I'll start with my most notable experience which was in Venice last August. This was where we encountered “the disabled toilet from hell”. During our sightseeing I, of course, needed
to use disabled toilets a number of times and they were all easy to use and
access. However, in this case the
complete opposite happened. As is the
case at many other places, the disabled toilet was away from the “normal”
toilets. My husband, Terry, enquired with the female attendant
and asked for the entry to the locked disabled toilet. She unlocked the toilet with some difficulty
and we entered and found there was no room as there was a large baby change
table in the way. My sister, Sharney, removed the
table and waited with it outside while Terry and I entered the toilet.
About a minute later the lights went
out. Fortunately there was a gap in the
door which allowed enough light for me to use the toilet. When we’d finished, we pressed the large red
button to open the door, but it didn't open.
Terry tried pulling the door open without success. We yelled to Sharney that we were
trapped. She was standing outside with
the change table with people looking at her like she was trying to sell
it. She got the attendant who physically
struggled to get the door open long enough for us to escape and for Sharney to
return the change table. The attendant
was very apologetic. Apparently she
hadn’t had anyone ask to use it before.
I wonder what would have happened to a disabled person who was on their
own using that toilet, presuming they got in. Awful, but funny
experience to look back on.
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