Adventures in Restrooms
Okay, not everyone has adventures in restrooms while they're traveling, but we sure did in Sicily. Don't worry, we did NOT encounter any gross toilets on our tour. All clean and tidy. But just know that you are going to see photos of clean toilets if you scroll below. And you'll also learn some useful tips. And maybe have a laugh or two.
Toilets had very large seat openings compared to U.S. ones, almost rectangular-shaped, as opposed to round. We got used to them. This was our first bidet! Every hotel but one had a separate bidet, all different in terms of sprayer, handles, and temperature. We tried all but one (see adjacent photo). We liked those that used a gentle stream of warm water. Our first bidet was our favorite!
The hotel in Agrigento had Valerie's favorite toilet. This toilet had two streams of water to refill the bowl, one in the front and one in the back. None of the light trickle of water all around the bowl like at home. This flushed like a charm, leaving that bowl looking just-cleaned.
Restroom in the Villa Bianca barn. Note: That is NOT Wendy in this photo.
Valerie's Favorite Restroom Memory
The restrooms at the working farm were quite rustic, and some of the stall doors didn't have locks. One of the tour members ... we'll call her "Wendy" from Tennessee ... alerted others waiting in line to not open her stall by singing a bluegrass song. So, if you know the words to "Good Ole Rocky Top," please join us now in singing along!
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"Wendy" was a hoot! Valerie, who's originally from the South, still gets a big smile of joy when thinking about her belting out this song.
At historic sites, look for signs pointing to:
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W.C.
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Toilettes
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Il Bagni
Learn to say in Italian, "Dov' e il Bagno?" or "Dov' e la toilette?"
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Handles for the toilets are not like the handles in the U.S. Look for a variety of push buttons built into the wall behind the toilet. Or, as Valerie frantically discovered at the place where we made cookies with Maria Grammatico, in a totally unexpected location -- on a side wall almost hidden beneath the toilet paper roll. (They started baking without her!)
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Have a flashlight app on your smart phone and know how to open it. At the WWII museum in Catania, Valerie dashed into the restroom (an actual room, not a stall) and after closing the door, discovered the light bulb was burned out and it was pitch-black in there. She fumbled around to turn on her phone, aware all the time of the line of ladies waiting outside!
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There are some restrooms that require payment in Euro coins. We couldn't use the restrooms near the Palermo Cathedral because we didn't have any coins. One member of our tour was a couple of minutes late getting to the bus to Monreale because the restrooms at the nearby Palermo train station cost 1.20 Euros. She had 1.00 and 2.00 Euro coins, but nothing smaller. She had her own Adventure in Restrooms!
We finally got to use our coins to pay the 1.50 Euro fee to use the restroom at the Siracusa Roman archaeological park. (We had to break a 50 Euro bill at a bodega to get some change.) There were two attendants who were dozing (photo above) but smiled when we approached them to pay for the restrooms. We later realized we had bought entry tickets to the park at the "group tours office" across the street from the main entrance -- where there were FREE restrooms! Oh well, at least we had a new experience!
The hotel in Trapani did not have a separate bidet. Instead it had a huge "handheld shower sprayer" nearby. Uh, that thing is just going to spray water everywhere. Nope!
By the way, to dry off after using a bidet, use the small dedicated towels for that purpose, or use toilet paper.
Twice we encountered restrooms at historic sites that did not have toilet paper. That's not a big deal when you always carry travel-sized packs of tissue.
Segesta was Valerie's favorite place on the tour. Mostly because of the Greek ruins. But also, just look at this spacious restroom with stalls almost to the floor!
Perhaps one of the biggest cultural adjustments we had to make pertained to the disposal of toilet paper. Because of the old pipes and sewers across Sicily (true as well in Italy), you are asked to NOT FLUSH toilet paper. Even in the hotels! Instead, place used paper in the provided garbage can. Most cans had lids; some didn't, but our impression was that the trash is removed frequently.
How Restrooms in Public Places Are Different --
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We did not see handicapped-accessible stalls at the restrooms at cafes and restaurants we went to.
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Jay never saw a urinal anywhere.
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If you have a baby or small children who require help using the toilet -- prepare for small spaces, especially at cafes and restaurants. Most restrooms did NOT have diaper-changing tables. We saw them only at the airports.
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Several comfort-break stops, cafes, restaurants, and the place where we made pasta had unique restroom layouts. There were no separate mens' and womens' restrooms. Instead, there were two to four small unisex stalls or rooms with a toilet. The sinks were in a central area nearby where all genders washed their hands. Very efficient to do this ... the line for using the bathrooms moved quickly.
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At the airports, you may encounter people of the opposite sex cleaning the restrooms. In Rome, Valerie saw a young male janitor mopping the floor of the ladies' restroom. It's not a big deal there.
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Some restrooms have attendants, sometimes of the opposite sex. At the ancient Roman amphitheater in Siracusa, Valerie had the male attendant helpfully hand her paper towels to dry her hands after washing. (She hoped he wasn't expecting a tip, because she had no more Euro coins to use!)​