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BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
Posts: 13196
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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Barcelona and we got robbed!
It was the classic ripoff strategy used all over the world:
guy comes to my window about 10 minutes after we pull into downtown Barcelona. YOU HAVE A FLAT. Les suggests I get out of the car and check it
because he felt no wavering at all. YES, it is flat I say. The next 10min are a blur of a guy moving back and forth in a car -right where Les is
getting the spare out. Another guy blabbing on and on in my face about where to get a mechanic blablabla. Then he disappears and the car takes off
and voila! I look in the car and my bag is gone. Les looks and his apnea machine is gone (thought it was a camera case). I go to a bar and the
youngster inside calls the police for me. Then I go back out and a car rides up and the guys hands me my purse saying: I saw that the action was
suspicious and I grabbed these two things - apnea machine and my purse. I tear up and thank him profusely and ask Les to give a reward - he is
looking in incredulously and refuses to give any cash. Long story short - gone is the cell phone. gone is my IPAD. gone are all the cards and cash
from my wallet and purse (not a lot mind you).
The police show up but we are horrible reporters - I didn't realize that every single person involved was part of the scam until much much later.
we changed the tire, found a hotel and went to file a police report. it was going to take all day (about 5 hours) so we left without filing. the
lady who was taking notes said she gets tons of reports using the same MO.
The good news is that Les had moved the passports to the suitcase. The good news is that my IPAD has a PIN and I think they cant get in??? The bad
news is that I could not access FIND MY IPAD because we had no device - I now know that I could have downloaded it right to my laptop. Too late.
It may be dumb, but I used that IPAD like it was an extension of my arm! I am really peeed off.
Yesterday the feeling was anger sadness anger sadness. Rollercoaster. We did take a tour of Barcelona and it is gorgeous but my heart was not in it.
So, I am trying to access the pics on iPhoto and haven't done it yet but we had a VERY fun day up to the crime and I will be reporting on it ....
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Barcelona is expensive - our hotel was higher than anywhere else, our meals were higher than anywhere else, the subway was double anywhere else.
Gaudi - the architect - outdid himself in being gaudy  )))))
The buildings are old and all have verandas with flowers.
The subway was a bit confusing.
The police were on the scene within minutes - three on motorcycles but we could not give good descriptions of the people or the cars!@#$%^&!!!!!
The tolls if you enter the city by car are really expensive - to the tune of $30 dollars at some of them. You can do non toll but it adds an hour to
the trip. The toll freeway was fantastic - not one pothole, smooth and pretty empty of traffic.
The scenery between Valencia and there is really pretty. Lots of Valencia orange trees, lots of olive trees with other veggies scattered about.
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We are now back at Peniscola - on the coast between Barcelona and Valencia. We ate the most delicious Italian meal which included
a huge mixed salad
a main dish - Les had lasagnette and I had pork. His was the *
a dessert of tiramisu for me and whisky ice cream for Les
a glass of beer and a glass of wine (could have chosen water)
all for 22 EUROS or $25.
Ok my son is trying to track the ipad for me with my FIND MY IPAD - not much I can do to get it but I want to know WHERE IT IS.
No pics yet but like I said - I will try to locate them on ICLOUD to show some places we went to on our way to Barcelona.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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So so sorry Blanca!!!
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Ateo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5901
Registered: 7-18-2011
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Damn! I'm sorry and wish I could help in some way. I was gonna offer to try and track the iPad but it sounds like your son has that duty. Glad no
one was hurt.
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durrelllrobert
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7393
Registered: 11-22-2007
Location: Punta Banda BC
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Mood: thriving in Baja
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I know the percentage of theifs in Barcelona is small, but...
While driving a rental car into there for the Summer Olympics in 1992 we stopped at a red light (no toll road then). A group of people were walking
across in the cross walk and a well dressed young man came over to the passenger side and was looking in the window. Suddenly he took a large rock out
of his pocket, smashed the window and grabbed the camera case off my ex-wife's lap and took off running. The people behind us saw it happened and the
driver took off running after him but he got away running down into a a large ditch.
The people behind us spoke English and had us follow them to their nearby home where they tapped a piece of cardboard over the broken window and
called the local office for the rental car and made arrangements for us to take our car there and exchange it for another.
Unfortunately the camera case not only contained an expensive 35mm camera and all of the extra lenses but it also had about 10 rolls of undeveloped
rolls of film documenting our previous tours of the UK, Italy Germany and Spain.
Bob Durrell
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Udo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6346
Registered: 4-26-2008
Location: Black Hills, SD/Ensenada/San Felipe
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Mood: TEQUILA!
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The worst part is losing the rolls of film.
I feel your pain!
Quote: Originally posted by durrelllrobert  | While driving a rental car into there for the Summer Olympics in 1992 we stopped at a red light (no toll road then). A group of people were walking
across in the cross walk and a well dressed young man came over to the passenger side and was looking in the window. Suddenly he took a large rock out
of his pocket, smashed the window and grabbed the camera case off my ex-wife's lap and took off running. The people behind us saw it happened and the
driver took off running after him but he got away running down into a a large ditch.
The people behind us spoke English and had us follow them to their nearby home where they tapped a piece of cardboard over the broken window and
called the local office for the rental car and made arrangements for us to take our car there and exchange it for another.
Unfortunately the camera case not only contained an expensive 35mm camera and all of the extra lenses but it also had about 10 rolls of undeveloped
rolls of film documenting our previous tours of the UK, Italy Germany and Spain. |
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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JZ
Select Nomad
Posts: 10557
Registered: 10-3-2003
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Have been to Barcelona about 10 times.
It is the well known pick-pocket capital of the world. I know 10+ people that have gotten hit. One girl had her pulse cut from the bottom with a
razor blade while standing on the train.
Gotta watch your chit there OP.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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Hate to watch my friends learning the hard way. Get the hell outta there.
"YOU CAN'T LITTER ALUMINUM"
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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Isn't Barcelona pushing for independence?
"YOU CAN'T LITTER ALUMINUM"
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vandenberg
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5118
Registered: 6-21-2005
Location: Nopolo
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Mood: mellow
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Hate to say it, but this happens all over the world. Paris is the known headquarters for pickpockets with its large gypsy population.
I've been had twice here in good old Mexico. Once in Mazatlan on a public transit bus and once in picturesque Guanajuato, where some jerk apparently
threw some nasty stuff on my slacks and, while trying to get it removed, managed to get my cash ( just came from an ATM) and was even so experienced
at it, that he removed credit cards out of my wallet, but leaving it in place. Took an hour to realize the card was gone. Some of these folks are
experts at this game. I was brought up in the city and am far from naive, but these Fagans of the world are all around us.
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9010
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
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Mood: Inquisitive
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Great. I will be there for four nights in late September.
But it's not like I will be unaware. BARCELONA is the pick-pocket capital of the world, not Paris. It's legendary for it.
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Whale-ista
Super Nomad
Posts: 2009
Registered: 2-18-2013
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Sunny with chance of whales
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Aghhh! So sorry to read this- hope your Ipad will be found before they break in and reset it... yuch. Do your photos stream to the cloud? That
helps...
In 2013, my sister and I took our mini Ipads to Europe for 3 weeks of travel. I noticed they were quite the novelty that summer as we held them up to
take photos over the heads of crowds- drew lots of curious stares from young people who know/use technology, and had not seen the minis in their
market.
(Fortunately- no one tried to "adopt" ours. They both returned home, stuffed with 1000s of photos.)
One note re:Barcelona- I was walking in a Barcelona Park with a friend- he was a bit in front as I took photos, when suddenly he came walking quickly
back to confront a man who had been approaching me from behind and looked suspicious to him.
Was the stranger intending to do me harm? Grab me? My bag...? I'm glad I didn't find out...
Be safe as your continue your travels... thanks for sharing your adventures, good & otherwise...
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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motoged
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6481
Registered: 7-31-2006
Location: Kamloops, BC
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Mood: Gettin' Better
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Our hearts go out to you guys.....it is sometimes difficult to not be angry, etc......when you are victims of a crime....
Don't believe everything you think....
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BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
Posts: 13196
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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thanks for the kind words! we hightailed out of Barcelona, not wanting to temp fate. I am having trouble accessing icloud photos but I know I will
do it.
Barcelona is a wonderful city - I cant stress how wonderful the regular folk were.
Last night as we had dinner in a small pub-like place, I was on the internet with my son in the air force when Les decided he would go to the ATM for
more cash, the waiter said it was on the corner and he says to me - jokingly - come get me if I don't come back and we smiled at each other. Being
so spooked by the whole steal my purse incident, I had my laptop and nothing else with me.
so 15 minutes go by ....it was a holiday, so I figure maybe there was a long line. 30 minutes go by and I am now seriously concerned. After 45
minutes, I get up and ask if I can leave my computer on the table while I go to the corner to look for Les. Too dangerous they say.So, I ask if I
can leave it with them at the bar (reasoning being if I leave my laptop, they will know that I intend to come back and pay for our drinks). Too hot
here and no room they answer. Leave it up front. so I hand it to a lady and as I am walking out, Les appears and I break into tears! He was as
surprised as I was - too much for this lady in one day. He had gone to 4 or 5 different machines and all were out of cash.....he wanted the cash for
our trip to Peniscola today. The waiters and waitresses all came to see what was up and I tell them about the incident that morning and how I was
afraid that something had happened to Les. They served us some free deliciously prepared chilis and I discovered that 3 people working there were
Brazilian and we chatted away. Nice ending eh?
thanks all for your kind words and if I had the chance to come again I would! This is an amazing country with tons of history that is radically
different from Mexico, England, Italy, US, Brazil.
Sangria is wonderful.
Churros with chocolate is wonderful.
Music and dance is outstanding.
Paella is great and we bought a paella dish to prepare it traditional way
Every single person we asked for directions helped us immediately
Catalan is very exotic and really captured my interest
Regarding independence: there is a major movement to make everything Catalan. Classes are all taught in Catalan, if a shop puts a sign in only
Spanish, there is a fine. If they put Spanish first and Catalan second on the sign - there is a fine. It is a very strange language to my ear - a
mixture of Portuguese - latin - French and little Spanish????
Tomorrow we leave and we still haven't decided what we will do with the last day.....
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AKgringo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6027
Registered: 9-20-2014
Location: Anchorage, AK (no mas!)
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Mood: Retireded
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Sounds like a hell of a trip so far, I hope that is the last hiccup you have.
It is a shame you won't be home to welcome the other Blanca to Baja!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
Posts: 13196
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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I hope she fizzles out!
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vandenberg
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5118
Registered: 6-21-2005
Location: Nopolo
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Mood: mellow
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She will and you won't. 
Have a great trip.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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And to think Barcelona got the Olympics in '92.
"YOU CAN'T LITTER ALUMINUM"
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Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
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Barcelona is in the part of Spain that was part of the Ottoman empire way back when. Its unique architecture is a remnant of that time. Just perhaps
it has become a magnet for street Crime is because it has become a major embarkation and disembarkation city for Mediterranean cruises for a bunch of
major cruise ship lines. There are times when there are thousands of unsuspecting tourists walking the streets, courtesy of Carnival, Princess,
Norwegian, Etc,
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SFandH
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7084
Registered: 8-5-2011
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According to World Nomads dot com, Barcelona IS the pickpocket capital of the world.
Interesting descriptions of popular MOs:
http://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/spain/Barcelona-Pic...
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oxxo
Banned
Posts: 2347
Registered: 5-17-2006
Location: Wherever I am, I'm there
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Mood: If I was feeling any better, I'd be twins!
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We were in Barcelona a couple of days a month ago. We were not that impressed. Very crowded and very confusing. We much preferred Malaga/Granada
and the Alhambra was fantastic. But the sleeper along the Costa del Sol was Cartagena, and old, old Roman town with a coliseum. The prices are much
less in Andalucia compared to Catalonia, and my Spanish was very passable there, not so in Barcelona. I got into an amicable discussion (in English)
with some students at a separatist booth along the street in Barcelona. Reminded me of my days at Berkeley a long time ago. They are totally
committed to seceding from Spain. I told them "buena suerte", they are going to need it.
Will we go back to Barcelona........maybe. We will go back to Andalucia.......definitely, we are making plans now. However, of all the places we
have traveled in Spain, our number one favorite is San Sabastian in the Basque country - best tapas (pinxos) restaurants in the world!
We really like Spain (better than France or Italy in our opinion) and there are many interesting sights to see. It is just that Barcelona is way down
the list for us.
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