Followers

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

The crime and fall in the Roman Empire

Here I am on our transatlantic cruise from Miami, Florida, to Venice, Italy. I received a lovely gift from our wait-staff on Valentine's Day...a dessert I didn't need.

Sunset behind the Carnival Destiny, now being refitted to emerge as the Carnival Sunshine.

Florence, Italy. I found a lovely little restaurant for lunch nearby.

The cathedral and its famous tower in Pisa.
My husband climbed it. I didn't.

Trevi Fountain, "somewhere in the heart of Rome"!

The weather may have been grey, but I felt sunny just being in Venice.

Waiting for Dick to register at our hotel in Milan.

Too many beautiful views from which to choose in Cinque Terre, Italy.
The same can be said for the Amalfi Coast. There was beauty everywhere we looked. Here my intrepid photographer prepares for one of the thousands of photos he took in Italy.
We tried to pack light, but it was a month-long holiday, so we still had a lot of luggage to carry around Italy, getting on and off trains, and sometimes to and from hotels. However, we came home with less because the big suitcase on the right was stolen from the train in Naples.
Photos by Richard Schear and Kay Davies

Yes, it's true. We wuz robbed.
On the last of several trains by which we travelled in Italy, we lost some luggage. Dick had to make a report to the carabinieri in Rome. They gave him a form to fill out, shrugged, and said, "Oh, Napoli. Si, Napoli." That was pretty much what the hotel staff said to us when we finally arrived there. "Oh, yes, Naples. You have to be very careful there."
It seems Naples is not the place in which to leave any of your luggage unguarded while you put other pieces into the overhead bins.
Unfortunately, for me at least, I had absentmindedly tossed my wallet into the large suitcase when sleepy the night before. It had just been in my way on the beside table, and I didn't mean to leave it in the suitcase. However, in the morning, I forgot all about it.
I had only taken one credit card with me, and when I phoned to cancel it, I discovered someone had tried to use it while we were flying home, but failed because they didn't, of course, have the PIN number. Whew, thank goodness for chip cards and PIN numbers.
However, the wallet also contained photocopies of my birth certificate and our marriage certificate (because we have different surnames, I thought it would be good to have my husband's name on me if I'm ever hit by a bus).
Now I'm frantic about identity theft. I've been hearing about it for years, but the details didn't sink in. Can these items be used for someone to pretend to be me? If they have my mother's maiden name, can they take out other credit cards in my name? Our address is on the tags on all our luggage, in case an airline loses it, and I am always wary of purse-snatching, but theft of a large suitcase containing our end-of-vacation laundry, hadn't occurred to us.
So, I'm not washing clothes today, but I am definitely fretting.
*
So, there you have the crime, but what of the fall mentioned in my heading?
Oh, that was me, too. If I don't watch my feet while I'm walking, I trip over things.
I came off an elevator and was talking to Dick as he opened our hotel door about 10 feet away from me, which meant I was looking at him and not at my feet. The doorway from the elevator lobby to the hall had a two- or three-inch lip, and I knew about it, but didn't see it because I was looking at my husband instead of watching where I was going.
Splat!
Down I went, and I didn't go quietly. Dick says I screamed, but I know I didn't. I did make a whole lot of loud squeaky noises, however, because I came down on my right knee, the one with an old, old scar that still hurts when hit, as many scars do.
"Ow!" I said, and, "ooh, ooh, ooh" several times, perhaps more than several.
It took one husband, two chambermaids, and a chair to get me up, and once I got onto my bed I had no intention of going anywhere very fast.
So I missed a second day in Rome. We had checked out the sights (wow, the sights!) from the hop-on hop-off bus, visited the Trevi Fountain, and had lunch in a non-touristy restaurant nearby, but left the more intense sightseeing until later. Dick had to go by himself, of course, while I lay down until I felt well enough to get up and eat the chips and cookies from the mini-bar. By evening, I was functioning again, and able to limp out for a delicious dinner.
More photos will, I'm sure, be coming up. So far, I only have the ones taken with my little camera.

Posted for

Also posted to
Open Link Monday at the Imaginary Garden with Real Toads






20 comments:

Mary said...

So sorry about the theft and the fall, but your pictures are beautiful and I am sure your memories are priceless.

Penelope Notes said...

You’ve had such an adventure with so much going on, Kay! Sorry to hear about your fall … you might remember I also had a fall during our trip. How awful that your suitcase with wallet was stolen. Seems odd that it was your largest piece of luggage, though, as we were told that smaller luggage is the more popular target for thieves. Although you lost your suitcase, you hung onto your humor. This post was a fun read enjoyed by both Bill and me.

Anonymous said...

Oh gosh - so sorry to hear about your luggage going missing!

The photos are lovely though - so very beautiful.

Powell River Books said...

The pictures are wonderful. Such great architecture. That is terrible about your suitcase and wallet. I'm amazed you could move around with so many bags. I have trouble with a backpack and one rolling carry-on bag. - Margy

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

Wow!!! one long month of cruise ship.

anthonynorth said...

Terrible when so much happens like that on holiday. But lovely pictures.

diane b said...

From the photos above I was thinking what a fabulous holiday/vacation and I'm sure it was but what a sad tale at the end of your post. I've often wondered how safe are those bag storage places on the trains. How unlucky for you to have had your wallet in there. Then to have a fall as well and miss a day's sight seeing. Bad luck. I hope your good memories over ride the bad ones. The identity theft is a worry. I hope it won't happen.

ekta khetan said...

Hmmm..quite a trip you had. As if the loss of luggage was not enough, u end up hurting urself.

Any chance of the recovery so yet?
___________________________________
http://ektakhetan.blogspot.in

Janine Bollée said...

So sorry that there were a few flies in the ointment towards the end of your otherwise fabulous journey.

Kerry O'Connor said...

Lovely to have you back, Kay, and thank you for sharing your adventures.

Kay said...

OH NOOOOOOOO! I am so sorry that happened to you, all the bad stuff that is. It's so easy to let your guard down and have things happen when you're on a trip. Maybe that's why Art and I tend to lose weight during trips instead of gaining. We're under stress. I'll look forward to seeing your photos.

Margaret said...

Stunning photos. Can't wait to see more.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Bummer. That's one heck of a hard way to get out of doing the laundry Kay!

The identity theft thing is more of a worry, for sure...Are there websites about what to do to protect yourself?

Hope your knee feels better and you surely did see some wonders in between traumatic events!

Jim said...

I loved this post, Kay. What a pleasant surprise from you while I am making my round of the Monday Toads (I came late, but did post).

This was such a nice post because I've done everything you put on. Everything. Plus a couple of weeks in Sicily.

I do hope you've recovered from your unpleasant fall. I did that too but in Ireland. I broke my kneecap and put a finger out of joint plus lots of cuts and bruises and bleeding.
..

SquirrelQueen said...

Oh my goodness Kay, sorry to hear about your stolen luggage and more importantly wallet. I'm glad the thief was unable to use your card.

Gorgeous photos of your trip, I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Welcome home!

Lew said...

Great pictures of Italy! And a wonderful trip. I am sorry it was marred by your fall and the theft. Our cats do not jump into water, but they did like to drink out of the faucet when they were younger. Zoey almost always hides her face when sleeping - often in the pike or wheel position.

Daryl said...

oy! i am not sure which hurts more losing your wallet or falling on that poor knee ... hugs to you

Mara said...

Oh Naples! Yes, I have been there once and did not feel safe for one minute. Even though I never got out of the bus. At one point somebody was trying to sell me something and I just kept yelling in Dutch at him. In the end he gave up.

I am sorry your luggage got stolen. I hope you won't get identity thefted. Just to be on the safe side though, why not report the theft to your local police station, since it does include (copies of) a marriage licence and a birth certificate. That way, if it does happen, at least the police is already in on it and may be able to do something.

giorno26 ¸¸.•*¨*•. said...

Hi Kay,
mi dispiace del furto che hai subito a Napoli.... ma non essere derubati sarebbe stato veramente una cosa straordinaria !
Napoli, Roma sono 2 città dove il furto è all'ordine del giorno.
Mentre Napoli e Venezia sono 2 città famose anche per l'immondizia !
Purtroppo queste 2 piaghe ( furto ed immondizia ) in Italia non riusciamo a controllarle... c'è troppa Mafia sia a livello cittadino che a livello di governo !
Per il furto d'identità non ti preoccupare, in genere i ladri cercano soltanto oggetti per poterli rivendere !
Mi dispiace molto, ma spero comunque che nonostante ciò tu abbia potuto apprezzare quanto sia bella l'Italia per il suo paesaggio.
Ciao :)
Myriam

Gemma Wiseman said...

A grey Venice is clearly still a very beautiful Venice! So enjoyed the variety of photos in Italy! Wish I could travel, but at least I see recent photos of journeys such as yours! Always exciting and fascinating!