Quick recap for those who haven’t seen my Instagram posts: My purse was stolen earlier this week when we were finishing a very pleasant lunch at a restaurant nearby. Let me say immediately that we are experienced and fairly savvy travellers, to Europe at least. We’ve taken the same reasonably cautious approach for something like 20 trips to Paris, about 10 to Rome, numerous visits to other cities where tourists are often targeted for theft. Never a problem.
I’d have preferred to keep our average at 0 thefts per visit, but overall, we’re keeping the situation in perspective. I had put my bag on the floor under the table, and I won’t do that again. Mea culpa. Live and learn. I’m not going to let the experience change our enjoyment of new places and experiences, although I will admit that I’m hyper-vigilant at the moment. Also must admit it’s freeing but strange not to have a purse to carry. I do have a small, lightweight, sporty bag that snaps ’round the waist or can be worn cross-body, so enough for the essentials. Not many essentials when you don’t even have a wallet anymore! Nor comb, nor lipstick, nor chapstick, nor. . .
I will also admit that being without identification or bank access/credit status far from home is a destabilizing experience and that I’ve been feeling vulnerable. Fortunately, I’m travelling with my husband, and although we cancelled my cards immediately, we have his. We have a week apart later in our itinerary, and I will have to use cash for that. Also looking on the bright side, I was able to test my Italian with the carabinieri — who were wonderfully reassuring and helpful, very kind. Luckily, Paul was carrying both our Green Pass (Canadian equivalents, that is) and our Passenger Locator Forms, so there was some documentation of my identity, and I had followed advice to have a photo of my passport. Oh, and huge bonus: I had my iPhone, which could just as easily have been in my bag. So, Whew! Big Whew!!
Also reassuring, kind, helpful, the Canadian Embassy people, including the Italian security guards who do the initial processing. The robbery happened on Tuesday afternoon; I was at the carabinieri shortly after while Paul called to cancel cards and made appointment at the Embassy; Wednesday morning I applied for the new passport (forms to fill, an interview, a clear explanation of process). . . and yesterday I picked up my pretty new Temporary Passport. I will continue to carry my copy of the Declaration of Theft made at the police station in case I need to explain the temporary documentation, but we should be able to board our train next week, bound for Sicily
Meanwhile, I’ve much more to share, but it’s been a stressful few days and I’m conserving energy. And working to re-focus on my good fortune and privilege in being here. Che bella, Roma! Back in Vancouver, the temperatures are still cool and my friends and family report that it’s still raining. . . Here, we’ve had mainly sunny skies, and if we wear a sweater or light jacket in the morning, we’ve wrapped it around our waist or tucked it in our bag (well, I can’t do that anymore!) by mid-afternoon. And fragrant blooms in glorious colour everywhere.
I love the more lowly flowers as well (ha! see what I did there? 😉
Might even have made a daisy chain or two for La Ragazzina, our delightful granddaughter. . .
More wisteria, in the beautifully tranquil Cimitero Acattolico, where I sat and sketched William Story’s Angel of Grief, only hours before the theft of my bag upended my day. Yep, that sketch was in my sketchbook which was. . . .in my purse. That one hurt! It was a pretty decent sketch and it is quite likely to improve immeasurably in my memory, so perhaps there’s a bonus to be found there as well. . .
I went back to the hotel yesterday for a quick nap (all these 8-15kilometre days!), and Paul sent me this photo from his bench in a nearby rose garden. Might have to go back with him later to see for myself . . .
Geraniums in the Cimiterio. . .
So much majesty and grandeur in Rome, beauty burnished through centuries. But I’m also struck by the gentler, more intimate sights. Those Cercis flower petals nestled between cobblestones. Centuries of weathering here as well. . . .
La Ragazzina spotted these poppies, and insisted they should be photographed. She was right! She also insisted on being photographed with them, and I did that as well. I have SO many photos of this girl! Treasuring our time together. More on that in a future post.
But that’s all I have time for this morning. Sunny outside, still crisp and fresh, an abundance of birdsong, some glass and tin being smashed around by a recycling pick-up, all sights and sounds urging me out the door. Planning to wander across the river to Trastevere, not quite aimlessly — I’m looking for an angel to sketch (of the carved variety), and Paul has a line on a place that serves very good sandwiches. Will report back later.
Ciao for now,
xo,
f
Mater, So distressing to hear of the theft of your bag. We have visited Italy many times and, looking to make lemonade from the lemons you have been offered, I have always found it to be a country full of lovely handbags just waiting to come home with you. Perhaps some lovely leatherwork will soothe the soul.
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It’s true — I’m spoiled for choice if I decide to replace here!
I’m so sorry you were targeted by thieves . I had no problems when travelling with my husband over the years . He turns into a pickpocket spotter when abroad & I’m constantly told ‘ watch your bag ‘ . It’s almost as stressful as having it stolen ! I did have my purse lifted out of my bag when in Majorca with my sisters & it was a very strange feeling . Fortunately the important stuff was in a moneybelt around my waist underneath my clothes so they only got a small amount of cash in an old purse . I find it more relaxing to leave good stuff at home . Moneybelts aren’t comfortable in very hot weather but they save a lot of bother . Anyway , you’re back on track now & I love the flowery photos . I’m looking forward to the next batch .
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I find moneybelts uncomfortable also, but I will have to make a few adjustments, obviously.
And for the record, I’ve been the one to tell my husband to watch his bag! 😉
So sorry to hear that your bag was stolen, it must have been such an upsetting experience. I’m glad you had good support from the authorities, it does help when people in these positions are sympathetic. At least you didn’t have your phone in the bag – but your sketch book, what a loss! Enjoy the rest of your vacation.
Wilma
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Thank you! It was upsetting! But can’t help noting my fortune and privilege in being able to resolve the situation. I’ve bought a new little sketchbook and will share some sketches soon.
Horrid that someone stole your bag.
In Paris 3 years ago, our savvy tour leader said leave everything in the safe in the hotel that you don’t need.
First day on the walk down to the bateau-mouche, one lady with a large backpack purse had her wallet stolen.
$400 dollars gone, credit cards to cancel and, yes, tears and anguish and a lot of time and energy wasted. My husband is adamant about the safe in the hotel. A wonderful Frenchman prevented myself and my nieces from someone stealing on the metro 25 years ago in Paris!
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To be honest, we never use a hotel safe, and while I should clearly have left at least one card in the hotel, the other was with me because I use it regularly when here, as we do at home. And a colleague of my husband’s had her bag stolen in a good restaurant in Montreal years ago, at a table with five or six colleagues, none of whom saw the bag taken. It’s good to find the security approach that suits our travelling styles and our lifestyle in general, and I’m clearly going to have to review mine — but I’ll keep in mind that this is the first time in almost 20 years of annual trips to Europe . . . and that the last time my purse was stolen (25+ years ago), it was from the back/staff room of a little bookstore I worked in part-time, in small-town Canada. Still, I’d like to keep that kind of distance between occurrences 😉
Being a victim of theft leaves one feeling very vulnerable, especially so far away from home. I’m glad you’ve been able to navigate the card canceling and passport replacing. A few years ago, you sent me a postcard of the Angel of Grief and I have it still. It’s such a powerful statue of utter desolation. I’m sorry you lost the sketchbook.
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I’d forgotten about sending out those postcards! That was when I invited readers to write a short-short-story about the Queen Elizabeth Park sculptures, wasn’t it?! Oh my! Yes, I’m not sure how Story managed what he did in the time he had between his wife’s death and his own, but all his grief is surely distilled into that angel’s posture. “utter desolation” — exactly right!
I second Kristine Barge’s suggestion. The leather bags, shoes and gloves that I purchased in Rome in the 1970’s are still in use and looking good!
Your photographs of Rome in April are beautiful! Kudos on your ability to find and photograph such loveliness.
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Wow! Impressive that you’re still using those leather goods! I’m definitely tempted here, although I’d gotten very specific in my demands of a purse by the time I bought that one.
Thank you so much for your comment on my photographs — really, they’re almost composed and framed everywhere I turn!
I’m so sorry to hear of your theft in Rome. It seems like no matter how experienced a traveler once thinks he or she is, eventually petty theft happens. Ours happened in Naples (other than the pizza and the Capodimonte Museum, Naples not my favorite as a result…). A very kind waiter in a outdoor cafe in Barcelona once warned me not to sling my bag over my seat back…now I will add putting in on the ground beneath me! Hope the remainder of your trip goes smoothly- we head back to Italy and Sicily in September so I am following your blog avidly.
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I’ve only visited Naples once, for a few hours, with a cold! Hope to go back some day because the pizza was amazing and I loved the street scenes, but chaotic and overwhelming they were! Easy to imagine losing a bag there. . .
Yesterday, eating outdoors in Trastevere, I was tempted to tell my story to three women I saw at neighbouring tables, each of whom had her bag on the floor near her feet. . . all Italians, possibly even locals. So I felt somewhat less stupid, or less culpable, at least. . .
I am enjoying your beautiful photos and sympathizing with your bag theft. I recently left my carry-on bag on a shuttle bus at the airport and although it didn’t contain my wallet or phone it DID have my (favorite costume) jewelry, Kindle and new reading and sunglasses. I was so upset. My wonderful husband went back on a bus to the rental car place, retraced our steps, and found it (intact). Meanwhile, back at the airport, I was practicing deep, meditative yoga breathing to stay calm. All this to say, I completely feel for you as my anxiety level shocked me and I admire you so much for not letting your loss ruin your trip.
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Oh dear! I once left the smaller cross-body bag containing all the important stuff — flight tickets, passport, credit cards, etc. — in the taxi that dropped us off at Montreal airport (Why I’d taken it off, I don’t understand!) . . . Luckily, we’d had the hotel order the cab, so the new which company to call, but the driver was on his lunch and not answering dispatch. He did get the message and came back eventually, but that was a very tense hour. I sympathize with you — that adrenaline really surges!
So sorry to hear of the theft, but it sounds like you’re taking it into stride rather well and perhaps this is an unexpected opportunity to buy a new purse! Very unfortunate to have lost your sketchbook though! Your photos are gorgeous and I look forward to seeing more.
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I do mind losing the sketchbook! Still, although I wouldn’t choose to have this happen, obviously, “letting go” is probably a skill that could use some occasional exercise in our privileged lives. At least that’s how I try to frame this when I’m feeling stalwart and sturdy 😉 And obviously it gets easier with lapsed time.
Oh, I’m so sorry. No matter how we phrase it, adjusting mindsets/inner critics, etc it’s still, at the very least, a major pain. So great that you can acknowledge the kindness of others. Take care and enjoy!
Author
You speak the truth, Genevieve! Trying to re-frame, but it’s still a blow and a nuisance. Thank you!
I have had my bag or purse stolen several times in the last decades: in Mexico City (very dramatic), in Lima (more than once, rather annoying), and, about two years ago, in my rather insignificant and boring home town, while getting off the tram. At least, some of these events make good stories when enough time has lapsed. The theft in Mexico (in 1979) had all it takes: a considerable loss (passport with stamp of entry into the country, traveller’s cheques), danger (my bag was slit with a knife, and later the police told me that the same might happen to bags’ owners if they resist), my own responsibility (for carrying all this stuff around), drama (a booked flight ahead and a weekend in between), and a happy ending (I did get a provisional passport from the embassy) with a twist (the officer at the Mexican Ministry of the Interior where I had to ask for a new entry stamp finally gave it to me “for my beautiful blue eyes”…)
I am happy to see that a visit to the Cimitero accatolico is turning into a regular feature of you Rome trips.
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Oh, Eleonore, I’m glad to hear that you’ve weathered all this and not allowed it to deter your adventurous spirit. Not at all surprised, having met you. Those are all very good stories to tell — I’ll have to start shaping and polishing my own 😉
We’re so close to the Cimitero here on the Aventine Hill, and it’s such a deeply peaceful place, as you well know.
So sorry to hear that,Frances,and I’m really happy that you’re better and that things are well again.
It is the second story I’ve heard about stolen bag in Rome this year -this is a traveller’s nightmare indeed
Check italian bags,as was recommended above,I love them
Dottoressa
Author
As the lovely woman at the Canadian Embassy pointed out, after two years of having their activities severely curtailed, the thieves are back with a vengeance. . .
I will definitely be looking at Italian bags, but might also just replace my own when I get back home — I really liked it!
So sorry that this happened. I have never had anything stolen while traveling abroad but I did have my wallet stolen years ago. My friend and I had spent the day in Manhattan. we decided to have a glass if wine before she grabbed the subway back to Brooklyn and I got on the train back to the suburbs. I had placed my tote style bag in the floor at my feet and when I looked down at it it was lying on the side. I knew immediately. Of course it was a pain replacing my drivers license, credit cards, etc. Lesson learned. happy you were able to get help and the trip was not ruined. those flowers, the riot of color, are just glorious!
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Yes, just like that, it happens, and that unmistakable knowledge sinks in — so sickening. Still, not sure I want to, or could, live in constant vigilance, and there’s only so much one can beat oneself up, right? I’ll certainly be more careful for some time to come!
But, but…it is so annoying to eat a meal with a bag across your body! Resting in your lap, with a napkin lying precariously across it. Which napkin then slides off and when you bend down to retrieve it the bag swings forward and oh argh…
You are fine though thankfully in the scheme of things but I would have replaced that Chapstick at once. 🙂
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It was actually Burt’s Bees and I haven’t yet wanted to know if I can’t find it here. . . 😉
But your first paragraph — this is exactly what I will end up struggling with, despite my awareness my system might have security weaknesses. . .
Sorry to hear this. If it makes you feel any better, my wallet was deftly stolen out of my bag on a bus in Rome, and my husband was the victim of pickpockets in both Mexico City and Athens. It happens. Glad our embassy was helpful! Put it behind you and enjoy the rest of your trip…and maybe a new bag!
Author
Viaggiare vale la pena! It’s well worth it, travel, with all its occasional hassles. Absolutely. . .
Whew, sorry for the inconvenience! We have had a few losses. (I learned not to carry my backpack on my with my wallet in the exterior pocket!) In some settings (crowds, mostly) I have stashed my credit card in my bra. Eagle Creek make a discreet silk “Bra Stash” envelope but I’ve also just stuck it in. Also, I take another cc. and keep it in the hotel, in case.
The bright side is that no force or threat was applied. I’m with Beth… a new bag beckons!
Sorry, left out a word: carry my backpack on my •back• Especially on transit.
Ugh, Frances, so sorry to hear about the bag. One thing I do when I must place my bag on the floor in a restaurant is to place one foot through one (or both, if there are two) of the bag’s straps. This method at least makes it a little tougher for someone to quietly slip away with your bag.
Ugh so sorry! Not fun at all. I hope nobody grabbed it or pushed you or anything. Glad Rome’s flora stepped in to make up for its thieves.
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Neither grabbing nor pushing. Just some very crafty sleight-of-hand or some such magic. . .
Sigh. Hopefully the thief was someone who really needed your stuff (somehow this comforts me when I have theft experiences, most recently bikes). When I used to travel with the government of your neighbor to the south they told us to go to the Canadian Embassy if ours was inaccessible in an emergency. Never needed to but it was always marked on my travel maps.
ceci
Author
Yes, well, I could hope for that. . . (when I’m not hoping that they try to use my brand new fountain pen and somehow trigger a gushing release of the black, water-resistant ink and ruin a favourite shirt. . . .)
Interesting advice that reflects the friendlier relationship I remember across our borders. . .
Hello Frances – I follow your blog for the reading lists as I’m a soon to be retired public librarian. Reading and travel are my favorite pasttimes.
We are planning our first trip to Italy in Fall 2023. My husband and I will be traveling with my sister and her fiancé so sharing won’t be a problem. We’re thinking a week in Rome and then on to Tuscany for two weeks. We’re using a company called Untours for Tuscany but need a recommendation for lodging in Rome. We would like to economize but realize that may translate to inconvenient. Is there an area or even a specific hotel or apartment you can recommend? Travestere is reasonably priced but may be too far removed from attractions these first time travelers may want to visit.
Thank you so much!
Author
Exciting! That’s a lovely itinerary already — I’d love to spend more time in Tuscany!
All my recommendations are influenced by the fact that I really like to walk a city. . . that said, the first time we were in Rome we only had three days and we stayed at a place very close to the Piazza Navona (Navona King B&B, I believe it was called, and there’s a Navona Queen in the same building, run by the same people — but we were there in 2014). Since then, our daughter’s family lived for a few years very close to the Spanish Steps and we stayed with them but also in a few other B&B’s (NOT Air BnB’s but something closer to a hotel) right in that central area. We enjoyed the convenience and even the buzz of being so close to everything. Since our daughter’s family moved outside of the city, we generally stayed there when visiting, but I’ve also stayed on my own in a hotel in Monti, very close to everything also, and an attractive neighbourhood. And our last two visits we stayed in Rome again, in the Aventine neighbourhood (Hotel Aventino). Lovely, residential, treed, much quieter. . . and close enough depending on how much you like to walk or are happy to take a cab. I think that Trastevere could be similarly “close enough” — and remember that it has many attractions in the neighbourhood that will shape your perspective on Rome. There’s something special about creating our own Rome, seeing or doing something idiosyncratic or serendipitous. . . Maybe make a list of some of your “can’t miss” attractions and get Google Maps to plot walking routes for you from a few hotels under consideration. All part of the fun of planning, right? Does this help at all?