Today, I am continuing to dip into my archives as part of my armchair travel series in the age of Covid-19. On Wednesday we visited Rome’s impressive colosseum. Today, Peggy and I go on a walk-about visiting various historic sites and dodging pickpockets. In terms of coronavirus, I had an amusing thought: It must be much harder for pickpockets to work when 6-foot social distancing is being practiced!
If you’ve been following this blog, you know we like to walk extensively when visiting a new city. It’s a good way to become acquainted with the region and its people. Plus it’s great exercise. While Rome is huge, the historic section is confined to a relatively small section. It was large enough, however, that we used mass transit for longer distances.
There were two challenges. The first was figuring out the where and when of catching a train in a language we didn’t speak. The second was that the subway is a great place for pickpockets, especially during rush hour. Rick Steves, in his book on Mediterranean Ports, was constantly admonishing us to be on theft alert.
Peggy, who is more paranoid than I, is always urging me to transfer my wallet to my front pocket when we are in a crowd. Sometimes I even comply. Once, she didn’t even have to ask. We were in Amsterdam and the city had put up huge banners across the streets warning people about thieves. Neither did I require urging in Rome. Folks in Southern Europe were suffering from serious Euro Deficit Dysfunction. Times were tough. We both wore money belts.
The stories are legendary about various scams. Travelers love to share tales. One of my favorites is a woman will ask you to hold her baby while her compatriots grab your wallet. No way was I going to hold a stranger’s baby. Heck, I’ll hardly hold the baby of a woman I know. Babies are known to burp and pee on you. Can you imagine the insult added to injury if a baby was burping and peeing on you while someone was stealing your wallet?
While the stories are fun, the problems are real. A man staying at our hotel lost 2000 euros. A woman told us she was waiting at the airport when a nicely dressed couple told her something was sprayed all over the back of her jacket. The woman took it off. Sure enough, the jacket was covered with green goop. While her husband took the jacket to the restroom to wash, the couple kept her company. They left when her husband returned. Only later did she realize that her purse left with them.
We were at the Termini, a major transfer point on Rome’s transit system, when our turn came. It was at the peak of rush hour and the train was crammed full. John, Peggy’s brother, and his wife Frances had climbed on first. Four little kids, maybe eight years old, jumped on in front of us. Peggy and I were squeezing in when John shouted. He had felt someone reaching in his back pocket. Meanwhile, the four little kids were trying to jump off the train. Peggy, being the ex-elementary school principal she is, thought the kids were confused and tried to shove them back on. The little pickpockets, of course, thought she was trying to collar them. They managed to escape just as the doors were closing. Fortunately, John was also wearing a money belt. He kept his euros and we had a story to tell.
Besides our experience with the pickpockets, we had managed to visit Trajan’s Column, the Trevi Fountains and the Pantheon on our day’s walk-about.
NEXT POST: No trip to Rome is complete without a trip to the Vatican.
Wandering through Time and Place 
Fun thought – pickpocket recession due to social distancing.
I have encountered pickpockets in London, Paris and most frequently in Barcelona [fortunately all unsuccessful but one who manged to get a pocket translator I was taking for repair] but it did not occur to me I never had the problem in the U.S. even when living in and visiting crowded cities. Maybe here mugging is more profitable.
I think that we drop our guard in a foreign country. We can take care of ourselves at home!
I knock on wood a lot. 🙂
I’m not sure pickpocketing is the same honored profession in the US as it is in some other countries, Ray. And I do think that pickpockets tend to target foreigners. But maybe you are right on the mugging business. Seems to go along with our fondness for guns?
I have wondered myself if pickpockets and burglars can apply to join the Government furlough scheme. It must be tough for them right now.
I was done with the green goo trick in Barcelona. The thief spent £2,700 on my credit card in less than 20 minutes. The bank accepted responsibility for lax security and promptly paid me back. PHEW!
Wow. Who would have ever thought that green goo would be so expensive! Glad the bank covered you. And I just had a great thought for a pickpocket. Train a pigeon to fly over and poop on a person’s forehead. That should be an effective distraction. 🙂
Beautiful photos and beautiful place to visit. Did you through any coins in Trevi
Fountain? I did, I thought you were supposed to make a wish. 😊.
miriam
Three coins, three wishes, right. 🙂 One to return to Rome, one to find true love, and one to get married. I’d already taken care of the second and third. Grin. But I wouldn’t mine returning to Rome. Thanks, Miriam
Makes me want to go back to Rome! Love the elephant by Bernini (anything by Bernini, really). Great post and great point about pick-pocketing in the time of social distancing. 🙂
I wonder if pickpockets can claim unemployment? 🙂 Thanks, Kelly.
Or have they been furloughed? 🙂
I suspect. 🙂 There will be a lot of catching up to do…
We had no problems with pickpockets in Rome, but were royally ripped off by a taxi driver there, and Don had his wallet lifted from his pocket in Antigua, Guatemala. They’re so stealthy and fast!
Alison
Being ‘taken for a ride’ by taxi drivers is a heck of a lot more common than being pickpocketed, Alison. 🙂
From everything I’ve read, pickpockets are masters of distraction. Paranoia is the only protection. Grin.
I think being taken for a ride by taxi drivers is a travellers rite of passage 🙂
I remember one of my first lessons was getting a quote up front. 🙂
Oh yes, we learned that one too. And then forgot again on this most recent trip to Malaysia with a boatman – facepalm! Such a rookie mistake.
We run into so many good folks, it’s easy to forget, Alison. 🙂
Wonderful..and good tips on potential tricks from pickpockets…
Thanks, Kelly.
Pickpockets are constantly searching for new approaches. 🙂 Have to keep ahead of the game, you know. –Curt
I keep my money passport in under my shirt waiste belt.. when around cities
A wise choice, Kelly. 🙂
I wore a money belt tucked under my shirt while I was in Italy to avoid pickpockets!
Very smart, Eric.
Your late night pingpong adventure and wet clothes had me smiling. –Curt
Bert was targeted by pickpockets on a very crowded, standing-room only subway in Athens, Greece. The pickpockets, professionals by trade I guess, watched as we got on. Then one stood right behind him — we were all extremely close — and tried to get his wallet out of his back pocket. Bert was quick, but it could have just as easily gone the other way. An incident like that colors your whole opinion of a place, but it shouldn’t. In fact, there were people who saw what was going on and they admonished the man, an immigrant from another country, as one person told us.
Glad Bert figured it out in time! It’s hard not to take someone ripping you off personally, Rusha. But I agree it’s wrong to hold it against a particular city or country. –Curt
Our whole trip could have gone south in a heartbeat!
Yeah, like oops!