"There was a toilet seat and everything!"

As my mom and I exited Pearson Airport last night after arriving back late from Italy, I ran to make a bathroom stop before the drive home. As I exited the washroom, I found my mom waiting with our luggage walked up, smiled big and said, “That was so great! There was a toilet seat and everything!”

While in the car home, overtired and giggly my mom and I laughed about our ridiculously long and eventful travel day, our favorite parts of the trip, and then proceeded to list all of the things we were thankful to have back in Canadian bathrooms as well as some things we were confused about (I believe that this is a list that would only be compiled by two IBD-ers).

So here is our list:

1.     Toilet seats - do they think people are going to steal them, or have people stolen them in the past?

2.     Toilet paper – doesn’t everybody use/need that?

3.     Toilets – squatting into a hole is way too much of a lengthy leg work out and a skill we both have not perfected, thank you very much!

4.     Free washrooms – if there are no toilet seats, no toilet paper and no toilets then what are you paying for anyways?!

5.     Single Sex washrooms – because it is always a confusing moment when you run into a big burly dude coming out of the stall.

6.     Lights – isn’t this also needed or at least preferred by everybody?

7.     Paper towels and/or hand dryers – because although it’s fun to come out of the stall and say, “Ewww I peed on my hands!” and watch the fear strike over somebody while you chase them around, we believe we are both a touch too old to get away with that anymore.

8.     Access to public washrooms – a lady at a café legitimately gave me these directions to get to their washroom, “Turn right, walk down the street, there will be a green door, find apartment number 8, ring up and tell them you are coming from here, once they ring you in, it is the third floor, second door on your right, don’t worry it’s not that far!”. Yeah, needless to say I didn’t use what appeared to be some random Italian lady’s bathroom.

Don’t get us wrong, we both LOVED Italy! It is a breathtaking country and would return in a heartbeat, but we give major props to European IBD-ers, you are all champs!

Sincerely,

Two spoiled Canadian IBD-ers

Taylor and Kim

Case in point: a squat toilet