Global Rider wrote:

[snip]

    > I often wonder why some shower stalls or bathtubs don't have shower
    > curtains, but it doesn't take away from my vacation.
    > One place I stayed up in in Pregasina, high above the town of Rive del
    > Garda in Italy, had a shower that was the whole bathroom, as small as
    > it was. All there was was a shower head on a hose, a drain in the
    > floor, the toilette on one side and a sink with a 220V (how safe)
    > outlet within reach in the other. There wasn't a spot in that bathroom
    > that wasn't soaking wet after a shower.

I have seen this type of bathroom more than once in Italy.

    > What amazes me the most is why Americans go off running to a McDonalds
    > in the heart of Europe. Why did they bother coming?

Well, I try to look at it this way: some people come to Europe to see
the fine art or ski in the Alps, or to explore ancient archeological
sites. Some of them don't have adventuresome tastes in food, but who am
I to say they don't benefit from whatever it is they came to see?

Barbara