Footnotes to a Conversation, January 22, 2024

I’ve had a lovely time in Lyon and will be sorry to leave. But Thursday, I’m off to Vannes in Brittany and that’s really exciting as it’s an area I’m not familiar with.

A Loo with a View

Have you ever looked for a public toilet? It isn’t easy, either at home or abroad, and who knows what condition it will be in. Men cheat. They stand in front of a bush and pretend no one can see them, but it’s not so easy for women. And this isn’t a new problem. 

“The issue of ladies’ lavatories [in the late 1800s] was initially so contentious that some became the targets of sabotage. In Camden, north London, opponents of new women’s toilets on the high street intentionally crashed horse-drawn cabs into a site earmarked for the facilities. Misogynists of the day believed women belonged at home, so opposing equal access to public loos was a way to bar women from public life.”

Nowadays, while some cities are shuttering their public toilets, others are treating them as fashion statements. Norway commissioned striking new toilets along remote scenic routes to promote rural tourism. And they are pretty impressive with panoramic views, war history, and moss walls – just take a look at the photographs [Visit Norway]. Shibuya, Tokyo has toilets designed by leading architects and their cleaning team have uniforms designed by the creative director of Parisian fashion brand Kenzo.

“Japan and Norway’s architecturally outstanding toilets show that public loos needn’t be cruddy amenities of last resort, but can be attractive sites that can offer decent jobs, civic luxury – and even become tourist attractions.” [The Guardian]

The Cult of Cute

As you know, I follow a number of cats on X (Twitter). And I’m not the only one. “From chubby puppies to loveable robots, ‘cuteness’ has us all melting in its sticky little hands … Cuteness is a manipulation, designed to trigger our protective instinct, but it isn’t just triggered by human offspring.” And we find puppies even cuter than babies! The Guardian article points out that there is a dark side to cuteness when it’s used for marketing purposes, but I’m not going to stop following my cats. As the article explains,

“We’re drawn to naïve things as a form of magical thinking – a desire to live in a cruelty-free world, where everything is safe. We use “adulting” as a verb now, as if there were another option. Glittery unicorns are one way off this collapsing planet, with its daily horrors.” [The Guardian]

At Home in a Foreign Environment

I’ll be staying in 9 different cities on this year’s trip to Europe. One of the things that really helps me to adjust and feel at home in a new city is to find a favourite café or coffee shop where I can people-watch. In Quillan, I prefer the river-side terrace at The Palace. In Lyon, I’ve found Louisana, a lovely little coffee shop run by two young women that serves house-made vegan and gluten-free food, has a play area for children, and lets people linger for hours over their computer or book. It’s in a university district, which probably explains why I’ve also found some excellent bio/organic stores (although on Saturday most of the customers in 2 of the bio stores were young families).

Louisana doesn’t look or feel like a Starbucks (no barista, no fancy coffee machine) – and for that I’m grateful. If possible, I’ll always support small independents where I know my money is going to support individuals rather than a large corporation.  Yes, Louisana is similar to other coffee shops the world over that cater to young people, but it’s resisted the homogenization that has infected so many. I look for places where I feel comfortable when I travel, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are identical to the places I visit when I’m at home.

For more on this subject, read The Tyranny of the Algorithm: Why Every Coffee Shop Looks the Same [The Guardian]

Footnotes to a Conversation is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also post occasional articles on other dates, including frequent book reviews and travel tales.

If you share my love of nature, check out EcoFriendly West, an online publication encouraging environmental initiatives in Western Canada, and Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces.