Saturday, July 9, 2011

Sudden thoughts from Florence!

Here we go: some points from our stay in Florence.
1. We are now the Popplefers. At least according to the day trip tour guide that we went with yesterday. Italians have a hard time with the obscure German names.
2. Tap water here is seldom cold. Thankfully there is faucets for drinking water scattered around the cities. These are usually colder.
3. My bed in the hostel this week is more like a hammock with a wooden pole down the middle. I get into bed and I don't get out until absolutely neccesary.
4. We sweat all the time. And just because a store is in a mall doesn't mean it's air conditioned.
5. We visited Pisa today to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In all other situations our camera lens has been exceptional. But today, it was gracious enough to fix the lean in the tower whenever we took a picture. The wide angle lens curves the edges in so it made the tower straight. Quite humourous, as basically all we went to Pisa for was to take forced perspective pictures of the tower.
5. Every time I (Char) go the bathroom, I play a little game I like to call "how does it work?". The bathrooms here are not as boring as in Canada, there are many stages of the game. The game begins with locating the bathroom, as they are not always clearly marked. Next there is the matter of whether I have to pay for it or not, and if so to who or what? With that out of the way I can proceed to the toilet, which may or may not have a toilet seat, or toilet paper. Some have both, some have neither. The fun part comes when I get to figure out how to flush it. To flush I can either:push a button, pull a lever, pump a foot pedal, press a foot button, or push down a lever. Today was a special day as I encountered my most unique toilet and got instructions on how to use it from a very concerned Italian lady. Unfortunately she was talking to me in Italian, and when she realized I still didn't understand, she proceeded to show me. It was a squatter toilet, and from many hand gestures and motions, I understood that I needed to: use it very quickly, push the button on the wall and then run out as quickly as possible. The Italian people are so helpful. The game ends when I come out and tell Brad if I won the game by figuring it out.

2 comments:

  1. I've played that game too! Bonus points if you find a toilet that you have to pay under 0.50 Euros for!

    Love the blog "Popplefers"! Have fun on the rest of your adventure!

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  2. So funny! I forgot about pay toilets! Sounds like you guys are making some amazing memories. :)

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