Suggestions before Med Cruise from Barcelona

[audreyh1]

Oh yeah - that's a fave! And I can easily understand her South American accent (easier for me than Spaniards).

Too bad we never saw her in action.

 

[Nemo2]

Too bad we never saw her in action.

My own, tried and tested over numerous decades, tactic of looking like someone expelled from a homeless shelter, has always worked well......pickpockets avoid me for fear I'll hit them up for a Euro or two.

 

[audreyh1]

My own, tried and tested over numerous decades, tactic of looking like someone expelled from a homeless shelter, has always worked well......pickpockets avoid me for fear I'll hit them up for a Euro or two.

Good one!

I think the most important thing is to be aware of your surroundings (behind and in front) and move away from clusters of people. You don't want people mashed against you on the escalators or the metro turnstiles.

We also had our belongings tethered to us. And kept minimal amounts in external (front) pockets - also tethered.

This was another interesting video. The voiceover and production is sleazy tabloid style, but still the video was quite informative. A lot of people go to Barcelona to party hearty, and they are easy pickings. But it was easy to avoid the party scene and we thoroughly enjoyed the city and had no problems even though we traveled some subway routes famous for pickpockets. We thoroughly enjoyed Barcelona in spite of the crowds and would definitely go back.

 

[EastWest Gal]

An under the clothes waist belt may be in order. And protect credit cards, ATM card and passport with an RFID blocking wallet or with protector sleeves. Apparently all the big capitals where cruise ships go (Barcelona, Rome, Naples, Athens are loaded with pickpockets. I used a purse with locking zippers and a cable in the strap, wore across my shoulder and rested my forearm across the purse. DS had an under the clothes waist wallet and a regular fanny pack with a few Euros as a decoy. We kept a lot of things in our cabin safe, including a credit card, driver's license, keys we only needed when we returned home, most of our money, passports, and phones (this was before we had iPhones). When you are on a cruise, you get a card to get you on and off the ship. They scan your card when you board and your photo shows up on their screen. We also kept a copy of our passport photo pages with us but kept the actual passports locked up in the safe.

Pay no attention to the street artists on Las Ramblas. They are probably trying to distract you from your wallet.

 

[FUEGO]

My own, tried and tested over numerous decades, tactic of looking like someone expelled from a homeless shelter, has always worked well......pickpockets avoid me for fear I'll hit them up for a Euro or two.

I bring my 3 kids with me. We look so miserable that half the time the pickpocket slips me a $20 when he reaches in my pocket.

Day 13 in Portugal/Spain and zero pickpocketing so far. I keep nothing other than a phone in my pocket. My money and cards are in my bookbag zipped inside a pocket that's tucked behind some junk and zipped inside another pocket.

I did spot a crew working a square in Granada, Spain in the core of the tourist area right in front of the church. There was an old gypsy lady wiping rosemary on people and screaming crazy stuff (the distraction) and a middle-age guy waiting for an opportunity. The middle age guy came up really close behind me as I was window shopping (was watching him in the reflection). So I circled around and faced right toward him - he walked away quickly for some reason The cool thing is that my daughter noticed this guy too and knew he was a pickpocket.

The gypsy lady was quickly chased off by the police (and they confiscated her rosemary). Though I saw her later on several blocks away with more rosemary. My guess is she has a local source.

 

[audreyh1]

An under the clothes waist belt may be in order. And protect credit cards, ATM card and passport with an RFID blocking wallet or with protector sleeves. Apparently all the big capitals where cruise ships go (Barcelona, Rome, Naples, Athens are loaded with pickpockets. I used a purse with locking zippers and a cable in the strap, wore across my shoulder and rested my forearm across the purse. DS had an under the clothes waist wallet and a regular fanny pack with a few Euros as a decoy. We kept a lot of things in our cabin safe, including a credit card, driver's license, keys we only needed when we returned home, most of our money, passports, and phones (this was before we had iPhones). When you are on a cruise, you get a card to get you on and off the ship. They scan your card when you board and your photo shows up on their screen. We also kept a copy of our passport photo pages with us but kept the actual passports locked up in the safe.

Pay no attention to the street artists on Las Ramblas. They are probably trying to distract you from your wallet.

I highly recommend the under the clothes belts and/or neck pouches. When we are moving from place to place they hold most of our cash/cards and passports.

Exofficio makes pants and shirts that have loops sewn into a front pocket. My husband sewed loops into all his front pants pockets. And years ago they made these flat little zipper pouches not much larger than a credit card with a tether and a hook. I use these to hold a card and a little cash, often in my front shirt pocket.

We also put lanyards with hooks on very thin folding wallets that go in our front pockets. Just to hold some cash and a card or two.

Even my iPhone has a wrist strap!

And both of us have Pacsafe over the shoulder bags. But we don't put our cash or credit cards in there when out on the street, LOL!

 

[Badger]

If I don't have a special money belt or lanyard etc. I remove anything from my wallet that is not necessary as well as any money I don't plan on using and put 1/2 of the wallet on the front right inside waist of my pants (I'm right handed) and the other half folded over on the outside but under my belt. Makes it real difficult for anyone to remove.

Cheers!

 

[Nemo2]

From the preceding comments I'm starting to wonder if restroom breaks have to be very well planned, and scheduled waaay before the actual need arises....after all, deactivating the above mentioned security controls has to be time consuming?

 

[audreyh1]

From the preceding comments I'm starting to wonder if restroom breaks have to be very well planned, and scheduled waaay before the actual need arises....after all, deactivating the above mentioned security controls has to be time consuming?

Well maybe the wallet over the waistband and under the belt bit . None of our security controls interfere with bathroom visits!

 

[Fedup]

Bringing back this thread to ask a question regarding Andalusia region. I saw Rick Steve's video last night about this region and was intrigued by the some of the architecture of the churches in this region. But this might be a problem, the weather. I waited too long and all the off peak business class seats from British airways were gone. So the earliest I could be in this area is middle of June, will it be too late, i.e. too hot. Maybe I go next time. I was thinking of just doing Barcelona.

 

[braumeister]

From the preceding comments I'm starting to wonder if restroom breaks have to be very well planned, and scheduled waaay before the actual need arises....after all, deactivating the above mentioned security controls has to be time consuming?

There is an easier way. Just distribute your credit and debit cards, along with your cash, among your bodyguards. Then you don't have to carry anything and can just let them pick up the tabs. Simple and effective.

 

[Nemo2]

There is an easier way. Just distribute your credit and debit cards, along with your cash, among your bodyguards. Then you don't have to carry anything and can just let them pick up the tabs. Simple and effective.

Yabbut, all that finger clicking and gesticulating to one's entourage can become tedious.

 

[FUEGO]

Bringing back this thread to ask a question regarding Andalusia region. I saw Rick Steve's video last night about this region and was intrigued by the some of the architecture of the churches in this region. But this might be a problem, the weather. I waited too long and all the off peak business class seats from British airways were gone. So the earliest I could be in this area is middle of June, will it be too late, i.e. too hot. Maybe I go next time. I was thinking of just doing Barcelona.

It wasn't bad when we were there mid-June. Only 106F or so some days But it's a dry heat. So I guess it depends on how you feel about average highs in the upper 80's, with the chance that it'll be 95-105 highs the entire time you're there (our experience almost the entire 2 weeks we spent in Portugal and southern Spain in mid to late June).

But honestly it really is a dry heat. 90F and 25% humidity feels like 75F and high humidity in NC. You sweat a little, clothes get damp, then get in the shade and the wind blows and 90F can feel chilly. Our 5 year old is a good barometer for heat - he melts in 90F temps at home but didn't have much of a problem with 95-100F here. We spent 6 hours outside at La Alhambra and it was 95F+ half the time.

FYI, I'd almost recommend skipping La Alhambra because of the hassle and the crowds if you're only going to Granada to see that. The Alcazar in Seville is sort of similar and much cheaper/easier to access and even offers free admission (Mondays at 6 IIRC).

Overall, I'd recommend going in the shoulder seasons. May and September might be nice, and you'll probably be even more comfortable in April and October.

 

[Nemo2]

Overall, I'd recommend going in the shoulder seasons. May and September might be nice, and you'll probably be even more comfortable in April and October.

Ssshhh.....

 

[Fedup]

It wasn't bad when we were there mid-June. Only 106F or so some days But it's a dry heat. So I guess it depends on how you feel about average highs in the upper 80's, with the chance that it'll be 95-105 highs the entire time you're there (our experience almost the entire 2 weeks we spent in Portugal and southern Spain in mid to late June).

But honestly it really is a dry heat. 90F and 25% humidity feels like 75F and high humidity in NC. You sweat a little, clothes get damp, then get in the shade and the wind blows and 90F can feel chilly. Our 5 year old is a good barometer for heat - he melts in 90F temps at home but didn't have much of a problem with 95-100F here. We spent 6 hours outside at La Alhambra and it was 95F+ half the time.

FYI, I'd almost recommend skipping La Alhambra because of the hassle and the crowds if you're only going to Granada to see that. The Alcazar in Seville is sort of similar and much cheaper/easier to access and even offers free admission (Mondays at 6 IIRC).

Overall, I'd recommend going in the shoulder seasons. May and September might be nice, and you'll probably be even more comfortable in April and October.

Thank you for your information. If I do go there, I need to look careful at Airbnb with A/C. I don't know if I can deal with 106F degree, dry heat or not. My kid was in London a couple of days ago and she complained it was 86 degree.

Yes, I agree about going in May, but I made a mistake of waiting too long. This is the first time I have to book with a companion ticket.

 

[FUEGO]

Thank you for your information. If I do go there, I need to look careful at Airbnb with A/C. I don't know if I can deal with 106F degree, dry heat or not. My kid was in London a couple of days ago and she complained it was 86 degree.

We busted out our wallets and paid up for the airbnbs with AC in Lisbon, all across southern Spain, and all across Italy for our June-July segment in southern Europe. We didn't specifically look for it here in Ljubljana, Slovenia where we are now but I'm glad we have it in the main living room at least. 90-92F highs most of the time we've been here (vs 77F average highs this time of year :/ ).

I've learned the hard way not to bottom fish for low prices on airbnbs. You'll usually be better off skipping the cheapest 10-20% of properties if your budget allows. That also means you get some perks like AC and clothes dryer included in the rental.

Enjoy Andalusia. Very different feel than most of the rest of Europe. Seeing road signs and food packaging in Arabic was interesting, but not surprising considering we were 75-125 miles from Arabic speaking Morocco for the duration of our Andalusian stays.

 

[FUEGO]

Ssshhh.....

Yeah, I'm trying to get to some nice places in shoulder season but these kids of ours have school till June and go back in late August. Felt like a sucker in Venice with all the crowds and lines. Said "no thanks" to waiting in any of the lines and enjoyed the outside of a lot of buildings (and huge gelato cones and take out pizza in my air conditioned airbnb ).

 

[Nemo2]

Said "no thanks" to waiting in any of the lines and enjoyed the outside of a lot of buildings

This is our established modus operandi....not to mention modus vivendi.

 

[FUEGO]

This is our established modus operandi....not to mention modus vivendi.

It was hot, the line stretched a long way and 100% sunny. It was some church in Venice - St Marks or something. Figured we'd see a ton more church interiors in the next 5 weeks in Europe and I might end up in Venice again at some point in the next 50 years.

So far the only lines we've waited in were to get into the Alcazar palace in Seville on the free night. Took about 20 minutes and we were in the shade the whole time. And had a perfect view of the cathedral so we drank in that view while waiting. By minute 20 I kind of regretted not paying the $30 or whatever the family tickets would cost to get in anytime, but it was nice that we waited till a couple hours before sundown to see the palace since the heat was much less intense.

We saw a similarly huge line to get into the Milan cathedral. Strange, because it seems like as kids we would do anything we could to avoid going into a church and here folks are as adults waiting in the hot sun to get into church?!?!