… a new mom raising kids between LA and Tuscany…

How to Use a Blow Dryer in Tuscany

I’m used to having our simple American two-holed electrical outlets for most things, and a three-hole outlet for others that require a ground.  Well, as it turns out, there are a number of different types of electrical outlets in Italy.  There are:

• -three holes (large)
• -three holes (small)
• -two holes (large)
• -two holes (small)

And you can expect that any particular appliance you purchase will have precisely the type of plug that does not fit the particular hole you need it to go into.  Consequently, there is an entire aftermarket that has been created solely for electrical adapters.  And this market for these adapters is ever-changing (which I don’t understand).  But, I digress….

The particular adapter that we need in our home most often is the one that goes from two large plugs to three small plugs.  So… off we went in search of these adapters only to learn that they are no longer made!  Huh, what?!  This means that in order to dry my hair after a shower I have to use three different adapters:  1.) two large plugs to three large plugs; 2.) three large plugs to two small plugs; and 3.) two small plugs to three small plugs.

I thought that this was atypical, but no, this is fairly common.  We had to do the same thing to power our Christmas tree.  And until you purchase all the different sizes of adapters, you will find yourself plugging and unplugging things and switching adapters so frequently that you’ll find yourself in a Rubik’s Cube game of adapters.  My nephew actually connected so many together it looks as if he created, quite literally, a huge Transformer.

So, if you are travelling to our neck of the woods, I might suggest you purchase a variety of travel adapters or you might be sitting in your room with wet hair for quite some time (which might not be a bad thing depending on the view).