to the top for those interested...

yes , grt question. i (a kiwi )worked in the shetland islands ( top of scotland )for 5 yrs, 3 1/2 yrs as a chamber maid at a construction workers camp, had 25 rooms to keep clean. well on a two week tour, of 5 citys in russia,i was tapped on the shoulder in a town in central russia and asked " do you work in shetland ?" this guy had seen my at the camp when i was working night shift in the laundry. the odds must be )))))))))))))))))) as he was travelling mosco to st peters b and myself the opposite way. <BR>

Just sending up to piggyback "coincidental meetings" post. (I didn't know this post resurfaced just last month!) <BR>

A year ago January we were in Innsbruck and went to the top of a mountain. Only 2 other people were there at the same time so we started talking to them. Turns out, the guy had gone to the same university in Texas that I had, at the same time, and had lived down the street! <BR>Many years ago I spent 6 weeks backpacking around Europe one summer and met a guy on the bus to Dachau. He was attending the same TX university and lived a block away! We dated when we got back to the states but then it fizzled out. Years later, after college, I worked for a company in Ft. Worth. A girl transferred into my group and we became friends. Somehow I found out that her old boss was that guy's dad!

I'll add my 2 cents. When I was just in Germany in the Service (many years ago) I was washing my car and a young woman was washing hers. We had a conversation and it turned out that she was from the same small city in northern Main that I was and had gone to school with my sister. <BR>

What fun... we run into people we'd never expect to see all the time, but my favorite small world story is from Ludwig's Schloss Linderhof. I'd been driving around Bavaria with my husband and mother-in-law for several days, seeing pink flowers in the meadows and telling them they looked like rain lilies, which they pooh-poohed. Then, after touring the castle, we walked out towards the grotto and there were more of the pink flowers along the path. As I steamed up the walk past an elderly woman, I heard her muttering to herself, "These aren't anything but little old rain lilies." I stopped and said, "I'm so glad to hear you say that, I've been telling my family for the last 150 miles that's what they were!" She replied, "Of course they are... I'm from Florida and I know rain lilies when I see them." I said, 'Me, too," and she asked where I was from in Florida. Well, since it's such a small town that no one's ever heard of it, I hedged with, "North Florida, near Gainesville." She said, "Where?" and I again hedged with, "On the Suwannee." She insisted, "Where?" and I finally named a larger town, still reluctant to name the tiny hamlet which was my home. She finally nailed me down and I gave her the name of the town. She then calmly asked, "Do you know the Smiths?" (not the real name) and I asked, incredulously, "Rose and Wilbur?" She said, "Oh, yes. My husband delivered their first child and she's named after me. We've been friends forever and I go to visit them every summer." Needless to say, the "Smiths" and I had a good laugh about meeting their friend over rain lilies in Germany and I was included in their annual meetings for many years thereafter.

up!

Being unable to get into our B&B on the Isle of Skye, we decided to do a short hike just outside town. We kept passing and being passed by four Americans doing the same path, until finally I started a conversation with the gentleman in the group. They told us that they were from Maine, and when we said we were originally from Prince Edward Island, Canada, they said they knew it well. To get to the end of the story, it turned out they knew the tiny village where I am from, and one of the ladies had been introduced to my grandfather once back in the 1960s! They were on Skye doing research on their family tree, which is a branch of mine, and in fact were using info that my aunt had sent them! We could not believe it, and both hubby and me think that Skye is somewhat enchanted. If our B&B hosts had been home, we would have checked in and never gone on this hike and never met these people!

While she was in college, a friend of mine made her first trip to Paris alone. She got together all of the courage she had the first night she was there and went into a bar. She sat at the bar and ordered a drink. She turned around to take in the crowd behind her, and realized the person who had just sat down beside her was from our hometown! Three summers ago, another friend was in Bath and a man bumped into her. When she turned around, it was the former assistant pastor of her church who had recently moved to another town to take a church. The best one: a man from my husband's hometown was in Paris on business. When he picked up his key, the clerk told him he had a message. He opened it and realized it was actually a message for his brother who was staying in the same hotel! They live in two different cities in the US, and neither knew the other was in Paris.

Dunno about you guys, but I try to AVOID people I know as much as possible while on holiday!

My story goes like this: I was on a tour of Italy in 1992 and was introducing myself when someone said there's another Canadian on the tour and pointed him out. I went up to talk to him and our conversation went something like this: he said "I'm from x city" I said I'm from there too! What area do you live in? He says "x" I say I live there too!! I say what street do you live on? He say's "x" ..you can see where this is going... It turned out that he lived right across the street from me! Too strange for words.

I can't believe that I am participating in a thread as old and long as this, but I have had 2 unbelievable experiences that are worthy of being printed somewhere, so I guess this is my opportunity. <BR>In summer of 1985, I traveled thru Europe after my jr year in college with my best friend. Long story as short as possible- 2 pretty girls hanging on private beach in Cannes meet a nice Dr from San Diego. Chat, drink wine, hang out 2 or 3 days in a row. Exchange addresses, take photos, so long. While I am there, my parents vacation in California. They take limo to airport in San Diego, along with 2 other riders, one of whom told my friendly mom he was headed to travel in France. Weeks later, I return, get photos developed, share with Mom, she says "I know that guy" and sure enough, after a phone call to same Dr in San Diego, I verify that he shared limo with my p's on his way to France where he inadvertently met me. We were all freaked out by this coincidence. Is that bizarre and small world or what?? <BR>2nd story almost as good. Am on small tour boat in Bay of Bengal on day trip from Bombay with my parents in 1989, and overhear interesting conversation btw German man and American woman. Ask her where she's from - same city as me (Baltimore), our offices are w/in 1 block. 2 weeks later at monument in New Delhi, there she is again. 1 week later standing in line at exchange bank in London Heathrow, I turn around and she is standing in line at the next teller, having never shared our itineraries! My world of coincidences is a BIG small world. Hope no one minded my lengthy tales! Off to France next week with hubby, who knows...?

My turn.. slightly sides way to the topic but spooky all the same. I recently started corresponding via email with a lady in Japan who was going to be a hostmother for one of the children I was taking for a trip to Japan from Australia. We became quite friendly and I instinctively liked her before we met but our email correspondance was every day talk,superficial with no family backgrounds mentioned, apart from our husbands and children. I was therefore blown away when after finally meeting her in Japan (but briefly as I stayed elsewhere), she came to the airport (to deliver her host child) for us to depart back to Australia and she told me that she was sorry we had not been able to further our friendship during the visit but that she would like to give me a gift. It was wrapped but as she gave it to me she said "I hope you like it, it is a book of paintings, poetry and essays of my favourite Japanese artist". I thanked her and placed it with my baggage. She continued ... " The artist is actually quite special, he is an amazing man because all his work is done by holding the brush and pen in his mouth. He was paralyzed at the age of 26. I looked at her and said "Chieko... I think our friendship was destined to be, you see my father who has been dead for 20 years was an artist belonging to the European run company of Mouth and Foot Paintings who exhibit all over the world and my father was also painted and wrote with a brush and pen in his mouth as his arms had been amputated at the age of 8years." What are the odds of her choosing a present such as that (and from Japan where a book is the least likely of tradional presents) This happened last month and I am sure that we will remain email friends for a very long time. One has to wonder!!!!! <BR>

Gayle---- your story is just amazing! Thanks for sharing!

Sending this up in honor of the chance meeting in Bayeux.

My brother and I had been to England to visit my daughter who was studying at Nottingham University. When we returned to the airport to catch our flight home and we approached the gate area at Gatwick, I saw a man stretched out on one of the long rows of seats, sound asleep. I tapped my brother on the arm and pointed to the sleeping man, and sure enough, my brother says, "Hey, that's Ken!" (Our brother-in-law) He was returning home from a business trip and was at Gatwick for a couple of hours layover. <BR>That was the first time I had seen Ken in several years.

We were sitting outside a pub in Amsterdam and an English man and his wife struck up a conversation with us. He asked where we were from and I said, Atlanta. He said, I met a man from Atlanta, he worked for XXX and had come to England to do some work for them there. Well, *I* work for XXX too and that guy and I happen to work in the same building now! I thought that was pretty cool.

I've had 4 "small world" experiences. First was trip to Australia. We had driven up into the countryside and stopped at a tearoom for lunch. Turned around and there was business acquaintances from home. Neither knew the other was going to Australia. We joined them for dinner that nite. Second was in Cartagena. Was sitting by the pool and saw an old friend in the water who I hadn't seen in years - it was great. Same trip amazingly, we were walking on the beach and someone yelled my name. I looked up and sitting at a beach bar was one of my best friends from high school! And finally, was at a remote B&B about 400 km. from home and had gone to the local pub for dinner. My husband and I were chatting and the pub owner came over and asked if I was Lyv. We had gone to public school together. He had just moved into the apt. above his pub and ran upstairs, brought down our public school graduation picture. He knew just where it was cause he'd unpacked it the day before! Ain't life grand!

Last year a friend at work introduced me to his cousins visiting from Donegal, Ireland. They invited me to stay with them this spring. I stayed with them for a week (& had a wonderful time) and then flew home from Dublin. While waiting to get off the plane at O'Hare, I started chatting with the Irish woman in the seat in front of me. I mentioned that I had stayed with the postman in this small village in Donegal. Turns out that the Irish friend that she was visiting in Chicago was related to 'my' postman!

I thought this was weird at the time... <BR> <BR>A few years ago I did a tour for 40 days around Europe. On that tour I became quite friendly with a couple that were also from the West Coast... Anyways, after the tour, I returned home to LA and they spent the next 6 months travelling Europe and the M.East. <BR> <BR>Out of the blue my hubbie and I decided to take a trip to San Francisco. There we were at the checkin gate when I noticed two familar faces. It was the couple I had met on the tour - returning home to the US after their 6 months travelling. They had just landed and were catching their connecting flight to SF also ! <BR> <BR>I thought that was amazing !!