I think I was mistaken for a hooker in Milan last night!

Quite scary; you were a smart cookie in not getting in that car! That said, areas near Italian subway stations seem to be of particular notoriety after dark, so travelers beware. In May 1993 I stayed behind to watch the Rome Colosseum nights lights while my husband went to the hotel to rest. We were staying at the Sheraton Roma and there is a subway station within close proximity. There is this nice family park near the hotel and the station. Well, after dark that pleasant family park turns into an outdoor brothel and drugs outlet. I have never been more scared in my life than walking back to that hotel. On the way, cars stopped and asked and proposition. I sprinted for the hotel as fast as I could.

I suspect prostitutes know when someone is offering them business.

Why someone would "show credentials" I cannot imagine...what was the point of that?

Dukey asks,

>Why someone would "show credentials" I cannot imagine...what was the point of that?<

To lure the victim into thinking that it was safe to get into the car.

Hi NC,

>... a car pulled over and the man called to me and said he was a policeman, ...informed me that I was walking in a dangerous neighborhood..<

In English?

Could have been a policeman.

Still, safer to have refused the ride.

Possible nasty experience avoided. Well done.

Milan has a seamy side with high levels of drug (needles in the street) and prostitution.

Having booked into a hotel which was basicailly a hookers office when younger I noticed the following.

Prostitutes generally in Milan dress down as Milanese women dress very well all the time.

However there are certain streets which are basically hooker avenues and you should not walk after dark on these alone. The milanese will know this and avoid. Probably best to ask reception about walking at night in Milan

Another good reason to avoid Milan.

I think I was mistaken for a prostitute years ago in France. It was disturbing altho' not risky or frightening.

My friend and I were staying in a small pensione in Nice. The place seemed normal enough but at night we would hear distant voices and music like all night partying, but the noises were muffled and we couldn't tell where they were coming from.

There was a cafe on the first level, which also looked normal enough. One afternoon I was sitting there drinking a Fanta, minding my business, and a Frenchman seated at the table next to me suddenly leaned over and asked, in accented English: "Very much money, love in the room, you and me?"

I really don't look or dress like a hooker, and have no idea where he got that idea, unless the place was connected to a brothel. To this day I've never figured the whole thing out. Anyway, I gave him a dirty look and told him he was crazy and booted out of there in a hurry. But the experience really upset me.

Hmmmmmm. Well, you have come up with a possible solution for beating the high cost of the euro to the dollar.

Neo - LOL

To answer the OP - No it has never happened to me. (Damn)

I have no doubt that ncounty, Viajero2, and panecott found their experiences unpleasant. I suspect that the character who told ncounty that he was a policeman was telling the truth, but I think she was wise to decline his offer -- 99% confidence is not enough in such circumstances.

But I suggest that none of the three was in much danger. Men who are prepared to pay for sex are not very likely to abduct a woman who is not in the market. In many cases, areas where there is prostitution are well-policed, either by the official police or by pimps. Such streets can be relatively safe; the danger starts when a woman gets into a car.

But straying alone into such an area is not an experience that many women would enjoy.

Yes, but my experience was in Florence. We had dined at a restaurant and decided to stop for a gelato. Because my feet were hurting I stayed on the street corner while my husband went for the gelato, and up came a man driving a Mercedes. He pulled up and propositioned me; fortunately my husband saw what was going on and ran back. This was not even in a bad neighborhood, and I certainly was not dressed in a way to attract attention.

LOL, men!!!

Twice when in Rome I have had Roman businessmen try to "pick me up". Neither mentioned paying anything though. I think they thought they were so "hot" that..well you know!

At least you've got a great cocktail party story

>..I stayed on the street corner while my husband went for the gelato,..<

What is a man to think when he sees a woman standing on a street corner at night?

ira asked: "What is a man to think when he sees a woman standing on a street corner at night?"

In a perfect world: nothing much -- thoughts like not bumping into her, perhaps admiring her if she appeals to his eye (and no more than that).

The world is not perfect.

Better a hooker than a hausfrau.

I'd only be insulted if the offers were at the low end of the monetary scale.

Ira, thanks for clarifying the "credentials" bit...makes sense.

I cannot imagine "avoiding" Milan because it has some prostitutes and some street crime, however.

"I cannot imagine "avoiding" Milan because it has some prostitutes and some street crime, however."

Gee, if you avoided every place that has prostitutes (not to mention street crime) you'd have to stay home!!! Is there a city in the world that has NO such thing as a prostitute?

"Another good reason to avoid Milan"

And NYC, Berlin, LA, London, Houston, Paris, St. Louis, Rome, Boston, Madrid, Atlanta, Budapest, Seattle, Munich, Boise, Genoa, etc.

Great thinking there, degas. Why not avoid the world?

MvK

I was raised in a tiny "Christian" town of Farmersville, Ohio -- population about 750. You'd have to avoid it too, as I KNOW there were actually TWO prostitutes there.

I couldn't even stay at home because there is more than enough prostitution in my city. The same could happen in particular streets here, too. So what shall I do...?

Better be mistaken for a prostitute than for a slut. At least they were ready to pay for you.

hi,ncounty,

dismiss the idea that this was anything to do with how you were dressed or comported yourself. I was propositioned on Chancery Lane [London, street full of lawyers offices] once! luckily it was in day light and I was able to walk away, no harm done.

but I readily understand how unpleasant this feels, unlike most men who i find just laugh it off, I think because they don't percieve the physical threat in the way we do.

the best example of this i ever had was emerging from St. John smith Square Church [Mayfair; london again] after a concert, DH, who was walking down the street no more than 2 yards away from me, and clearly with me, was propositioned by some street "ladies". He was flattered, and thought it very funny. i was outraged.

regards, ann

>.. I readily understand how unpleasant this feels,..<

You are correct, Ann, it can be unpleasant.

However, if no harm has been done, it does become a matter of mild humor, does it not?

Many years ago my sister and I, both American college students at the time, were waiting for my brother and father in Berlin.

It was a bright sunny Tuesday, about noon. We strolled up a main street, one with a lot of traffic, to a pretty leafy green park and were standing talking to each other. A minute later a car pulled up near us and a man opened the passenger-side door and said something to us in German. We just looked at him in confusion and told him we didn't speak German. He looked quite irritated and sped off. About three minutes later, different car, different man, same thing happened. Five minutes after that it happened again! We were pretty dense (as I'm sure is obvious), but even we, sophisticates that we were, started to think, "Hey, this is weird."

Then we looked further down the street and noticed that there were a few attractive young women, in very revealing clothes, stationed at intermittent points further along the road. We finally figured out we were being mistaken for prostitutes. Which explained how irritated the men were when we declined their kind offers of ... we didn't know what exactly.

In our inexperience, we had only associated prostitutes with gritty city neighborhoods with bars and liquor stores and nightclubs at NIGHT - not leafy green parks on a Tuesday noontime.

Anyway, we still laugh about the "Berlin lunch-hour rush" and the wave of impotence we may have inadvertently caused to men who thought even prostitutes were turning them down!

P.S. Many years later, I met a man from Berlin and started telling him this story. As soon as I got to the part where I said, "My sister and I were standing in such-and-such a park...", he started laughing. He knew exactly what had happened. I guess we were the only people in the known universe who didn't know ahead of time about the Berlin lunch-hour rush.

padraig- I strongly disagreed that we (girls who have been mistaken by hookers while overseas (urghhh!)) were in no danger. More frequently than not, prostitution and drugs dealings go hand in hand and hanged around the same type crowd. While I have no doubts I can stand up to a male proposing sex, I am not so sure what intentions or what mindset a drugged person might be in. very risky situation.

Again, travelers: beware of the park near Sheraton Roma after dark and Calle La Montera in Madrid (out of a Pedro Almodovar movie...).

Viajero, I did not say that you were in no danger; I suggested that you were not in much danger. There is a difference, and I was aware of it when I made my post.

Yes, I do know that prostitution is often associated with drug dependency. It is usually the women, often their pimps, and not very much their clients who have the drug problems. Essentially many prostitutes are trying to earn money to feed a drug habit. In general, those women are not a threat to other women passing by. The main exception would be if they thought you were on the game yourself and invading their patch.

That said, I still think that is a very disturbing experience for any woman to wander into such an environment, and one to be avoided if possible.

hi, Ira,

I don't often disagree with you.

However, once you've been approached as the OP was, it tends to undermine confidence, and thereby may restrict activities unnecessarily.

regards, ann

NeoPatrick: Hmmmmmm. Well, you have come up with a possible solution for beating the high cost of the euro to the dollar. >>>>

LOL! Well, my encounter happened many years ago. I doubt I'd get the same offer today.

Just back from Milan and catching up. Thanks for all your feedback. I wore the very same outfit to work today just to test the scenario....no eyebrows raised. I would say that at that moment, I was rather concerned and in a bit of a fight or flight mode. Looking back on it, it is pretty funny and a bit dramatic. Particularly ironic since I am a 46 year old Ivy league grad physician, not some 26 year old hot babe. And on top of that, I was wearing glasses! Hookers don't wear glasses, right?! Well, I've had some rollicking adventurous stories over the years of traveling and have been lucky enough to escape many situations unscathed. I had a fantastic week in Lake Como, Milan, and Bergamo and would have missed many great sights and adventures if I always chose to play it safe. It helps to keep a good radar on for potential risks and be ready to beat a hasty retreat. Sometimes it is just hard to know though....I remember walking the dirt streets of Kathmandu in 1989 wondering how I would possibly know if I was in the equivalent of southcentral LA. It all looked the same, dirt poor. As for me, the sense of adventure and exploration is worth the risk.

Of course hookers wear glasses. Have you never heard of a "spectacle" job?

On the other side of the coin..a male family memember who is an attorney for a branch of the US government was in SF for a conference His hotel room was on Sutter or Bush close to VanNess. He walked from his hotel to his conference early each morning and he was constantly propositioned about every 15 feet by a woman of the street. I loved his answer as it was always "sorry I am not a morning person", lol.

A good looking woman dressed in her absolutely best designer drag, with a great haircut, perfect makeup and $500 shoes can find out how easy it is to be "mistaken" for a pro just by stopping by (alone or with a similar colleague) for a drink at the bar of a 5-star hotel. Of course these gals earn two pair of those shoes in a night, so ...

Many many (Many!) years ago as a young single newly-arrived in Manhattan, I lucked into a rent-controlled apartment on charming Gramercy Park. I moved in with NO furniture and quickly ordered tables chairs beds -- but delivery would take a few days.

A friend across the park offered to lend me a rollaway bed, so one evening the 2 of us trundled along the park with said rollaway. A convertible pulled up and a good-looking guy called out, "This is wonderful! Curb service!" We laughed so hard we nearly fell off our 4-inch I.Miller heels. (Not tramp shoes, just nostalgic footwear note).

Underhill, when I was a college student and had to wait around in NYC for my girlfriend to arrive from Boston -- bus or train -- I was constantly propositioned by businessmen -- most of them apparently on their way home to their wives and children. And I am male!

Hanging around apparently signals availability -- even if you're only waiting for your partner/spouse!