just requested a lot of extra towels to stop us from falling head first into the bidet…
But still, when I stepped out the door of the hotel, I wasn't in the San Fernando Valley... Worth the inconvenience as I'm sure you agree!
But still, when I stepped out the door of the hotel, I wasn't in the San Fernando Valley... Worth the inconvenience as I'm sure you agree!
Apr 23rd, 2008, 12:32 PM
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Our first full day in Rome now awaited us! Since I knew we would all be a little lagged, today would be where Rome would take us. First stop, a nice walk to Campo Di Fiori. Although the hotel happily gave us a new map every time we left, I will say the laminated map in the back of Fodor’s 25 Best was great. A little bigger and easier to see, especially at night and it never fell apart. We meandered our way down Via Condotti towards Piazza Navona drooling at all of the designer purses in EVERY window on the street. Girls, what is it with purses? It’s not like clothes that you have to change every day because they’re dirty. Or that someone will notice that you’ve worn the same handbag 5 days in a row… or that the exchange rate made the idea really stupid but my first reaction is always “I need that purse now!” It’s a hassle to take your crap and move it from purse to purse but still, so many pretty colors, so much supple leather that felt like butter and even the linings look like a designer dress! My daughter (she’s 23, Dina4) and I, though heavily pressured a couple of times, managed to refrain from actually buying one. Beside, I bought a new one just before we left.
We made it to Piazza Navona and its’ beautiful Bernini Fountain of the Four Rivers and knew, without a doubt that we were in finally in Rome. The obelisk in the Piazza and the sculptures around it are in the process of being restored but stunning just the same. As the streets narrow, you always feel like you will never find what you are looking for and then around the bend, we heard music and knew we were closing in on Campo Di Fiori. It’s a wonderful market that made me want to be renting an apartment so I could buy all of the great fruit, flowers and produce we saw there.
Now starving, we headed to Forno (http://www.fornocampodefiori.com/main.php) for some morning pizza. My daughter and I had the Pizza Bianco, hot out of the oven, drizzled with olive oil and herbs and folded over in some paper and my husband and son had the cheese pizza. We stood outside as it rained lightly, oil dripping down our hands, drinking Coca Light and thought it doesn’t get much better than this. Who needs a fancy brunch with too many calories – this is way cooler. We did buy some herbs and spices in plastic bags that made it safely home – they mix them up into a Arrabiata blend, a Bruschetta blend and many more. And yes, just as I imagined myself, I wore a scarf and looked at the Zucchini Blossoms feeling lucky to be in such a great city.
The thing about Rome I love the most is that just as you are admiring the purses at Prada, you are literally tripping over some 2,000 year old dig that you didn’t know about. As much as we read before we went to Rome, you just can’t take it all in. So quite literally as we made our way down Via Del Plebiscito, my son asked “What are all those cats doing down there among those old columns?” And here we were at Largo di Torre Argentina. I had read about it but it was my 15-year-old son who found the sign that blew his mind – I saw him walk up to it, read it and back away. He said, “Last week, as we were all dying to get to spring break, we were talking about the assassination of Julius Caesar in history. And now I’m standing here looking at the place he was killed.” Nice, as a parent, to have a moment or two like that every now and then…
We were headed to Palazzo-Galleria Doria Pamphilj but detoured at the Museo del Palazzo Venezia (http://www.galleriaborghese.it/nuove/evenezia.htm)
and saw a great exhibit of the work of Sebastiano Del Piombo, a contemporary of Michelangelo. His painting of the Martyrdom of St. Agatha made our kids wonder why we’re so cautious about the internet…. Let’s just say nipples and pliers and leave it at that.
Museo Bathroom: Unisex , no seat but lovely marble floors…
Too tired for one more museum, we headed back to the hotel for a little nap and some rooftop snacks before our tour of the Sistine Chapel.
I know a lot has been discussed about Helen Donegan’s Sistine Chapel Tours and we thought long and hard about it because of the price, but in the end, we knew this would be our one big splurge. I will tell you it was worth every over-inflated Euro.
We met Marie and her daughter who work for Helen at their offices near the Vatican and were soon joined by just a few other people. Our guide Jay, who by day is a translator in the Bio-ethics department of the University led us to the Vatican’s large fortress door and at 7 PM on the dot, it opened and the guards let us in. For the next magical two and a half hours, Jay, who is a walking, talking encyclopedia of ancient Rome, took us through the Vatican Museums, the Raphael rooms, the Etruscan treasures, the map rooms and finally through the tiny door that opens up into the Sistine Chapel. And for the next 30 minutes or more, 9 of us had the privilege of seeing Michelangelo’s masterpiece. No one said a word, we just looked up in wonder. No crowds, no tired crying kids, just the lucky nine of us.
After the tour, we invited Jay to join us for dinner – he recommended his favorite hang near the Vatican and we were treated to our first crispy carciofo (artichokes). Delicious! The owner was great and complimented my husband’s Italian and 2 bottles of wine and much food later, we headed home, stomachs full of great food and heads full of great art. The restaurant was:
Le Sorelle – Via Belsiana 30, 06 679 4969
Restaurant bathroom: A seat! Pull string to flush.
NEXT: CHECK OUT THE TOWEL, CAL – stupidly expensive restaurant bathroom #3
And Museo e Galleria Borghese
We made it to Piazza Navona and its’ beautiful Bernini Fountain of the Four Rivers and knew, without a doubt that we were in finally in Rome. The obelisk in the Piazza and the sculptures around it are in the process of being restored but stunning just the same. As the streets narrow, you always feel like you will never find what you are looking for and then around the bend, we heard music and knew we were closing in on Campo Di Fiori. It’s a wonderful market that made me want to be renting an apartment so I could buy all of the great fruit, flowers and produce we saw there.
Now starving, we headed to Forno (http://www.fornocampodefiori.com/main.php) for some morning pizza. My daughter and I had the Pizza Bianco, hot out of the oven, drizzled with olive oil and herbs and folded over in some paper and my husband and son had the cheese pizza. We stood outside as it rained lightly, oil dripping down our hands, drinking Coca Light and thought it doesn’t get much better than this. Who needs a fancy brunch with too many calories – this is way cooler. We did buy some herbs and spices in plastic bags that made it safely home – they mix them up into a Arrabiata blend, a Bruschetta blend and many more. And yes, just as I imagined myself, I wore a scarf and looked at the Zucchini Blossoms feeling lucky to be in such a great city.
The thing about Rome I love the most is that just as you are admiring the purses at Prada, you are literally tripping over some 2,000 year old dig that you didn’t know about. As much as we read before we went to Rome, you just can’t take it all in. So quite literally as we made our way down Via Del Plebiscito, my son asked “What are all those cats doing down there among those old columns?” And here we were at Largo di Torre Argentina. I had read about it but it was my 15-year-old son who found the sign that blew his mind – I saw him walk up to it, read it and back away. He said, “Last week, as we were all dying to get to spring break, we were talking about the assassination of Julius Caesar in history. And now I’m standing here looking at the place he was killed.” Nice, as a parent, to have a moment or two like that every now and then…
We were headed to Palazzo-Galleria Doria Pamphilj but detoured at the Museo del Palazzo Venezia (http://www.galleriaborghese.it/nuove/evenezia.htm)
and saw a great exhibit of the work of Sebastiano Del Piombo, a contemporary of Michelangelo. His painting of the Martyrdom of St. Agatha made our kids wonder why we’re so cautious about the internet…. Let’s just say nipples and pliers and leave it at that.
Museo Bathroom: Unisex , no seat but lovely marble floors…
Too tired for one more museum, we headed back to the hotel for a little nap and some rooftop snacks before our tour of the Sistine Chapel.
I know a lot has been discussed about Helen Donegan’s Sistine Chapel Tours and we thought long and hard about it because of the price, but in the end, we knew this would be our one big splurge. I will tell you it was worth every over-inflated Euro.
We met Marie and her daughter who work for Helen at their offices near the Vatican and were soon joined by just a few other people. Our guide Jay, who by day is a translator in the Bio-ethics department of the University led us to the Vatican’s large fortress door and at 7 PM on the dot, it opened and the guards let us in. For the next magical two and a half hours, Jay, who is a walking, talking encyclopedia of ancient Rome, took us through the Vatican Museums, the Raphael rooms, the Etruscan treasures, the map rooms and finally through the tiny door that opens up into the Sistine Chapel. And for the next 30 minutes or more, 9 of us had the privilege of seeing Michelangelo’s masterpiece. No one said a word, we just looked up in wonder. No crowds, no tired crying kids, just the lucky nine of us.
After the tour, we invited Jay to join us for dinner – he recommended his favorite hang near the Vatican and we were treated to our first crispy carciofo (artichokes). Delicious! The owner was great and complimented my husband’s Italian and 2 bottles of wine and much food later, we headed home, stomachs full of great food and heads full of great art. The restaurant was:
Le Sorelle – Via Belsiana 30, 06 679 4969
Restaurant bathroom: A seat! Pull string to flush.
NEXT: CHECK OUT THE TOWEL, CAL – stupidly expensive restaurant bathroom #3
And Museo e Galleria Borghese
Apr 23rd, 2008, 01:14 PM
#32
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Wonderful report. Don't work or clean house or laundry, TYPE!
I was just the right height to flush our toiled with my head.
If it matters, I'm 5'3".
We stayed at the Albergo del Senato and had the two button wall mounted flush mechanism!
I was just the right height to flush our toiled with my head.
If it matters, I'm 5'3".
We stayed at the Albergo del Senato and had the two button wall mounted flush mechanism!
Apr 23rd, 2008, 01:17 PM
#33
Hi italy,
what a great theme for a trip report. i grew up with a grandma with kidney problems [which meant she drank about 8 pints of tea made with sennapods!!!! per day] so our family knew every public convenience south of the Wash. and there was NEVER any chance of her sitting on any toilet seats, whatever their condition.
I don't actually remember the facilties in rome being particlarly bad. my "worst loo of all time" award goes to one a spent a lot of time in being ill in an open-air restaurant near Bordeaux - i was so ill i didn't care.
my best loo award goes collectively to the toilets of northern spain, discovered on the same trip. suddenly at the spanish border, plumbing improved out of all recognition. Perhaps the spanish got a grant to put in decent toilets? who knows - i just remember my relief.
keep it coming,
regards, ann
what a great theme for a trip report. i grew up with a grandma with kidney problems [which meant she drank about 8 pints of tea made with sennapods!!!! per day] so our family knew every public convenience south of the Wash. and there was NEVER any chance of her sitting on any toilet seats, whatever their condition.
I don't actually remember the facilties in rome being particlarly bad. my "worst loo of all time" award goes to one a spent a lot of time in being ill in an open-air restaurant near Bordeaux - i was so ill i didn't care.
my best loo award goes collectively to the toilets of northern spain, discovered on the same trip. suddenly at the spanish border, plumbing improved out of all recognition. Perhaps the spanish got a grant to put in decent toilets? who knows - i just remember my relief.
keep it coming,
regards, ann
Apr 23rd, 2008, 02:52 PM
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I am absolutely loving your report! Can't wait for the next installment. We'll be in Rome in June and I've already made the mental note to give everyone packages of Kleenex and little bottles of Purell. I'm glad to hear Helen's tour is worth every Euro, we've also signed up. Did you bring binoculars with you to see the ceilings better?
Apr 23rd, 2008, 03:49 PM
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At last! Someone else fascinated with the wonderful variations in how to flush a toilet. My ex discouraged me from taking pictures of each mechanism. Boo to him. I've experienced the hole in the floor toilet in the train station in one of the Cinque Terre towns, but my favorite one was in a restaraunt where you stepped on what looked like a small red rubber ball on the floor in order to flush.
Apr 23rd, 2008, 04:02 PM
#36
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Thanks, everyone! I envy you, pkdof - you'll have a blast. Two other things about the Sistine Chapel, one about Helen Donegan's company and one about the bathrooms. I'm sure a lot of you know this, but years ago, the Vatican Museums were for the privileged few and even the Royals weren't above scrawling graffiti on the precious works of art in the rooms. You can still see some of it if you look closely. Also, someone on this board once said they were allowed to lie down in the Chapel to look up at it. Our guide, Jay told us that in general, the guards frown on this as it is disrespectful. And no, I didn't think to bring binoculars. But it didn’t at all take away from the impact and for me, even as a non- Catholic, it sorta would have felt out of place.
Another thing happened with Helen Donegan’s company and no, I don’t know her nor could I pick her out in a crowd. Since we were there after hours, the gift shop was closed and we had several requests from home to bring something back from the Vatican. Marie arranged for us to meet up the next morning with another guide, Roberto or as I call him, the Alec Baldwin of Italy, at their offices. Not only did the charming and funny Roberto treat us to an early morning espresso at the café next door, he took us past the burgeoning line at the Vatican, waved hello to the guards and took us straight into the gift shop. They knew we weren’t butting in on the tour but you still can’t get in the shop without standing in line. We found a couple of things and then unprompted, Roberto took us to another shop in which he thought we might find other things. This one was around the corner in front of St. Peter’s. Since it wasn’t open yet, we were treated to another espresso at another café and then shopped and found a couple of lovely things to take home to our relatives. Roberto waited patiently for us and we thanked him profusely and try to pay him at least for the coffees but he wouldn’t hear of it. He said, “You’re in Italy, when an Italian takes you out for an espresso, it’s his treat - it’s what we do.” In others words, he graciously went out of his way for us all in the spirit of the moment so I have nothing but praise for their company.
And pkdof, before you imagine the Italian bathrooms to be an OCD nightmare, far from it. There were a few, just like here, but mainly they were all just so different. Have fun!
Another thing happened with Helen Donegan’s company and no, I don’t know her nor could I pick her out in a crowd. Since we were there after hours, the gift shop was closed and we had several requests from home to bring something back from the Vatican. Marie arranged for us to meet up the next morning with another guide, Roberto or as I call him, the Alec Baldwin of Italy, at their offices. Not only did the charming and funny Roberto treat us to an early morning espresso at the café next door, he took us past the burgeoning line at the Vatican, waved hello to the guards and took us straight into the gift shop. They knew we weren’t butting in on the tour but you still can’t get in the shop without standing in line. We found a couple of things and then unprompted, Roberto took us to another shop in which he thought we might find other things. This one was around the corner in front of St. Peter’s. Since it wasn’t open yet, we were treated to another espresso at another café and then shopped and found a couple of lovely things to take home to our relatives. Roberto waited patiently for us and we thanked him profusely and try to pay him at least for the coffees but he wouldn’t hear of it. He said, “You’re in Italy, when an Italian takes you out for an espresso, it’s his treat - it’s what we do.” In others words, he graciously went out of his way for us all in the spirit of the moment so I have nothing but praise for their company.
And pkdof, before you imagine the Italian bathrooms to be an OCD nightmare, far from it. There were a few, just like here, but mainly they were all just so different. Have fun!
Apr 23rd, 2008, 08:06 PM
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I actually have taken photos of most of the toilets from our last two trips to Europe. Hands down, the most luxurious toilet I found was in a restaurant restroom in Lezignan, France...when you flush, it automatically whisks off the clear plastic seat cover, and replaces it with a fresh one. I should have taken a short movie of it...
