Oh no

minions have been dispatched to cut off some hands

thanks you. We will be smarter in the future!

oh man I'm sorry that happened to me in Madrid...but I was standing in a crowded train with my wallet in my outside/unzipped pocket so I was asking for it.

aw boo! What happened?

that really sucks. Time for the security wallets.

Damn.

describe more in a bit, still dealing with fallout/blocking phone and #, cancelling contract, police, etc. but ultimately it was our own fault for not being enough on our guard.

that really sucks. At least it sounds more preventable in the future.

remember to not react when you see warning signs for pickpocketing. most people will tap the exact place where they have their valuables.

what was weird was that it was in a fairly deserted area outside a closed monastery in the consulate neighborhood in the outskirts of Barcelona.

it didn't fit the profile of the kind of places we'd been warned about so we weren't enough on guard.

obviously 25 years in Seattle has made me weak and stupid. Time to resume my NYC attitude, where I never lost a penny!

we have crime here! I heard about one on the news once.

eek. sorry for the stress that comes along with the life lesson.

thanks - since we paid for the lesson, I think we should learn it well! Morskittar, there's lots more violent crime in the U.S. and even Seattle, but much much for pickpocketing and scamming in Europe.

Sneaky bastards...

remembers feeling a tug on my wallet chain while on a crowded subway in Rome. Looked the guy straight in the eye, and he did it again. They have chutzpah.

A friend of mine felt a tug on her purse in Manhattan. She turned right around, looked the guy right in the face and said, "Give me my wallet back." He responded with "check yourself first." Guess he was

unsuccessful. In that case, it was my pal who had the chutzpah.

Good luck getting it all sorted out.

the police here were more humane than U.S. police; no powertripping, no showing that they can toy with you however they want. That was good at least!

and Vodafone is volunteering to cancel Pete's mobile contract and let him do a new one including new phone. That seems incredible to me but businesses are far kinder here.

Wow! That's awesome!

amazing

it's not a done deal yet, but apparently it's a possibility. Even the possibility is pretty surprising.

so the police are pretty terrible in Italy, but the businesses were fantastic too

glad to hear the police are good there