public toilets in Italian cities

In ,
B Vaughan typed:

I had an amusing incident recently. I was eating with a friend
in a
small restaurant in Italy which had only one other table
occupied. I
went to the toilet, which was on a lower floor, and found
myself
locked in. The key turned, but missed turning the lock
mechanism. I
tried numerous times, and also tried banging on the door, but
no one
heard me. I didn't know how long it would take before my
companion
sent out a search party. So I called directory information on
my cell
phone and got the phone number of the restaurant. The directory
operator offered to send me a text message with all the
information
about the restaurant, but I told her, "Look, I'm locked in the
toilet
at this restaurant and I just want the phone number." She
laughed and
gave it to me.


LOL! I carry a cell phone primarily for emergencies, but that's
not the kind of emergency I would have thought about.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

In om,
Lil typed:

Now that the time is approaching to when I will be enroute to
Italy,
some practical questions come to mind.

For example, how common are public toilets in Italian cities?
By
public toilets, I mean not the porta-potty type or the ones
that are
parked in the streets, but rather the ones that you can find in
malls,
libraries or other public buildings.


Malls, libraries, and other public buildings are themselves far
less common than in the US. From a practical standpoint, unless
there's a department store (Rinascente, UPIM, etc.) around, you
won't often find public toilets.


Would we have to dodge into
restaurants, cafes, bars, or even hotels?


Yes (but not restaurants, except for a place like McDonalds). My
usual practice is to drop into a bar for a cup of coffee. It's
under $1.00 US if you have it at the bar, and I refresh myself
both ways.



I remember in one London restaurant, they charged us for the
papadum
(it was an Indian restaurant.) Is there some custom like that
in
Italy? (I would like to know--at the U.S. restaurants, breads
and the
likes are complimentary.)


Every restaurant charges a coperto, or pane e coperto (cover
charge, or bread and cover). It's normally very little--around a
Euro or two (perhaps a little more in more expensive places).


At hotels, is there a service charge--e.g. tip--which is
included in
the bill? If there is, I would like to know about it so I
won't be so
generous with the tip for the room service...


No. You tip separately.


Are there any additional practices that I should be aware of?


Probably, but it's hard to answer a question like that unless
you're more specific about what you don't know.

But here's one: when you into a bar, for example for that coffee,
you normally go to the cash register first, order and pay. You
get a receipt, which you then take to the bar and give to the
barman. In some smaller bars you can pay afterwards, but those
are more of an exception.

Also note that in almost every bar, the price of that coffee is
higher (sometimes *much* higher) if you sit at a table and order.
It's far cheaper to do as the Italians do and take your coffee
standing up at the bar.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

This may alredy have been mentioned- but what is (are) papadums?

Thanks-

Susan

David Horne wrote:

Phil Richards wrote:


Going back to charging for papadums, not surprise in central London. In
my own experience in areas where you'll find an abundance of Curry/Balti
restaurants (or houses) for instance around Brick Lane in East London,
certain parts of Birmingham then often papadums are "on the house".


I think I'm correct in saying that the curry mile at Rusholme
(Manchester) has the highest concentration of Curry/Balti restaurants in
Europe, and they _do_ tend to charge for papadums.

David

In article , (Susan Wachob)
wrote:

This may alredy have been mentioned- but what is (are) papadums?

AKA poppadoms and almost any spelling you choose that has the same
phonetic result: wafer-thin, crispy, about the size and shape of a dinner
plate, made from lentil flour* fried quickly in very hot oil. Not
dissimilar in appearance and texture to very large, very thin potato
chips, but bigger than any I've seen.

Sometimes spices are added in the making.

* AFAIK lentil flour is the "classic" ingredient, but no doubt substitutes
are used.

On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 11:54:50 +0000 David Horne
said...

I think I'm correct in saying that the curry mile at Rusholme
(Manchester) has the highest concentration of Curry/Balti restaurants in
Europe, and they _do_ tend to charge for papadums.

You may find they're free on a night when business is a bit slack... I
remember a few years ago walking along Brick Lane in East London, many
restaurants had a member of staff outside to lure you in with free
papadums being an incentive.

--
Phil Richards
London

On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 14:14:34 GMT tile said...

It is not Coperta ( Blanket in italian) but COPERTO..
it is in all restaurants. and it is between 1.5 to 3 eur
depending on the restaurant.

I suppose the cover charge relates to the sort of prices you pay for the
food. Generally I eat out in Italy for under EUR 25 a time and have never
paid more than EUR 1.5.

--
Phil Richards
London

On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 11:54:50 +0000,
(David Horne) wrote:

Phil Richards wrote:

Going back to charging for papadums, not surprise in central London. In
my own experience in areas where you'll find an abundance of Curry/Balti
restaurants (or houses) for instance around Brick Lane in East London,
certain parts of Birmingham then often papadums are "on the house".

I think I'm correct in saying that the curry mile at Rusholme
(Manchester) has the highest concentration of Curry/Balti restaurants in
Europe, and they _do_ tend to charge for papadums.

I think the point of the post was that they couldn't use the toilet
without buying something, so were charged for papadums.
-----------
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 10:40:10 -0700, "Ken Blake"
wrote:

[snip]

Every restaurant charges a coperto, or pane e coperto (cover
charge, or bread and cover). It's normally very little--around a
Euro or two (perhaps a little more in more expensive places).

Actually, that's not true. I would say it's confined to restaurants
serving the tourist trade. There's not a single restaurant near where
I live that charges either for pane or coperto.




At hotels, is there a service charge--e.g. tip--which is
included in
the bill? If there is, I would like to know about it so I
won't be so
generous with the tip for the room service...


No. You tip separately.


Are there any additional practices that I should be aware of?


Probably, but it's hard to answer a question like that unless
you're more specific about what you don't know.

But here's one: when you into a bar, for example for that coffee,
you normally go to the cash register first, order and pay. You
get a receipt, which you then take to the bar and give to the
barman. In some smaller bars you can pay afterwards, but those
are more of an exception.

Also note that in almost every bar, the price of that coffee is
higher (sometimes *much* higher) if you sit at a table and order.
It's far cheaper to do as the Italians do and take your coffee
standing up at the bar.

-----------
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

"[ B r a q u e ]" wrote in message
...
Public toilets (in railway stations, airports, big malls, gas stations and
"others"...) often have a small dish where to leave some coins for the
"toilet lady".
In the central part of the cities there are often "automatic" public
toilets. With a coin or two you can use it for a certain amount of time...
But I never used them, they scare me a lot
what if I should stay locked in it??
what if the door should open right in the middle of my "bussiness"?? ))

Still you can always rely on bars and "caffè"... The central ones usually
have nice toilets with sink and mirror...
A small tip:
I usually ask for a cappuccino or an "freshly squeezed orange juice" and
while they prepare it I go to the toilet.

bon voyage!
Braque

That sound an expensive way to "spend a penny" There is an outcry in
Edinburgh at the moment as the new Edinburgh Park railway station has been
built without toilet facikities.
Derek.

"Judith Umbria" wrote in message
...

"Lil" wrote in message
om...
Now that the time is approaching to when I will be enroute to Italy,
some practical questions come to mind.

For example, how common are public toilets in Italian cities? By
public toilets,

I've never seen porta potties here, but I may be innocent. There are some
strictl;y publi toilets, but all you need to know is that every bar must
have a toilet and must let you use it. It doesn't have to be a nice one,
but there must be one.


How different from Scotland where many Pubs and cafes have signs on the door
saying that the toilets are for customer use only.
Derek.