Finding Lost Items
Jun 15th, 2004, 06:55 AM
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Finding Lost Items
Suzie started a thread on the US forum about finding lost items when traveling. I shared a story that took an interesting tuen recently. Since it takes place in Venice, I thought I share the same posts here, and ask for similar stories from others.
Post 1
06/08/2004
A few years ago my friend, P, and I were traveling in Venice, Italy. We'd taken a boat, headed for Torcello. This boat makes stops at islands far across the lagoon, with a good amount of time between stops. When we first got on, we found bench seats facing one another by the window. Others sat next to us. P and I watched the view out the window. After a few stops, the people sitting by us hurried off. We continued to enjoy the view. At our stop, ten minutes later, P says, "What's that?" On the seat next to me was a medium camera bag. Our seatmates had left it behind, hurrying to get off at the correct stop.
P lived in Italy for years. Her first comment to me: "If we turn it in to the boat guys, the owner will never see it." We got off at our stop, taking the bag with us. We paused to examine the contents. My heart sank--this fellow's vacation was just ruined. Inside we found a 35mm camera with flash, cellphone, wallet with ID, Visa card, and ATM card. The owner had a Madrid address. There were travel documents from an Italian tour agency, but they were incomplete (just showed places to eat and shop, as if a friend had shared these with a new traveler).
We telephoned the travel agency (Rome). It was a Sunday and took a while for someone to call back. We followed through with them a few times--had to wait till Monday for their office to be open to check lists of people on ALL tours. No luck.
The Madird ID had no phone number and the cellphone was password protected.
Our hotel recommended we turn in the bag to the proper authorities--the carabinieri. Again, P is skeptical. However, we trotted off to their offices Monday morning with the bag. The carabinieri opened the bag and documented the contents in our presence, giving us an itemized receipt.
When I got home a few days later, I sent a letter explaining what had happened to the address on the Madrid ID. I included a photocopy of the carabinieri receipt, so a claim would be easier for the owner.
Never heard a word.
Post 1
06/08/2004
A few years ago my friend, P, and I were traveling in Venice, Italy. We'd taken a boat, headed for Torcello. This boat makes stops at islands far across the lagoon, with a good amount of time between stops. When we first got on, we found bench seats facing one another by the window. Others sat next to us. P and I watched the view out the window. After a few stops, the people sitting by us hurried off. We continued to enjoy the view. At our stop, ten minutes later, P says, "What's that?" On the seat next to me was a medium camera bag. Our seatmates had left it behind, hurrying to get off at the correct stop.
P lived in Italy for years. Her first comment to me: "If we turn it in to the boat guys, the owner will never see it." We got off at our stop, taking the bag with us. We paused to examine the contents. My heart sank--this fellow's vacation was just ruined. Inside we found a 35mm camera with flash, cellphone, wallet with ID, Visa card, and ATM card. The owner had a Madrid address. There were travel documents from an Italian tour agency, but they were incomplete (just showed places to eat and shop, as if a friend had shared these with a new traveler).
We telephoned the travel agency (Rome). It was a Sunday and took a while for someone to call back. We followed through with them a few times--had to wait till Monday for their office to be open to check lists of people on ALL tours. No luck.
The Madird ID had no phone number and the cellphone was password protected.
Our hotel recommended we turn in the bag to the proper authorities--the carabinieri. Again, P is skeptical. However, we trotted off to their offices Monday morning with the bag. The carabinieri opened the bag and documented the contents in our presence, giving us an itemized receipt.
When I got home a few days later, I sent a letter explaining what had happened to the address on the Madrid ID. I included a photocopy of the carabinieri receipt, so a claim would be easier for the owner.
Never heard a word.
Jun 15th, 2004, 06:57 AM
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Post 2
06/14/2004
I had not thought about this lost bag in Venice since it happened three years ago. Then I saw this thread last week and shared my story.
Imagine my surprise when I arrived home yesterday to a message on my answering machine from a fellow named Carlos. He spoke carefully in accented English, telling me that he was the cousin of Jorge, "the man whose bag you found in Venice three years ago." Apparently, Jorge is visiting Carlos in my hometown (NYC) and he wants to meet me and thank me personally for taking such time and care with his lost bag. It seems that Jorge even came to my building, but I was away for the weekend. Carlos kept stressing how Jorge really wants to thank me personally for such extreme care about his bag.
I stood and stared in shock at my machine as this message played.
So far I've been unable to reach them at the phone number Carlos supplied, and I've e-mailed the address he gave.
This story just keeps on going...
Unfortunately, Carlos didn't mention in his message whether Jorge actually got back his belongings--it's driving me mad!
I'll let you know how it all turns out.
06/14/2004
I had not thought about this lost bag in Venice since it happened three years ago. Then I saw this thread last week and shared my story.
Imagine my surprise when I arrived home yesterday to a message on my answering machine from a fellow named Carlos. He spoke carefully in accented English, telling me that he was the cousin of Jorge, "the man whose bag you found in Venice three years ago." Apparently, Jorge is visiting Carlos in my hometown (NYC) and he wants to meet me and thank me personally for taking such time and care with his lost bag. It seems that Jorge even came to my building, but I was away for the weekend. Carlos kept stressing how Jorge really wants to thank me personally for such extreme care about his bag.
I stood and stared in shock at my machine as this message played.
So far I've been unable to reach them at the phone number Carlos supplied, and I've e-mailed the address he gave.
This story just keeps on going...
Unfortunately, Carlos didn't mention in his message whether Jorge actually got back his belongings--it's driving me mad!
I'll let you know how it all turns out.
Jun 15th, 2004, 06:59 AM
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Post 3
06/15/2004
The Final Chapter (Maybe)
Yesterday, Jorge and his wife Asun stopped by my office. Their English is slightly better than my Spanish, but not by much, so my story has a few holes--it was an amusing conversation.
Jorge and Asun recounted losing the camera bag. They didn't notice it was missing until they had been wandering around Burano for some time. And so, they looked all over Burano for it, never suspecting that they had left it on the vaporetto. Finally, they gave up the search, assuming the bag was gone forever "because of the Mafia in Italy."
The letter I'd sent shared my side of the story, how we had contacted the travel agent. Asun told me that it WAS their agency, but all their reservations were in HER name--a different last name.
They were surprised to receive my letter, which was sent when I returned home, about two weeks after the loss. Within the month, they had their bag back, with all items intact, including their fancy SLR camera and cellphone.
Jorge laughed and said, "but now--" and pulled a disposable camera out of their backpack. Asun also showed me a cheap "designer" purse she'd just bought on Canal Street (just as all those Fodors US threads suggest).
We visited for about 45 minutes--they do similar work to mine and we compared notes on some computer technology. We exchanged addresses, so now I have new friends in Madrid.
This really was kismet--they arrived in NYC the day I left for a long weekend. They leave today for Madrid. Yesterday would have been our only chance to meet.
A friend of mine tells me my rule number 1 is "Make friends with foreigners." This may or may not be true, but it is a good one to follow.
Now I'm thinking. . . I haven't been to Spain in a while. . .
06/15/2004
The Final Chapter (Maybe)
Yesterday, Jorge and his wife Asun stopped by my office. Their English is slightly better than my Spanish, but not by much, so my story has a few holes--it was an amusing conversation.
Jorge and Asun recounted losing the camera bag. They didn't notice it was missing until they had been wandering around Burano for some time. And so, they looked all over Burano for it, never suspecting that they had left it on the vaporetto. Finally, they gave up the search, assuming the bag was gone forever "because of the Mafia in Italy."
The letter I'd sent shared my side of the story, how we had contacted the travel agent. Asun told me that it WAS their agency, but all their reservations were in HER name--a different last name.
They were surprised to receive my letter, which was sent when I returned home, about two weeks after the loss. Within the month, they had their bag back, with all items intact, including their fancy SLR camera and cellphone.
Jorge laughed and said, "but now--" and pulled a disposable camera out of their backpack. Asun also showed me a cheap "designer" purse she'd just bought on Canal Street (just as all those Fodors US threads suggest).
We visited for about 45 minutes--they do similar work to mine and we compared notes on some computer technology. We exchanged addresses, so now I have new friends in Madrid.
This really was kismet--they arrived in NYC the day I left for a long weekend. They leave today for Madrid. Yesterday would have been our only chance to meet.
A friend of mine tells me my rule number 1 is "Make friends with foreigners." This may or may not be true, but it is a good one to follow.
Now I'm thinking. . . I haven't been to Spain in a while. . .
Jun 15th, 2004, 07:51 AM
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I like your story, ellenem. I don't really have a story to compare...only a boring one about losing my passport in Paris. But all's well that ends well.
I just wanted to share Mr. Go's Rule #1 for Finding Lost Items: Go back and search the first place you looked. There's a 50-50 chance it's there, and you just didn't look hard enough the first time.
I just wanted to share Mr. Go's Rule #1 for Finding Lost Items: Go back and search the first place you looked. There's a 50-50 chance it's there, and you just didn't look hard enough the first time.
Jun 15th, 2004, 07:51 AM
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Along those same lines, my husband and I were in Paris a few years ago and found a wallet sitting on the wall of the Pont Neuf sp? bridge. After debating a few minutes on what to do we found the nearest police officer and tried to explain that we had "found" this wallet and wanted to turn it over to the authorities. Also, this was in December 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks in New York. Well, we don't speak French so all translation was lost but he would not take the wallet from us, so off we went again looking for another police officer. Once again we were told No, so being near Notre Dame we took it to the large police station there again explaining to the guard outside what had happened. Whew, finally....he took the wallet from us, no information was asked and we were "free". Sometimes it's hard to be a "good samaritan".
Jun 15th, 2004, 08:03 AM
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My story doesn't have a "happy" ending but it's a "treasured memory". We were in Paris with our then 11 and 13-year olds. It was 1998 and the Eiffel Tower was already lighted with the countdown to the "millenium". We went up around midnight and around 1 a.m. were headed back to the hotel on the Metro when the Metro suddenly stopped and we were all ushered off (bomb threat, we suppose, but we speak no French). We were put on buses to the various neighborhoods. On our bus were a bunch of college kids with whom we all got to talking. Then we got off the bus at our stop, our daughter left her backpack on the bus with our camera in it. Too late - the door closed and the bus pulled away. So there we are at 1 a.m. in the St. Germain calling after a moving bus. Next thing I know I turn around and my 13-year old son is nowhere to be found. So now I'm frantic - screaming at the top of my lungs - in English, at 1 a.m. - "I can't find my son" - to which, of course, all I'm getting is funny stares. End of story - he ran after the bus for 2 or 3 blocks, leaving us wondering where he was. Meanwhile, my daughter is hysterical because she lost the backpack and camera, and we're just freaked out about the whole experience! For years now, my daughter has hated when we tell this story to others, although she's now getting to the point where she considers it "family lore". We've been back with them to Europe once, and are going again this summer, so it's just another "travel story". Never did see the camera or backpack again, though.
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