A Bas les Inventeurs des Salles de Bains aux Hôtels!

Is it possible that somewhere in the Napoleonic Code there’s a notation that estalishes a precedent that alllows corporal punishment for the people who design hotel bathrooms? There must be a law. The thought of capital punishment has crossed our minds. But there is an antipathy in modern Gaul for such a measure, considered degenerate and only practiced in primitive societies such as the United States, China and Muslim nations. We’re referring to the sins of those who design and install showers in French hotels. They must be stupid or lunatics or perhaps both. In Narbonne, we braved a small square platform in the corner of a bathroom with a shower fixture above and no curtain. Then there was the chic hotel in Nantes with designer sinks so shallow, it was nearly impossible to wash your hands without causing a flood. Then there are the numerous times where the appareil changing the water flow from tub to shower (and vice versa) was so inscrutable we had to call the other to come into the bathroom. Regulating the monster (or faucet) requires an on-site rocket scientist, or at the very least, an engineer. Remember, we are Americans. We were brought up to believe a daily bath or shower was an inalienable right (“self-evident” is the operative phrase). And baths and showers should be a certain way. In August 1955, during a summer trip to Europe, Peter stayed in Rome at what is now the elegant Hotel d’Inghilterra on via Bocca di Leone, just off via Condotti for about a week. If his memory is correct, he paid about a dollar a night. His room didn’t have a bathtub but all was not lost nor dirty. He could summon the lady attendant on the floor and order a bath for 50 lire (about 8 cents at the time). He did so his first night, enjoying the capacious, old-fashioned tub (showers weren’t even in the picture). The next night (N.B. It was August and very hot) he called the attendant and asked for a bath. “But,” she protested, “you had one last night.” And such was life in Italy during that era. But, back to our current thread. Most recently, we spent four very pleasant nights at a venerable hotel at the center of a small city in western Brittany. The hotel was ancient, the desk lady informed us, about 200 years old. It had been renovated in 1974. When we called for a reservation, we asked some questions we’ve learned to ask from past experiences such as, “Avez-vous un ascenseur?” This is important because we’re getting old and getting creaky — no more fourth-floor walkups, s’il vous plaît. The next question was whether there are shower curtains in the shower. The women on the other end of the phone seemed to think this was a rather peculiar query and replied, “Non, pas de rideau.“ She was, of course, correct. We roughed it for the four nights sans shower curtain. Otherwise it was very pleasant and by the second morning, we had figured out how to take a shower without getting too much water on the floor outside the bathtub. It was adequate—but not satisfying. You don’t realize the importance of a shower curtain until you don’t have one and can’t feel the rush of water hitting your body. That’s when a shower results in a luxurious feeling of cleanliness and revival. C’est la France. Copyright © 2010 Jean & Peter Richards If you’re coming to France and would need to rent a car, Bonjour Paris recommends Auto Europe. Please post your comments or questions and let them flow. Register HERE to do so if you need a Bonjour Paris user name and password.   Subscribe for FREE weekly newsletters. BonjourParis has been a leading France travel and French lifestyle site since 1995.     Readers’ Favorites: Top 100 Books, imports & more at our Amazon store We update our daily selections, including the newest available with an Amazon.com pre-release discount of 30% or more. Find them by starting here at the back of the Travel section, then work backwards page by page in sections that interest you. Current favorites, including bestselling Roger&Gallet unisex fragrance Extra Vieielle Jean-Marie Farina….please click on an image for details.               Click on this banner to link to Amazon.com & your purchases support our site….merci! <br>