Yesterday I returned from the gym in such a state that bathing certainly was not optional. Having shed my gym clothes and gotten into the shower, to my dismay only the faintest trickle of water came out.* For those of you who haven't been here, Italy is often a problematic place. Don't get me wrong, it's lovely and the birthplace of great civilization, and you walk around in a state of wide-eyed wonder at all the beauty and history and moment. But then your water goes off.

The prospect of getting dressed and returning to the gym to take a shower was just too much - I'm already embarrassed at the gym because I'm the only woman there who deigns to break a sweat. Even the men don't sweat very much. Everyone just looks perfectly composed and made-up and accessorized. If I came back 15 minutes after leaving and headed straight for the showers they would surely think to themselves: not only does this American girl pay no attention to her appearance while exercising, she also has no running water at home. How filthy! The thought crossed my mind of asking to use my friend's shower, but that still would have required re-dressing, going across town all gross, and her happening to be at home on a Friday morning.

I experimented with my aquatic options. If I turned the water off, let it sit for a moment, and then turned it on again there would briefly be more than a trickle (accompanied by disconcerting gugling noises). So I soaped and shampooed, but there simply was not enough water with which to rinse. Trust me, I tried.

I sat in the tub, slippery, thinking. Was there any other water in the house? All that I had was a big, mostly full bottle of sparkling mineral water in the fridge. I laughed as I remembered one of my best friends lolling about shortly after our move to SF, extravagantly asking if he could shower in Evian.

And then I laughed harder as I realized: that is exactly what I must do.

Friends, I bathed in chilled, purified, sparkling mineral water.

I don't think I've ever done anything that made me feel so wildly extravagant and yet so lacking in basic resources at the same time. It was refreshing! I enjoyed the sound of the fizzies in my hair, although it left my hair rather poofy. I like to attribute that to the bubbles.


*I later learned from my roommate that this is something that happens sometimes - they turn the water off for the whole building. Who knows why? It's best not to trouble oneself with foolishly sensible questions. There was no sign or notice in the mailbox or any sort of warning. But water did return by late afternoon, I'm sure you're all relieved to know.