Wednesday, May 27, 2015

BARCELONA, Don't Pick My Pockets!

Barcelona
Ok... I wasn't really off fishing the last couple of weeks. Fermin and I were in Barcelona, Spain!  Actually, for about half of our vacation we were on a cruise that shipped out of Barcelona and took us to Ibiza, Mallorca, Sete (France), and back to port in Barcelona.  We then spent the remainder of our vacation in Barcelona.

It was the first time either one of us had a chance to go to Europe so it was something we both had looked forward to for years.  Once I started researching online and asking our friends what we should be sure to do while over there, we heard over and over again warnings about the pick pocketers- not just in Europe, but specifically in Barcelona.  Pick pocketing is a career over there.  If someone pick pockets, there's not much punishment for it, if any.  As long as it's not violent, it seems, anything goes.

I'm a bit of a nervous traveler no matter what,so all this talk of pick pocketing had me very paranoid.  And although I was still excited to go, I was worried about how I was going to keep peoples hands out of my pockets!

many zippers to get thru to get to anything!
A friend loaned me her cross body bag with many zippers so I could securely carry a few things around town without giving pick pockets any kind of easy access.
Fermin assured me he would carry his wallet in his front pocket.  And we agreed not to ever carry a big load of cash, our passports, or any valuables on us.  So honestly, if the pick pockets had targeted us, they would have been sorely disappointed.  They would have just wound up with diabetic supplies, lipstick, and gum. 


On the second day of our trip, a man that was on the cruise with us told us he had just had his wallet stolen out of his front pocket!  He had just gotten 500 euros from the bank, got on the metro and had his arm stretch up to hold on to the railing.  He guessed that because of that, the pick pocketer had access to his front pocket.  I guessed that 1.He isn't very observant and has very little physical awareness and 2. Someone saw him get the money from the bank and followed him onto the metro. Big bummer for that guy, and a big reminder to us that the threat of pick pocketers is for realz! 

As it turned out, whether of not the threat of being pick pocketed was as common as we had been told, we never had any problems.

Palma de Mallorca Cathedral
We just ate tapas (which I will probably write another post about soon), looked at really old and beautiful buildings and had an amazing trip!
Sagrada de Familia

a little more- Sagrada de Familia
The pink house Gaudi lived in for many years in Barcelona, Spain- Park Guell

Monday, May 11, 2015

Gone Fishin'

I'll be back very soon---with stories to tell. 

Please visit again soon.