Dealing with minor health issues, involving food and restrooms

I’ve never seen salad served already dressed
They’ll bring the bottles to your table for you to use as you like so that shouldn’t be a problem

Bathrooms are readily available
Fast trains and IC trains have bathrooms

There were a few recent discussions on the topic
A search here should give you lots of advice

Here is one:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/public-toilette-availability

Bathrooms can be tricky to find at times absent trains, museums, and restaurants. My grandmother had a similar problem and wore Depends, which I know saved the day for her at least once that she admitted to. It's just not worth the stress of holding it and wondering how long you can do so. Also, watch your fluid intake. For example, don't drink a liter of water just before going out unless you're certain of an available bathroom.

I’ve never seen salad served already dressed

I've had dressed salads many times in Italy. Yes there are usually bottles of vinegar and olive oil on the tables but chefs are becoming more and more willing to display their culinary creativity. Don't assume that because there is oil and vinegar on the table that your salad will be served without a dressing.

Hi Laurie,

The salads in Italy come without salad dressing, and they bring two bottles to the table - olive oil & balsamic vinegar. This might be different in the center of tourist locations, but it would probably be written in the menu.

Trains have bathrooms - sometimes a bit quirky, but they work. You might want to check the location - which cars have them before you’re sitting down at your seat. Something that might help for your convenience and peace of mind is to have your hotel in the center of the historic section of the town. I just returned from a trip in June, and I purposely reserve hotels or B&B’s in the center for convenience, ambiance, but also reading your post I realize I rarely used a bathroom other than my own because it is so convenient. The other option is that museums usually have clean bathrooms. And if needed, learn the Italian words to ask at a bar (the shops that serve coffee), if you can use their toilet.

It is true that there are dressed salads served in restaurants but you can always request that they leave off the dressing and just serve it with oil and vinegar on the side.

As noted above the Italians do not have salad dressings in the great varieties as in the US. The only thing I have seen in about 50 years of Italian travel is that salad (loosely used word) is served dry and generally oil and vinegar or balsamic vinegar are on the table and you decided how much to use. And salad does not always means a tossed, leafy green mixture.

Bathrooms are another issue and does require some management. They are not as frequent as in the US. Restaurants, bars will have them but often hidden away in the back or down the stairs. And you have to be a customer unless you have a desperate look on your face. You never pass up a bathroom. There are some apps available for locating bathrooms in the cities.

And, generally I do not think of Italian food as being highly spiced so that should not be a concern. Too bad about coffee as the coffee is Italy is outstanding.

Laurie Ann, do acidic foods in general bother you, like tomatoes, tomato sauces?

We found the oil on tables sometimes to have hot pepper spices in them, so check first. Always have paper with you. And coins. I found that toilets were just about as available as they are here. That is, you have to know where to look and and sometimes ask. And sometimes, they're "broken".

Its been a while, but do trains in Italy still have toilets that lock up when you're at a station, so you can't use them while train is stopped?

I found that toilets were just about as available as they are here, as in you have to know where to look and and sometimes ask. And sometimes, they're "broken".

Interestingly there was just an op-ed piece in the paper about how access to public restrooms should be a basic human right. Iceland was cited as an excellent example.

And I just found it

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-07-11/public-bathroom-access-cities-homeless-trans

Thank you for the replies! Lots of great info!

"Laurie Ann, do acidic foods in general bother you, like tomatoes, tomato sauces?"

Tomatoes themselves don't seem to bother me. Tomato sauces etc can as you never know what's mixed in them. Pizza bothers me sometimes but not consistently so it's either an ingredient the pizza place is using or a topping (some meat toppings can bother me depending on the spices used and nitrates can be an issue).

Mostly I find that other than the coffee/tea/spicy foods, I can handle most things in moderation. But it can be difficult to know exactly what's in food when ordering out, how much of something is used etc. When cooking at home I know I can handle SOME (very little) spice and I can control how much. Much harder when eating out. And if I eat something a little spicy I know I can't have say, strawberries or dark chocolate the same meal etc. And some things I just take the risk and make sure I'm mostly sticking around the house or some place with a bathroom easily accessible etc.

Thank you for the tip about spices in the olive oil.

Also, if you see a washroom as you are going about, use it.
There may not be another in the next hour or so of your day out.

I believe there is an app to locate washrooms in various cities of Italy...perhaps someone here can chime in about it?

This was mentioned once, but I want to be sure you caught it: Always have toilet paper in your purse. You may encounter toilets without that critical item. In general, I think that's more of an issue in southern Italy than in the north, but don't push your luck.

I have one app-WC Venice and one website for Florence (thank you Roberto da Firenze): https://www.osservatorelibero.it/2016/08/06/pipi-firenze-la-nuova-mappa-bagni-pubblici/
WC Venice from App Store. Free.

Every little rinky-dink park or public gathering place in our small town has bathrooms. I never understood why this wasn't a universal thing or why it doesn't happen everywhere.

And yes, always have coins and Kleenex or something like that. Hand sanitizer, too. For me it's easy as we can "go" pretty much anywhere. If you have to use the hole in the ground toilet, be very careful aiming. I had an incident years ago and when I got back on the bus my fellow passengers were not amused.

why it doesn't happen everywhere.

Because adults in Italy go to a bar 3 or 4 times a day, since bars and squares are the main "public gathering places" ,whereas only children go to the park every day. Toilets are where local people go anyway, not where tourists are used to find them.

I believe there is an app to locate washrooms

There is a bar every two blocks, I'm really a nerd when it comes to use tech but in this case an app would pointless even for me. A 0.50 candy changes you into a customer.

Toilets are often "broken" for the zillionth tourist of the day who wants to use the toilet without buying anything.

...but do trains in Italy still have toilets that lock up when you're at a station, so you can't use them while train is stopped.....

That practice has stopped since most trains have gone to a containment system. In the past the toilet waste was dumped directly on the tracks as the train was moving. Obviously you do not want to do this while sitting in the station so that is why they were locked.

I have a funny Italy restroom story. Just this past May I was in Lerici and upon arriving was in need of a restroom after having consumed several breakfast cappuccinos. I fairly quickly located one but unfortunately had a rather long line of grammar school students on a class trip. I waited somewhat patiently and after about a good 15 minutes my turn arrived.

The teacher handed me the door directly and upon my entry into this very small single-size, windowless cubicle of a bathroom; I immediately noticed numerous wrappers scattered about the floor. I surmised that these were used kleenex/tissue wrappers that others had smartly brought in and tossed as there was no trash can to dispose of them - probably the bunch of 5th graders that had preceded me. I checked for toilet paper and of course there was none but I unfortunately wasn't as prepared as my grammar school friends! Anyway I was not deterred as I was just happy to have arrived and would use the drip dry method!

Almost immediately after being seated, the lights went out. I thought this had to do with a motion sensor so as I sat I began flapping my arms about (what a sight this must have been). This accomplished nothing - the bathroom remained pitch black! But I was really not ready for what happened next, water began shooting out of the walls! I now realize that the bathroom is in some kind of self-cleaning mode WHILE I AM IN IT! It felt like I was in a human car wash. But the coup de gras was when a bar came out from the wall behind me, extending itself over the toilet (where I was still sitting) to spray water on the toilet! I immediately jumped off - or more like was pushed off (fortunately I was done) the seat and made my way through the sprinkler system of water still shooting out from the bathroom walls (and maybe floor?) making my way thru the darkness to the door - making a soggy exit into the light of day. On the bright side, as it was very hot my soggy state was nicely cooling once outside.

I think what may have happened is that this restroom was a pay toilet and when the teacher handed me the door I went in unknowingly without paying. My usage did not register in the system as "being in use" so therefore the bathroom went into self-cleaning mode. It never fails that my trips to Italy result in one or two very funny stories to share.

@joeandrose I am dying laughing right now. That is the stuff of my nightmares. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, Mary!

I forgot to add that the look on my husband's face as I made my exit was also priceless.

LOL! This sounded familiar. The gardening guru, Ciscoe has a similar story from his experience in France and gave him one of his signature expressions! I heard him tell it during a Seattle area gardening session, and this video of him gives his humorous personality telling the story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at6ebI-EbAI

Jean, thanks for posting that YouTube. It was hysterical and he tells the story so well.

joeandrose I'm so sorry but I laughed so hard reading that story. I'm glad you got out ok! My husband would be dying laughing and telling that story to everyone he ever met probably!

Here's a few tips I haven't seen mentioned yet.

When you go into a restaurant, there is no need to wait to order your food before using the bathroom. In Italy, they are not trying to rush you through the meal in order to free up the table --- you have all the time in the world to order, so go find the bathroom before it's urgent. I've posted before about the very nice restaurant in Torino one December whose bathroom was just a tiny narrow shed at the far end of the large interior courtyard AND was a hole-in-the-floor, and I made the mistake of both waiting too long and wearing a long puffy winter coat. The situation was so ridiculous I got the giggles, and let's just not mention the consequences.

In 20+ years of traveling in Italy, I have almost never eaten a salad, even though I love salads, especially salads that somebody else has made. So, why not? Partly it's because I can't get used to eating a salad as a separate course after the first two or three courses, but it's also because the first two courses (appetizers and primo) always seem like by far the most interesting and often contain vegetables (I'm a semi-vegetarian). But, if you want a salad, just find out how to ask for minimal or no vinegar. It's not uncommon for a salad dressing to be just excellent olive oil and a little freshly ground salt.

I avoid or moderate all the same foods and drinks you do (and more). I have found that white wine (really, really good in Italy!) is less irritating than red. You will always be asked in restaurants if you want sparkling or still water --- if sparkling water is on your no-no list, don't try to get plain tap water instead, get plain bottled water (it's just what is the custom and costs very little).

You'll be fine --- I always think I'm going to have more trouble finding a bathroom in Italy than I actually do.

Thanks, Laurie Ann. Wishing you a wonderful trip to Italy!

I had a most embarrassing and humiliating restroom experience on the train from York to London. It had nothing to do with any ailments or food. This is the first time I've actually talked about it since it happened several years ago. Please scroll down to the next comment if you are easily offended.

I'm not sure if the automated door to the restroom was new and perhaps not operating correctly. There was an employee sort of overseeing the queue. Once I was inside the restroom I'm sure I activated the close/occupied button correctly but for some reason the door opened a minute later while I was in process. You can imagine what could go wrong when a guy is unable to "stop the stream" while alternately trying to cover himself, "steer" and push the "close" button! The attendant said something to the effect of "she opened it because it was unoccupied with people waiting" while I tried to get the door to close. Hopefully it happened so quickly that no one was focusing too intently on me or perhaps they were just hoping it wouldn't happen to them as well? Luckily we were headed straight to our hotel within 20 minutes. I feel like a kindergarten child when I recall that horrifying incident.

I suppose the takeaway is that the worst thing ever is unlikely to happen to you!

Glad to see that you’re planning to keep travelling with a medical condition and I hope that you have a good trip.
Most restaurants have a bathroom so in addition to learning phases for spicy food or vinegar, continue to learn some basic phrases and for you: dov’e el bagno per favore or dov’e la toilette may be important and hopefully they would point to it. Even just ‘el bagno?’ as a question probably would work. I find that spending 30 to 60 minutes per day (even if not every day) on Rick Steves. https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/travel-talks/italian-language or any one of numerous free lessons on YouTube.com for the 2 months before my trips to any European country helps me get around and ask for what I want in small local bars and cafes. I also try to get the numbers memorized. I don’t need to discuss politics or philosophy so basic words, particularly nouns, are all that I need.
The staff seem to appreciate my efforts and at one, I struggled to order a glass of red wine and a beer in my mangled French. As the drinks were provided as I wanted, the smiling bartender pointed over his shoulder at the woman there and he said in English, that she is the owner and is English.
I have a friend who is very allergic to garlic and sometimes to onions and it is a problem because it seems to be in most Italian dishes. Keep travelling.