All About Women | Women

Woohoo! Another year and another Bathroom Blogfest. This year’s theme: Cleaning Up Forgotten Spaces Around Us.

So, when I participated in this Bathroom Blogfest last year, I had just returned from France, with the bathroom experiences there. This year, I just returned from Italy. It may seem like I am this awesome world traveler, so if you think that, keep thinking it! I do like the sound of it. I do get around quite a bit and I get to experience a lot of loos.

The French WC’s (that’s water closet for you non-French speakers) were not exactly stellar. As a matter of fact, they were downright nasty. It pays to wear skirts and dresses, nothing to drag on the wet floors. Talk about cleaning up the forgotten spaces; well, the French WC’s were totally forgotten. And toilet tissue? Well, what’s that? Luckily, I pack my own supplies.

So this year I can squeal on the Italian toilets. After my experience in France, I knew I had better pack toilet stuff. My backpack included a healthy supply of tissues, napkins, and hand sanitizer. I was pleasantly surprised that I did not have to resort to my stash very often. The toilets were clean and stocked. Some of our group complained that there were no toilet seats. This did not bother me as I am a professional squatter.

I am tickled about the bidets in the hotel bathrooms. I still don’t know exactly what to do with one, so I guess I didn’t need it. After all, I don’t own a bidet. Yes, I know I can go to Wikipedia and find out all about bidets, but you know what? I really don’t want to know.

Italian toilets are up there for me. Didn’t have to do too much cleaning up as the spaces in Italy were never forgotten. And I frequented many of them. Whenever there was a bathroom break, I was first in line. And it wasn’t because I drank so much water; I could not stand the taste of the water; as water should not have a taste. I preferred water with gas. But that’s another blogfest – natural or gas water. My point is, I visited a lot of toilets. Oh, I must confess. Don’t you love confessions?

One of the toilets cost 50 cents. Imagine, charging you money to take a leak! Anyway, I being cheap didn’t have the 50 cents. So what’s a signorina to do? No, I did not jump the turnstile. If anything, I would crawl under; though I am tall and that would be painful. I went through with another woman. Thank you, dear Catherine, my toilet sister!

Yes, I have had some funky bathroom experiences abroad. Must write a book about it someday. Next week I go to Cleveland. Can’t wait to christen those loos! This could be a whole new job for me – journeying to bathrooms around the world. Then, I would blog about them. Until then, see you in the loo. I’ll bring the tissues!

~ Carolyn

Check out my Bathroom Blogfest sisters and see what they are up to:

Susan Abbott at Customer Experience Crossroads
Katia Adams at Transcultural Marketing
Shannon Bilby at Floor Talk!
Laurence Borel at Blog Till You Drop
Jo Brown and the blogging team at Kohler Talk
Lisbeth Calandrino at Lisbeth Calandrino
Sara Cantor at The Curious Shopper
Becky Carroll at Customers Rock!
Katie Clark at Practical Katie
Iris Shreve Garrott at Circulating
Ann Handley at Annarchy
Marianna Hayes at Results Revolution
Elizabeth Hise and C.B. Whittemore at The Carpetology Blog
Maria Palma at Customers Are Always
Sandra Renshaw at Purple Wren
Kate Rutter at Adaptive Path
Claudia Schiepers at Life and its little pleasures
Stephanie Weaver at Experienceology
C.B. Whittemore at Flooring The Consumer