A Word on Public French Toilettes

Now a picture would replace a thousand words, but taking photos in the restroom is usually frowned upon, so allow me to describe instead.  When you enter the public toilette, both men and women often enter the same door.  Once inside you will typically find one or two sinks with electric hand dries (that hardly work), two fully enclosed toilet stalls marked women, one fully enclosed stall marked men, AND one to three urinals right out there in the open.  If you are brave enough (as a male, although I'm sure women would not be turned away) to use the urinal, all the women standing in line will have the opportunity to witness you.  They will time you, they will be privileged to how long it takes for the flow to start, and they will definitely make certain you have fully zipped up before turning around.  For the most part, American men waited to use their one stall (which sometimes took longer than for the women).  An occasional man would step up to the stand up and allow all to admire his technique.  Toward the end of the trip John and I were willing to step up provided the stand ups were not in the middle of the room, but rather were at the far end of the hall beyond the water closets.  Another cultural experience learned.