Wednesday, February 16, 2005

What kind of soap do you expect next to the bidet?

Here is a story from our trip to Italy last year. I submitted it to the "Travelers Tales" section in a travel magazine but they declined to use it.

As is typical in Italy, our bed and breakfast in Rome had a bidet. Next to the bidet was soap in a push top dispenser container. The soap bottle said in big letters "Vaniglia". Not speaking any Italian, I thought it was interesting that they were so blunt about what the bidet soap was meant to clean. I told my wife that if she needed to clean her "vaniglia" they had just the right soap next to the bidet.

Later in the trip, I was very surprised to find at the gelati shop a container of white gelati labeled "Vaniglia". Like all the gelati we had in Italy, it was delicious. Those folks more worldly than I don't need to be told that "vaniglia" is Italian for Vanilla.

Enjoying Vaniglia Gelati Posted by Hello