Heather

Seeing the message that if you rub the boar's snout in Florence, you will return ... Along with kissing the Blarney Stone to gain the gift of eloquence, making a wish as your gondola passes under the Bridge of Sighs, throwing a coin in Trevi Fountain, what are some other good beliefs (old wives' tales) for different places? Where should I make my wishes? And, I won't even ask what I should be rubbing for luck ...

Capo

Similar to the Trevi Fountain in Rome, it's said that if you take a drink from the Canaletes (sp?) fountain, at the "top" of La Rambla, you're destined to return to Barcelona. <BR> <BR>So I'm keeping my bags packed. :~)

s.fowler

Not Europe, but if you toss a penny overboard as the ferry passes Bryant Light in Nantucket Harbor [Massachusetts] you will return. Didn't work last time

Book Chick

Heather, <BR>Our gran used to tell us if your left palm itched while in Ireland, you would win the Irish sweepstakes. (Think someone had been dipping into her bottle of Harp a bit too often!) <BR>BC

shirley

When I was in Florence, I was told that if when you put a coin in the boar's mouth and it fell through the grate at the base when you released it your wish would come true. I wished for someone to come into my life and the coin didn't fall through. However after trying it again that evening, two Italian men approached my friend and me and one of them stayed in my life for the next 10 months. I also returned to Florence so maybe it works for both wishes and return visits.

ilisa

At Montserrat in Spain, if you rub the ball in the Black Virgin's hand, you will supposedly be pregnant within 9 months. Interestingly enough, I was pregnant a month later!

wes fowler

There is an arcade at house number 8 (L'Etoile)in Brussels Grand Place. In it is a statue memorializing the 14th century alderman, Everard 't Serclaes. He led the guilds as they struggled against the dictates of Louis de Male, Count of Flanders. Attacked by Louis' henchmen, he died in L'Etoile. Stroke his arm as thousands have, and you're sure to have good fortune.

Diane

You'll return to Capri if you make that wish with your hand on the Sculpture of the Sphinx on the terrace of Axel Munthe's mansion gazing out at the lovely view -- even if it is hopelessly fogged in at the time!

Mariarosa

In the Boboli Gardens in Florence, there's a of Pietro Barbino, Cosimo I's court dwarf, representing Bacchus. Legend says that if young women rub Bacchus' big tummy, they'll get a good husband. I was mortified when I was 11 (in my first trip to Europe) and my mom made me rub Bacchus' tummy (I have a picture to prove it), but I did marry a great guy, so it must be true!

Mariarosa

The sentence above should red: "there's a statue"...I really can't type!

gina

If you throw your lei into the water in Hawaii and it comes back to shore, you won't return. But if it gets carried out to sea, you will. Works every time for me but then the fact that my parents live there may have something to do with it.

nancy

one that the boys in junior high used alot, was <BR>"if you don't let me, I'll get B...B....and I'll be in pain for days!" <BR> <BR>Sorry, just feeling a bit giddy here <BR>Really, finding this interesting!

elvira

Galleria Vittorio Emmanuel, Milan - there's a mosaic bull in the floor that you're supposed to step on the bull's - er - bulls, then spin on the bull of your foot for good luck. <BR> <BR>And the tomb of Victor Noir in Pere Lachaise cemetery - if a woman rubs a certain part of the statue, she gets in the family way. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Tom

"The check's in the mail" has always been one of my favorites. <BR> <BR>Another is that "winners never cheat and cheaters never win"...like to believe that one, but been in business too long. <BR> <BR>And my all time favorite is "this is going to hurt me more than it is you"...no wait as a parent that one really is true!

Heather

These are great! Next Summer, I'll be in Capri and Florence, so I'll be rubbing, dropping coins, and wishing for return visits. My first trip to Venice, the gondolier told me to make a wish under the Bridge of Sighs, so I wished to go back ... and it came true (next Summer is, if all goes well, my 4th visit). <BR> <BR>I love these travel superstitions!

Mariarosa

I just remembered another good travel myth. In the Alcazar in Sevilla, in one of the elaborate side rooms, you have to look for a tiny "happy face" tucked in a corner of the arch. Legend says that if you can find the happy face, you will have good fortune forever. Our guidebook indicated which wall the happy face was on (so we sort of cheated) but I did find it.

ger

Book Chick: Yes, an itchy hand means you are going to get money. <BR> <BR>From MY old Gran, who was a tad fond of the Guinness herself and lived 'till 98 on one glass a day (at least she TOLD us it was ONLY one glass): <BR> <BR>Dream of a priest (and see his face) and it means a death in the family. <BR> <BR>Dream of (ahem) excrement meant money. <BR> <BR>Bad luck would befall anyone who opened an umbrella in the house/put shoes on the table/passed someone on the stairs (oddly enough I NEVER do any of the above because the fear is still with me!) <BR> <BR>Put a coin in a someones new purse or wallet and they would never want for money (it was called Hansel or something). <BR> <BR>Walk around the "Black Church" (in Dublin) at midnight (full moon or no moon, can't remember) three times at midnight and you would see the devil. <BR> <BR>From my sister who lived in Malaysia: Never buy a house facing the entrance to a street as the bad spirits would get you and bring bad luck (also never buy a house with the number 4 in the address - in Toronto in certain neighbourhoods, builders asked the city to eradicate the number 4 - no idea whether it was accepted). <BR> <BR>Regards .. Ger

BoomerBabe

Across the street from Notre Dame is Point Zero, a round marker set into the cobblestones. It isn't the center of Paris, but all distances in Paris are measured from there. I was told that if you stand on it you will return to Paris. So, guess I'll be going back sometime!

Capo

What I wonder about all these things you do that are supposed to guarantee you'll return to a particular city... what happens if you don't return? Is there a curse? :~)

emma

There's the one from "Roman Holiday" with Audrey Hepburn & Gregory Peck (sigh). In Rome there's a wall statue - Bocca de la Verita (?). You put your hand in its mouth and if you tell the truth you're all right, but if you lie...chomp!