An Argentine tourist, 64 years old, traveling with his wife in Italy as part of a tour group making their way down to Rome, stopped for a day in Siena. In the afternoon, he stopped at a very popular bar in the center of Siena and unfortunately forgot his bag behind when he left. A very common occurrence, can happen to anyone. And fortunately no one noticed the bag until the owner found it as he closed for the night. Inside were the man’s passport, cellphone and travel money, well over € 3,500 and about US$ 1,300!! Definitely a tourist that believes in cash over plastic.
The bar owner called the police and turned in the forgotten bag. After some calls, the police were able to track the tour group and the hotel in Rome where the entire group was staying at. The man was clearly agitated for the loss of the bag and very relieved to have been able to recover it – his and his wife’s vacation was salvaged.
To clearly avoid this type of shock while you travel, in Italy and elsewhere, please remember that travel belts and wallets that you wear under your clothing are not just to keep your essential documents and travel money away from pickpockets. They are also useful because hard to leave behind at a bar, restaurant, on a bus or train (which happens very often) since you’re wearing them and will no doubt save a lot of worry and agitation on a vacation.
Safe travels to everyone!
About Lourdes Flores
An American living in Florence for over 10 years, Lourdes continues to explore and discover new places in Tuscany with the eyes of a tourist but with the experience of living in Italy. She shares her experiences on this blog and website, particularly offering lots of travel planning help on the Forum!
