Unmentionables

In Rome, I had my first exposure to the 3rd thing I missed most about home. Toilet seats! Puhlease, people. Sometimes you've just gotta sit. Some places have no more than a hole in the ground that they expect women to squat over. And the toilet seats they do have are not designed for my fanny. The top is rounded and the shape is more squoval (manicurists know what that means).

Fortunately, we encountered these instruments of torture only in public toiletti.

On the positive side, Italian toilets have two flush modes. (Think about it a minute.) Another ecologically sound practice. The fourth thing I'll miss most about Italy is how they weave taking care of the enivronment into their daily lives. More examples...

We enjoyed warmer weather our two days in Milan. The first evening I turned on the air conditioning for a short while before going to bed. The second night I couldn't get the darned thing to work, so I called down to the front desk. Seems they turn off the airconditioning from October 25 through sometime in May. Cool! Well, neat-o anyway.

At our hotel in Venice, we triggered the power in our room by inserting a room key into a special slot. I suppose I could have asked for an extra key, but, again, I liked the conservation smartness of it.