janisj

>>Iris1745, why on earth were you carrying $2000 in cash on you?<<

Read that again - it was $200 (who exactly is the dumb one here? )

But there actually ARE reasons one might need to have $2000 worth of € on them -- paying for an apartment in cash for instance.

Why can't you join the discussions here on Fodors w/o calling everyone dumb/naive/or worse. Your rants just turn people off -- but then you are sooooooooo superior, that doesn't matter to you.

MmePerdu

I think dulciusexasperis (aka dul...sex......) loves to presume anything that will make him/her appear more intelligent in the mirror. It doesn't always seem so in black & white.

amer_can

MmePerdue..I thought I had a patent on that inside pocket away back in the 1970s..Perhaps it expired but I must say you are a gal after my own heart. This system has NEVER failed but I left off the velco..One inside DH khakis also..Works /worked like a charm. The rest of you "try it , you might like it"!!

MmePerdu

Amer_can, any day now I expect someone to actually patent a version and make a bundle.

Despite what dul-sex above would like to think, you're right, it's better than any of the several purchased items for the same purpose that I've wasted my money on and I keep going back to it. And the assumption that we put all our worldly goods into one pocket at once is a good one too.

november_moon

Janis - Yes, that is the neck pouch that I have and I will try wearing it like you suggested - thank-you for the idea. My husband has a sleeve about the same size that attaches to his belt and then rides behind his front pants pocket, so this would work in a similar fashion, but without the need for the belt.

maha

OMG iris1745 same thing happened with my husband on the metro in Paris. On one stop a few kids got on when the metro was jam packed... he was standing and holding the pole with one hand and the kids were standing next to him... when the train stopped they got off at the next stop and my husband told me he was absolutely sure he felt someone had put his hand in his pocket. Thankfully there was nothing in both his pockets.

iris1745

Thanks janisj;

maha; Yes, the metro was jam packed. I had my arm around my wife and the other hand on the pole. The 4/5 kids jumped on and jumped off just before the doors closed.

And janisj; Just as you mentioned, there are reasons to be carrying large amounts of euros.

On a particular Paris apartment I am currently looking at, this person wants a 40% deposit using a CC and then the balance in euros on arrival.

But I will find an apartment where I will pay 100% using my CC.

janisj

November_moon: that is what gave me the idea. My dad used to have the sort that hooked on his belt/belt loop and I nought it was the best sort . . . But I seldom wore belts and lots of my slacks/ skirts don't have belt loops. I find this compromise works great.

Pvoyageuse

Mme Perdu : I made almost the same inside pocket, except that mine has a zipper and is sewn on an elastic waistband.

It looks like this but is not as sophisticated ! http://www.vosvalises.com/imagenes/a...phite_5021.jpg

spaarne

You people are making this all too complicated. Since you're not going to put anything in your back pockets anyway cut them off just inside the lip. For a little extra flavor do not wear undershorts.

suze

aw51, Please don't let a few crackpots scare you off. Fodor's can be a really great place to post. Trip Advisor is good too, but completely different vibe. They only allow posts really specific to a destination. They wouldn't have allowed "off topic chatter" like your story would be considered there.

dulciusexasperis

When someone writes $200US... it is relatively easy to see that as $2000. The U is easily mistaken at a glance.

I really wish you would let people speak for themselves janisj instead of sticking your nose in every time. You really are becoming annoying.

$200 US is not an excessive amount, I simply misread it iris and in fact misread it twice. They eye sees the second time what it expects to see.

As for dull sex, I'm sure some of you know all about that subject. I find myself in agreement with NYCFoodJoke, it's probably time for a weight loss regime for some of you.

Janisj, you might want to have your local auto shop check to see if your Mini needs new shocks and springs yet. Carrying a heavy load around is hard on them.

aw51

Good grief!

People really do misinterpret a lot on this board!

And then when you try to correct it, they misinterpret that as something else!

And then they repeatedly try to give us fashion advice and blame me for not understanding that my posting a travel tip would not attract lunatics!

I can't deal with all of it, but I would like to put a few corrections on the record:

When I talk to my husband, he listens to me. Very often he asks for my opinion. We have found what we hope is a solution for where to carry our passports when we are checking out of one hotel and into another. We are putting in our luggage. Please feel free to suggest other solutions, but please don't make up stories about our marriage!

People keep suggesting we shouldn't be traveling with our valuable passports because if you aren't carrying anything valuable, then it can't be stolen. Some people just don't seem to understand that we were traveling between our hotels and therefore taking everything with us on the train. We had to be carrying out passports.

However, I am surprised to learn that there are people who walk around all day sightseeing with their passports in their underpants. We don't do that. Once we check into a hotel, we lock up our passports.

After reading all these responses, I wanted to express my gratitude to people who have suggested new products to check out or offered other relevant advice to myself and others. I also asked myself what had prompted me to post anything on this message board.

I think the main reason I posted this is because I didn't expect this to happen in Rapallo or a place like Rapallo, and I think I am right in guessing that other people might also share that kind of thinking.

Had you asked me before I left if I thought it was possible to get pickpocketed in Rapallo (or on the train passing through there), I am certain I would have said "Yes! Of course! Anything can happen anywhere!"

But the reality is that when I pass through Rome or Naples or Barcelona, I am extra alert
by instinct. That is the big city. But in small towns in italy, I am far less wary.

So that is why I put Rapallo right at the top where everybody can see it. Everybody knows to be alert in the places known for having pickpockets. It is probably only human to think less about it in places that don't have a famous problem for it.

Rapallo is a very nice place and I don't think it has a huge pickpocket problem. But it makes sense that pickpockets would go there, because there are many cruise ship tourists, and people heading to Portofino or le Cinque Terre along that train line.

Someone suggested don't be afraid to make a scene if you think there is a pickpocket nearby. So I wanted to make a scene about this on this message board regarding Rapallo. I guess I succeeded and -- yes -- it is good advice not to care what others will think of you when do!

Michael

<i> Once we check into a hotel, we lock up our passports.
</i>

I think that your attitude reflects an unconscious feeling of entitlement. Assume a foreigner in a large American city. He jay walks and is stopped by the local police. Asked for ID and he has a passport back in the hotel room. How will that play for a European? for an Asian? for an African? for someone from the Middle East?

Hans

"I myself would donate $5 a day for each of the days I visited Paris and Rome to help pay for some policeman in very loud colored uniforms just to stand outside the Louvre or Termini Station. What am I missing?"

I don't know about the legal situation in Italy or France but in Germany you can assume that most pickpockets have been arrested a few dozen times and the police often knows when they appear somewhere.

The problem is that they're often under-age and before someone under-age ends up in jail it takes a lot. Plus these aren't criminals living the high life but poor juveniles who don't keep the money. Trying to get a conviction for the guys organizing the crimes would be more important but that isn't simple (just think why drug dealers still exist though probably every police officers knows where he could nab a few small street dealers within an hour).

In the end a police officer spends several hours on the paperwork when arresting someone who will be on the street again a few hours later. So they more often go for an order to leave a certain area and if they see the guy again, tell him that he'll be arrested if they see him a third time. And then the whole thing again the next day.

The one officer in uniform doesn't stop the whole thing. One needs many of them continously working on the problem to just limit it.

gigi69

Thanks aw51.

Holly_uncasdewar

Give it up, Snobby. You've certainly called me and plenty of other people disparaging names enough times around here.

IMDonehere

Once we check into a hotel, we lock up our passports.

I think that your attitude reflects an unconscious feeling of entitlement.
____________________

Pure nonsense. I am native NY'er and although it has become the safest big city in the US, I am still aware of what can happen.

kja

Thanks for posting, aw51. I wish that hadn't happened to you and am glad you continued to enjoy your vacation.

Michael

<i>I am native NY'er and although it has become the safest big city in the US, I am still aware of what can happen.</i>

I was not talking about one's relationship to thieves.