After Travelling to Europe – I REALLY Appreciate This in America

Recently, we took at trip to Italy and the United Kingdom.  It was something that we were really looking forward to, and it was everything we wanted it to be and more!  We saw and experienced so many cool things.  Views were amazing as was the food.

SOMETHING TO BE AWARE OF IF YOU ARE TAKING A EUROPEAN TRIP

If you have ever traveled to Europe, you may have noticed a thing or two that is completely different than what we have in the states.  The first thing might be the amount of space that we have here.  Roads are much wider, as are the sidewalks and just the distance between the buildings and roads.  Europe does the most that they can with the space they have.  Also - it's much older than things are here in America.  So, you have buildings that are a thousand or more years old, which is just amazing that things are still standing.  Granted, they have been restored in many areas, but still, they didn't come crumbling down.  Really makes you question some of our current building strategies.  But whatever.

RESTROOMS ARE NOT WHAT THEY ARE HERE IN THE STATES

The bathroom or toilette situation is something that I was not liking there.  And it wasn't everywhere, but there were several public places, landmarks, tourist areas where as a guy, you're fine.  As a female, not so much. See, the thing is that it's a little hit or miss in those areas as to whether or not there will be a toilet seat.  So, if you have to go, you have to "hover".  No one is sitting on that thing.  So, as a dude, no issue.

It wasn't the same experience everywhere.  Which is odd.  But some public places did have them, and others did not.  Some had one within the same place, whereas the stall next door might have one and the other one do toilet seat.  I got to the point where I would pick and choose, unless it was a situation where you couldn't wait anymore.  Hotels - good to go.  It was just in some of the public places.

WHY IS THIS THE SITUATION IN SOME EUROPEAN PUBLIC PLACES

So, of course here I am wondering what the problem is.  Here in the states, you might run into some sketchy restrooms, but generally they have a seat.  You might not want to sit on it, but there is usually one there.

Here is what I found when I Googled this question.

• The "Hovering" Cycle: Because public restrooms can get messy, people hover or step on the seat. This breaks the seat, and establishments simply stop replacing them to save on maintenance costs. 
• Hygiene and Cleaning: Many proprietors view seatless porcelain bowls as more sanitary. Bare bowls are quicker and easier to wipe down between users, leaving no surface for germs to linger on. 
• Hard-to-Find Replacements: Unlike the standardized sizes common in places like the U.S., Italian toilets come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, making exact-fit replacement seats difficult and expensive to source. 
• Discouraging Loitering: In busy areas, removing the seat subtly discourages people from lingering or treating the stall as a lounging space

Some of this I understand, and others just seem ridiculous.  Like the last one - who lingers in a public batheroom unless they "have" to?  Generally people get in there, do what they need to do and move on.

IT'S NOT EVERYWHERE, HOWEVER

When we got to England, there was no longer an issue.  So, why just Italy?  Although, that could be the case in some other European countries.  But we were only in Italy and England, so that was what we experienced.  Italy - no bueno with the bathroom deal. Yuck.  Oh- and if you do go, make sure to bring something along that you can use as toilet paper and some soap.  That is not always available in the restrooms.  Usually it's there, but you can't count on that.  Some are just lacking essentials.

MAKE SURE YOU BRING ALONG SOME ESSENTIALS

One more thing - SOME public restrooms require payment.  We only ran into two of these places.  One was just out in a public square - you had to pay the attendant.  It was only like a Euro, so not too bad.  The train station restroom required a 1.40 Euro.  You could just tap to pay with your phone.  But at least those restroom were super nice.  If you are essentially paying $1.50 American, they should be nice.  And they were.

Just something to think about if you happen to travel across the pond.

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