As I sit on the Eurostar train between London and Amsterdam I contemplate this astounding trip so far. It’s been almost 15 years since Lisa and my last overseas adventure. A lot has changed. I am 72, she is 60. After Lisa’s multiple back surgeries, neither one of us can walk for hours nor stand gazing at antiquities. We return to the hotel in the late afternoon and collapse for the evening.
When I was pick pocketed in Athens in 2005 and had my passport stolen, we got to experience the darker and inconvenient side of travel. Any trip might include loss, loss of cell phone, hat, or scarf. I once left expensive headphones on the plane home to Mexico.
In an attempt at prevention I try to turn around from any stop and make sure nothing is left behind. To prevent pick pocketing, I carry a shoulder bag designed for travel with zippered pockets to protect phone, money and identification. And still it happened.
I lost my credit card.
In London everything is paid by tapping your bank card on a terminal. Some restaurants don’t accept cash at all. In order to hop the underground (subway) I had placed my card in a side pocket with my phone. Apparently I pulled out my phone and dropped the card. After searching everywhere I contacted my US bank.
Fortunately we have other plastic but it could be so easy to get stranded with no money. The worst part was the sleepless night and self flagellation.
Thank God I’m over it. There’s nothing more I can do until I return home.
The trip continues and we’re having a great time. Weather has been unprecedented with sunshine in both London and Amsterdam. Crowds are small compared to high season. For an unscripted holiday, we’re doing very well.
DOS TORTAS
the adventures of dos tortas 
I left my camera in a taxi in Mexico City and with it all the pictures I had taken from the trip. It happened on my honeymoon which made it all the more upsetting. Fifty years later, it doesn’t really matter.
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Yes, I returned from a trip to Japan. When the pictures returned from being developed, they were someone else’s photos. Never got mine.
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Oh no alex – I’m sorry about your cc. You are only human after all…I think you are grand😊 and I’m so happy you and lisa have had a lovely and adventurous time – take good care xoxo
Lorrie Jones
Simple Serenity
simpleserenity.comhttp://simpleserenity.com/
253.312.3117
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Thanks L. Loving Amsterdam
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Are you still there? My son Andy is their with his husband, Luc – they would be happy to say hi or assist with anything…xoxo
Lorrie Jones
Simple Serenity
simpleserenity.comhttp://simpleserenity.com/
253.312.3117
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We leave tomorrow.
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Oh ok – but if anything comes up before that, andy and luc are right on vondel park (lovely home) and will help you if you need anything. Safe travels!
Lorrie Jones Simple Serenity simpleserenity.comhttp://simpleserenity.com/ 253.312.3117
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Oh lordie, I am so sorry, and I do empathize. The worst thing I almost lost on a major trip was my purse. I was heading to Japan for work, and I walked away from the TSA screening area with my briefcase but somehow left my purse behind – with my passport, cash, traveler’s checks (still used back then!) and so many other important items. I got quite a ways down the concourse before I realized what I had done and raced back…. Thank the gods it was exactly where I’d left it, but I don’t think my heart rate returned to normal for a couple of hours after that. The worst thing I actually lost on a trip was a handmade Panama hat I’d bought in Merida. I left it in a rental car we were returning in Atlanta. I tend to get pretty hyper/stressed in travel situations; the novelty of it really gets the adrenaline flowing, and that’s when my brain just shuts off, somehow.
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I do remember traveler’s checks. I hate TSA.
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On my trip roaming around the country, I was on a fast moving boat. The wind was making my hearing aids flap a bit, so I took them off and slid them into my pocket. Later, I pulled my keys from the pocket and one of the hearing aids fell out. That was an expensive loss.
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I lost expensive sun glasses that way.
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So sorry you lost you’re card. It happens to the best of us. Recently, I walking home from the village and somehow dropped my card on the path close to our cottage. I didn’t realise until we got a knock at the door and the delightful young lady who lives next door handed it to me. I felt such a fool. I’m glad the loss didn’t mar your trip too much, and sorry we couldn’t meet up for a coffee and a chat. 😀
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I was hoping someone would leave it at the hotel but no luck. Nice to live somewhere you are known.
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We are creatures of habit, and when you travel, where our things are change every day, which makes it feel like more mental work.
The second we got off the plane from Japan, Pablo noticed his wallet was missing. We were literally standing at the door of the plane, but they don’t let you get back on. The flight attendant checked twice and the second time came back with his wallet. It was tucked out of sight between the seat cushion and the back cushion. whew!😅😅😅
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Once I got up in LA Airport dropping my phone from my lap to the seat. A woman found it and called Lisa who contacted me on my iPad. By describing me to her and her to me we found each other and I got my phone back. Whew.
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