Lesson 5

Bidet
Never think that you have covered all areas, always look behind… Well, in the Italian integration process I soon found out that you don’t mess with a bidet.
At the planning process of the house they are building I had the opportunity to make changes and the one I really wanted was to get rid of the bidet.

When I mentioned this to the agent, architect and builders, I was looked at if I just said that Mussolini was a great leader. They were disgusted! No bidet? A bidet is what Italian has been built upon. I was still in my denial phase you I pushed the decision through. Until I had to sign the formal documents at the notary office. In a very posh place I was facing an elderly notaire that didn’t speak a word of English. My agent was translation and things went smoothly, until the he stopped and looked up with a strange facial expression; NO BIDET? Oh my God, him too. He explained that if the place was in Torino for instance he was not allowed to continue the Final Act since the house didn’t have a bidet, he quoted a real law article.

I reassured that the place was not there and that I do take showers and wash my hand and it he smiled slightly and carried on. I guess I am never be able to resell the house or become a real Italian but in any case I enjoyed 5 lessons that made me taste a little bit of the Dolce Vita.