In reply to Paul Sagar:
I've been living in Italy for over 20 years, and IMHO 'cultural differences' often stem from the overall politics of the place. Italy is a culture where public toilets basically don't exist. I guess because of the cost. (There are exceptions, but as a rule, there are none). If you need to go, you have to find a bar. So everyone pretty understands that you either pay for a coffee in a bar, or go find somewhere to piss/poo. I have an Italian mate (a chartered accountant) who basically has a poo as a matter of course when we get to the car park to go do a ski tour. And another mate who is a CFO who does the same thing. He also had a poo when we were at the local park, exercising our dogs, 100m from his house. Said he couldn't make it home. Still, that time it was OK, I guess cos his Labrador PROMPTLY ATE IT ALL...My friend Sabrina, a demure, well-spoken lass insisted on pooing once when we summitted a mountain, despite my pleadings that she find a secluded spot on the way down, rather than choosing the precise spot everyone is trying to get to! I'm convinced that if a network of public toilets existed, there would be the same culture (with the odd exception) as in the UK.
And grossest story of all was my Australian shepherd dog chowing down on some human shit some 100m or so before we got back to our car after a mountain walk. I pulled her off it but alas, too late! She'd polished off the lot. Standard fare for a dog, I hear you say, but then she jumped up onto the back seat of our (nearly new) car and vomited it all back up again...
Post edited at 21:32