Shower Chronicles: From Cramped Rome to Soaked Cairo
It’s not actually spring yet, but we have had a variety of bathroom showers that are worth mentioning. Here are a few from our short months of travel, but I know I’ll have more. Our accommodations are as much of an adventure as every other part of our experiences.
Milano: Not bad. The water took forever to warm up and the temperature was finicky. Also, the shower head needed a deep cleaning since streams of water came at you from all angles.
Napoli: Teensiest ever round shower with sliding doors and hot water heater with nearly zero hot water capacity. Shortest showers so far. Knock on wood!
Palermo: Slightly bigger shower than Napoli, but the cracked plastic doors couldn’t stay on the rails. Concerned me enough to notify the homeowner. No “sweet” spot, so we balanced between scalding and freezing.
Athens: Required planning since you had to turn on the propane tank to heat the water 30 minutes before you needed it. Warning that it could be dangerous if you forgot to turn it off. Also, the apartment was so damp that the cold, moist towel afterward shocked your body out of any lingering coziness the shower offered.
Lecce: Way too far away from the bedroom, so midnight potty calls were met with dread. Hot water didn’t work for the first two days. Towel warming rack was a bonus since the apartment itself was always freezing. We strategically put all our clothes on it to warm them up during our showers.
Assisi: Not an actual shower stall, but a bathtub with three folding glass panels functioning as a door that didn’t move easily, so you needed to squeeze between them from the back of the tub. Hard to get a “sweet” spot of the proper temperature, but not terrible.
Roma: Bliss. Of course we only were there for one night, so we couldn’t fully enjoy the accoutrements as much as we’d have liked, but a separate tub and great sized shower with a full array of bath products. Nothing is perfect though, and the hair dryer is the worst so far. You have to press the button to keep it running the entire time you are using it, and the very large screen holes to vent air will catch your hair if it gets too close to them. Ouch!
Not captured: water-soaked floor, Cairo, Egypt
Cairo: Low water pressure since it is a high floor. Need to remember to flick a switch next to the kitchen sink to increase pressure. Don’t forget to flick it back afterwards! Also, no door or curtain at all, so the shower soaks the entire small bathroom. Make sure you’ve both used the toilet and brushed your teeth before showering!
