Let's face it: We're a nation that expects to pee for free.
Because when you got to go, you got to go. And even if you're not in the comfort of your home, you expect a bathroom will pretty much be provided for you, without cost or hassle.
But - as I realized first hand from study abroad in Amsterdam - the rest of the world doesn't quite share that mentality. We were constantly scrounging in to our change purses for that elusive 40 euro cent (and in the busy season 1 EURO!) to get in to the bathroom. Even paying cover at bars didn't guarantee you free use of the facilities (though at the good bars it did.)
After months of living there is had become second nature to either make sure you brought change or know the few places in the city that you could sneak in to pee (i.e. McDonald's in the winter - tourist season they began to charge). But visitors from America have been stuck holding their bladders - and risking kidney infections! - because they don't have the coin.
Well fear not, intrepid travelers. Don't let this hold you back one second longer - if you want to travel to Venice.
The city wants to make itself user-friendly - and keep angry tourists from using the gutters as their urinals instead of paying the 1 euro fee -- in terms of public restrooms, so it's going online.
Now, anyone planning on a visit to the fair city can visit a Web site and with a single click of a mouse buy a pass for the length of their trip. From what I can gather from the Reuters reporting is that it works somewhat like a bus pass: Visitors can pay 7 Euros online for 10 toilet visits over 5 days in high season, and 5 Euros in the low tourist season, or the online day rate for 2 visits is 1 euro in low season, 2 Euros in the high season.
While I don't think this will necessarily cut down on confusion - like I said, we pretty much take free bathroom use for granted, so why would we even check to see if something like this existed - I like the idea of trying to clean up the city and help tourists in the process.
But either way, if you're thinking of traveling to Venice in the near future, check this out. That's 10 bathroom breaks for the price of seven. Score!
--- Brianna
