16 year resident in Italy questions the truth behind the Italians' 'Quality of Life' providing an irreverent insider's view of Life in Italy.
Royal Flush
Posted 09-23-2009 at 07:26 PM by burntbythetuscansun
Tags italy travel, life in italy, travel
My 10 year old nephew, visiting from the United States, burst out with a pretty amazing observation, after we checked into a wonderful apartment in the foothills of the Abruzzi National Park. Obviously following in the footsteps of his dear old aunt (and with a hint of exasperation in his voice, I’d say), he remarked, “Why is it that every single toilet in this entire country has a different way of flushing??!!”
According to Giancarlo, he has yet to flush the same way twice. In fact, even in our rental apartment, each bathroom had a different system.
Here’s his list:
- Sometimes, you have to pull a sort of plug upwards into the air that you find on the toilet tank.
- Other tank tops have buttons which you have to press down on (only after you’ve tried pulling them up)
- On trains, you have to press down on a pedal if you can find it (but only after you realize there is no other way to flush)
Sometimes it's not a pedal but a little rubber thing in the floor
- On superfast trains, there’s actually a light switch that flushes the toilet like supersonic speed as in airplanes
- Old apartments have chains you pull down like old light switches
- Some have buttons you have to press real hard on the wall, which have no relation to the toilet area itself
- There are plastic disks, divided in two, and it takes a moment to figure out what the two sides mean...he usually presses either one, both seem to do the trick, but not always
- And, finally, some have buttons hanging down from the tank which you have to push up, and then hold it there, in order to assure proper flushing
Coming from a country in which everything is standardized, down to the light switches on the inside right as you walk into that very bathroom, I can see why he was a bit perplexed. Part of the beauty of discovery, I suppose.
I can’t wait to hear his uptake on toilet seats.
According to Giancarlo, he has yet to flush the same way twice. In fact, even in our rental apartment, each bathroom had a different system.
Here’s his list:
- Sometimes, you have to pull a sort of plug upwards into the air that you find on the toilet tank.
- Other tank tops have buttons which you have to press down on (only after you’ve tried pulling them up)
- On trains, you have to press down on a pedal if you can find it (but only after you realize there is no other way to flush)
Sometimes it's not a pedal but a little rubber thing in the floor
- On superfast trains, there’s actually a light switch that flushes the toilet like supersonic speed as in airplanes
- Old apartments have chains you pull down like old light switches
- Some have buttons you have to press real hard on the wall, which have no relation to the toilet area itself
- There are plastic disks, divided in two, and it takes a moment to figure out what the two sides mean...he usually presses either one, both seem to do the trick, but not always
- And, finally, some have buttons hanging down from the tank which you have to push up, and then hold it there, in order to assure proper flushing
Coming from a country in which everything is standardized, down to the light switches on the inside right as you walk into that very bathroom, I can see why he was a bit perplexed. Part of the beauty of discovery, I suppose.
I can’t wait to hear his uptake on toilet seats.
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