Travel Smart

Welcome back everyone! This past weekend I was lucky enough to visit some home friends in the beautiful city of Barcelona, Spain. I wanted to dedicate this post to an event that I saw while visiting. To begin, it is an absolutely stunning city; the different foods such as jamon and paella are delicious. Despite its beauty and adventurous activities, Barcelona natives are aware of the pickpocketing that occurs on a daily basis.

One afternoon, some friends and I were sitting at a large table outside of a restaurant, close to the street. Beside our table of 10 people, there were two tables fit for two people each. In the midst of brunch, a man came up to our table with a white piece of paper and put in on the table. He started to point in random directions while screaming in Spanish. I was alarmed and unsure what was going on. Luckily, my friend’s friend sitting next to me said loudly to the other girl across the table, “Jenny, your phone! Grab your phone!” When the phone was grabbed and put inside of her purse, the man realized that he was unsuccessful with what he attempted to steal and walked away. I then realized his intentions- he puts the piece of paper over what he wants to take and attempts to distract his audience to swipe the item. Luckily, nothing was stolen. In a sense, this was a reality check for my friends and I that this does happen and to be smart with our possessions.

However, 10 minutes later two girls sitting at one of the tables for 2, also from the States, started to get upset. One of the girls realized that the man who approached our table had an accomplice. That accomplice hit their table a few moments before us and sadly, was successful. The girl’s cash, credit card, debit card and phone were stolen. She was scared and shocked that this actually happened. I tried to help her but her first reaction was to run to the police station.

I chose to share this story as a piece of advice to any of you that choose to travel abroad. Yes, traveling is amazing and breathtaking. But be smart, hold on to your possessions and like my mom always says, be aware of your surroundings.