The State of France: Toilets

OK, I could have alot of fun with this. And so, I hope, could you. But the situation is actually disgusting. French semi-public and public toilets are almost always filthy. The sinks are dirty; the toilets are a health hazard. Bathrooms very often do not have toilet paper. They never have paper towels in the dispensers. They have hot-air dryers that hardly ever work, and if they do work, you could blow on your hands more effectively. So there's often no way to wash and dry your hands, which I can't imagine encourages hygiene. And more often than I could imagine, the toilets are missing their seats! I've learned that women have to go by hovering. Is that awful, or what? Bathrooms for folks in wheelchairs? Very, very rare.

OK, you say, true public toilets are disgusting everywhere in the US. True. But I'm also talking about toilets in places like French libraries, schools and university buildings. Claire's university here in Provence serves as a good example. There's one unisex bathroom on her large floor in the main building on campus. Apparently the students steal the toilet paper, so there's never any. There's only one gross sink that looks like it was designed as a utility sink for mopping up. The staff are given a key to the one stall that has the toilet paper.

There's graffiti everywhere, and I mean everywhere, in the bathrooms that are used mostly by students.

In the semi-public building where I've had some French classes, I found one bathroom in the basement that was cleaner than the others. When a staff member saw me heading down there, she asked me where I was going. Uh, I'm a 50-year-old guy going to the bathroom, what's it to you? She directed me to use the gross bathrooms on the floor where my classroom is. I think she didn't want to see further sullied the toilet that she has to use.

I feel compelled to write now because a recent French survey revealed that 50% of students who are in the equivalent of 4th and 5th grades (CM1 and CM2) report having stomach ailments because they do not use the bathrooms at school. They're too dirty, even these young kids report. On television, health officials have been pointing out that serious ailments stem from not visiting a bathroom for long periods.

Oh, and try to find a water fountain in a public building. Not that you'd want to chance it.

Customer service, no smile

We've now made a total of five requests, two by fax and three in person, for a checking account at Société Générale in Claire's name to be made a joint account. It's still not a joint account. Stay tuned.

Bicycle touring: EuroBike and Donau Touristik are terrible

The worst bicycle tour we've ever taken was sold by EuroBike and run by Donau Touristik.
We took a self-guided trip through Bike Tours Direct in the Altmuhl Valley, Germany,in June 2005.
(We were very happy with the service provided to us by Bike Tours Direct and our comments do not extend to them.
They were helpful in getting our comments registered with EuroBike and Donau Touristik and convincing Donau to provide at least some compensation to us for their poor service and failure to provide hotels that met the advertised star-level.)

Among our complaints:
-- They changed our schedule at the last minute. We had arranged for a initial rest day after traveling to Germany, but due to what was described only as a "problem with the van", we wound up having to get on our bikes 12 hours after we had taken 24 hours to travel to Germany. Our rest day was postponed until
after the first day of riding.
-- The only route guidance was a general tourist map, which was inadequate. In particular, it provided absolutely no directions on how to find our hotel once we arrived at our destination city each day.
-- The hotels were not 3 and 4-star as promised. More than one hotel was 2-star. And worse, the only 4-star hotel was a Courtyard Marriott (!), a budget business traveler hotel, in a poor location by a highway. Be prepared to get the worst room in each hotel. Donau Touristik apparently specializes in the first-floor rooms that look onto parking lots and rooms by the highway.
-- Despite the fact that we had sent our measurements, the bikes provided did not fit us. They were very heavy, with chainguards, and were poorly maintained. I was given a women's bike that was too big for me. My wife's bike had a tire that kept going flat. Efforts to get the tire, the wheel or the bike replaced through Donau Touristik's set of bike replacement locations on route were totally unsuccessful. My bike had a crank that I don't think had ever been serviced.
-- After the tour, Donau Touristik and Eurobike were rude and unhelpful.

Among the positive aspects:
-- The voucher system (whereby we paid at hotels for room and board with prepaid vouchers) worked well.
-- Our luggage was transferred faithully.
-- The Mittermeier Hotel, our first hotel, had wonderful food.

I'd be happy to provide details if you'd like: skalak _AT_ twcny_DOT_ rr _DOT_ com. (_AT_ = @; _DOT_ = .)

Bottom line: Ask if your bike tour has been "wholesaled" to Donau Touristik. With so many other bike touring companies working hard to get your business, why take a chance on EuroBike or Donau Touristik? Check out tours by other companies at www.biketoursdirect.com . Don't say you weren't warned if you go with EuroBike, or ANY TOUR provided by Donau Touristik. Donau Touristik sucks. EuroBike sucks.