A couple weeks ago, I published a post entitled Tour Review: Val D'Orcia with Ciao Florence Tours. Well, there were a few minor things that I felt I needed to leave out for the sake of the company since it had absolutely nothing to do with them.
The most significant of the minor things was the fact that I HAD FOOD POISONING THE ENTIRE TOUR. It must have been something that we had eaten the night before because both Massi and I ended up with extensive knowledge of the "bathrooms of Tuscany"! Sorry for the TMI, but looking back on it as a behind the scenes type flashback, it's actually rather hilarious. We spent a good part of our time in each beautiful, picturesque Tuscan town...in a bathroom. It happens to the best of us, I know, but I couldn't think of worse timing than on an organized tour with fifty other tourists. I actually was the cause of the tour arriving late back to Florence (sorry guys!) because my intestines were having a party half-way between Montepulciano and Florence and I had to suck up my all my pride and ask the tour guide to stop the bus! I have never been more embarrassed even though I can laugh about it now!
So here's a few tips as to what you need to do should you find yourself in a similar emergency bathroom-searching situation in Italy:
A good option is to actually go into a restaurant and sit for a meal and take turns with your partner going to the bathroom which is what we did for the first part of the trip, or if just one of you isn't feeling well, the other person can hold down the fort and hang out at the table while the other uses the "servizi".
If you've already eaten or you just don't want to be in a restaurant, you are going to have to use the bathroom in a bar. It's Italian law that every bar has a bathroom, so all you have to do is go in and just buy a coffee or a bottle of water and book it to the back!
The very last option is to use public toilets that often require payment. I wouldn't recommend this though as it can be very hit or miss in terms of cleanliness and you'll often find yourself yelling "occupato" more often than not as others try to pry their way into it. Not the ideal choice for when you're trying to calm down a tummy bug!
The final tip: alway carry wet-wipes and Kleenex with you, you'll never know when you need to wipe down a seat, your bum, or when you'll find yourself senza carta igenica (without toiler paper)!
The most significant of the minor things was the fact that I HAD FOOD POISONING THE ENTIRE TOUR. It must have been something that we had eaten the night before because both Massi and I ended up with extensive knowledge of the "bathrooms of Tuscany"! Sorry for the TMI, but looking back on it as a behind the scenes type flashback, it's actually rather hilarious. We spent a good part of our time in each beautiful, picturesque Tuscan town...in a bathroom. It happens to the best of us, I know, but I couldn't think of worse timing than on an organized tour with fifty other tourists. I actually was the cause of the tour arriving late back to Florence (sorry guys!) because my intestines were having a party half-way between Montepulciano and Florence and I had to suck up my all my pride and ask the tour guide to stop the bus! I have never been more embarrassed even though I can laugh about it now!
So here's a few tips as to what you need to do should you find yourself in a similar emergency bathroom-searching situation in Italy:
A good option is to actually go into a restaurant and sit for a meal and take turns with your partner going to the bathroom which is what we did for the first part of the trip, or if just one of you isn't feeling well, the other person can hold down the fort and hang out at the table while the other uses the "servizi".
If you've already eaten or you just don't want to be in a restaurant, you are going to have to use the bathroom in a bar. It's Italian law that every bar has a bathroom, so all you have to do is go in and just buy a coffee or a bottle of water and book it to the back!
The very last option is to use public toilets that often require payment. I wouldn't recommend this though as it can be very hit or miss in terms of cleanliness and you'll often find yourself yelling "occupato" more often than not as others try to pry their way into it. Not the ideal choice for when you're trying to calm down a tummy bug!
The final tip: alway carry wet-wipes and Kleenex with you, you'll never know when you need to wipe down a seat, your bum, or when you'll find yourself senza carta igenica (without toiler paper)!
Below are just a few phrases you might need in these situations, I borrowed them from dreamdiscoveritalia.com's article: Italian 101 – How to ask where is the toilet?
Click the link and read the article for more!
Have you ever experienced something similar while travelling abroad?! Tell me about it!
If you enjoyed this post, you may also like to "dare un'occhiata" at these ones:
Tour Review: Val D'Orcia with Ciao Florence Tours
Milan Food Tours: Beers and Bites Review
How to Eat Rome with The Roman Food Tour
Where to eat in [Toronto]: Cluny
Where to eat in [Toronto]: Momofuku Daishō
Click the link and read the article for more!
- Dov’è il toilette per favore? pronounced doh-VEH eel twoy-let per fah-vor-ray?
- Dov’è il gabinetto per favore? pronounced doh-VEH eel gah-bee-NEHT-toh per fah-vor-ray?
- Dov’è il WC per favore? pronounced doh-VEH eel voo-chee per fah-vor-ray? (Note : W is pronounced voo-voo in Italian – literally V V – but for some reason its enough to say vow-chee which really is VC. I have no idea why but it seems to work?!)
- Dove sono I servizi per favore? meaning where are the services and pronounced doh-veh soh-no ee sir-VEE-tsee per fah-vor-ray?
Have you ever experienced something similar while travelling abroad?! Tell me about it!
If you enjoyed this post, you may also like to "dare un'occhiata" at these ones:
Tour Review: Val D'Orcia with Ciao Florence Tours
Milan Food Tours: Beers and Bites Review
How to Eat Rome with The Roman Food Tour
Where to eat in [Toronto]: Cluny
Where to eat in [Toronto]: Momofuku Daishō
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