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Re: FOR MY QVC TRAVELING FRIENDS PLEASE READ

[ Edited ]

And one more thing.  I had 2 abdominal surgeries that interfered with my lymph circulation I guess, last surgery 13 weeks ago.  When we went over to Madrid we went business class and so I was elevated.  No swelling on my ankles.

 

Upon return there was one seat left in something  called "priority".  It has wider seats, more leg room.  Well my legs were down for 9 or more hours and my ankles swelled up. Doctors said I would ebb and flow for a year. Better today but some residual swelling.

 

I didn't like the compression socks under my jeans and didn't wear them.  Please do if you have had any kind of surgery or medical issue.  Another lesson learned. I just wanted to get home.

 

 

 

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Re: FOR MY QVC TRAVELING FRIENDS PLEASE READ

[ Edited ]

@Pink123 : I've never seen theft on a cruise ship but its rampant in all ports, not to mention large train stations and any over crowded tourist site anywhere.  I agree about the so called designer knockoffs; on our most recent trip to China, one of my tour group wondered if Customs would really spot a fake ( I couldn't believe that she thought her maybe $30 purchase would "pass" A trained agent).

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Re: FOR MY QVC TRAVELING FRIENDS PLEASE READ

I'm so very sorry that you had this experience and your vacation was cut short.  Glad  you made it safely home.

 

I have a friend who is going to Portugal for 2 weeks in June.  I sense this vacation was planned for several months, but now she is very worried about Covid again and being stuck in quarantine at some point. She is traveling with her college age son. 

 

We have done a lot of cruising,and are on several FB cruise groups.  Some people have reported thefts from public venues and others have forgotten phones/wallets and gotten them back completely intact.  The ships are so much bigger now and I am never comfortable leaving items unattended in a public venue (on tabletop)....even if it's just going to the buffet. 

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Re: FOR MY QVC TRAVELING FRIENDS PLEASE READ

[ Edited ]

@KingstonsMom  and lucky dog he texted my phone to please return the medication so we could continue on with out trip which he stole.  He hoped he would read it.

 

I thought that was wonderful and smart of him don't you think?  Chivalry is not dead.

 

 

 

 

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Re: FOR MY QVC TRAVELING FRIENDS PLEASE READ


@cindyNC wrote:

I'm so very sorry that you had this experience and your vacation was cut short.  Glad  you made it safely home.

 

I have a friend who is going to Portugal for 2 weeks in June.  I sense this vacation was planned for several months, but now she is very worried about Covid again and being stuck in quarantine at some point. She is traveling with her college age son. 

 

We have done a lot of cruising,and are on several FB cruise groups.  Some people have reported thefts from public venues and others have forgotten phones/wallets and gotten them back completely intact.  The ships are so much bigger now and I am never comfortable leaving items unattended in a public venue (on tabletop)....even if it's just going to the buffet. 


@cindyNC  I understand.  I would not worry too much about covid even though I know it lurks in our heads.  Masks, etc are lifted for the most part in the EU.  

 

All they asked was our covid cards with boosters going into the country.  Museums, etc. no mask required.  It was nice seeing life getting back to normal.

 

However the rules will not change as far as re-entry to US. I believe your friend will need to take a quick covid antigen test 24 hours before returning to US. Results come back in 20 minutes. They usually go to your cell phone and you can leave.  I went to a clinic in the castellano area, had to wait,  as I could not have results on my phone.  I needed it on paper to show airline which I got. Another headache, ayayaya!

 

I think she will be fine.  Just stay safe.  Geez, I'm sitting here watching news and I see so much crime right here in our country.

 

Disturbing and sad.

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Re: FOR MY QVC TRAVELING FRIENDS PLEASE READ

 

 

So sorry. It is hard to plan for a dream trip and then lose the experience.

 

I love Spain and I will always want to visit it. I lived there for a while as a young college student, so I speak Spanish fluently.  It does have a high unemployment rate, and it is a country that a lot of immigrants pass through from the south, so there are challenges with people needing money. Covid has made everything ten times worse.

 

Unfortunately, tourists are always seen as easy marks. Thieves are fast and skilled. It is not the job of the hotel desk clerk to monitor people.  However, better hotels usually have security guards at the hotel doors.

 

Even when I was a little child my father wore a money belt when we traveled.  I have seen Americans robbed in many different countries. Most of the time it is because they are not alert, or are flashing their belongings (wearing gold or designer items) or they are too casual with luggage, cameras, etc.  One time a boy ripped a gold necklace off a middle-aged American lady while she was walking in South America right near us.  My husband actually chased the boy but he was too fast. He did not know the lady --it was just instinct--nowadays I would never let him do something like that since more people have weapons.

 

Now that we are older, we stay in very good hotels and try to avoid more lower level neighborhoods any where we go, including the U.S.A.  

 

Do you have travel insurance?  You should submit a claim. I think these days it is important to take travel insurance any time you travel out of the country.

 

I am a very experienced traveler, but I have no plans to travel internationally in the near future, as the world is NOT yet back to normal.  Last year I just did domestic driving trips--this year I am flying and cruising in the U.S.  I hope you have the chance to someday visit the wonderful countries you had on this travel itinerary!

 

 

 

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Re: FOR MY QVC TRAVELING FRIENDS PLEASE READ

@shoesnbags   Well, in a way you're correct.  Also in the 1980's we were in Milan in front of La Scala opera house and a group of children came up to us.  One took my husband's passport from his pocket but fortunately the child wasn't successful and hubby grabbed him.  But in general travel was safer 20 to 30 years ago than it is now, e.g., no terrorists, no pandemic.  Crime never goes away.  

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Re: FOR MY QVC TRAVELING FRIENDS PLEASE READ


@FancyPhillyshopper wrote:

 

 

So sorry. It is hard to plan for a dream trip and then lose the experience.

 

I love Spain and I will always want to visit it. I lived there for a while as a young college student, so I speak Spanish fluently.  It does have a high unemployment rate, and it is a country that a lot of immigrants pass through from the south, so there are challenges with people needing money. Covid has made everything ten times worse.

 

Unfortunately, tourists are always seen as easy marks. Thieves are fast and skilled. It is not the job of the hotel desk clerk to monitor people.  However, better hotels usually have security guards at the hotel doors.

 

Even when I was a little child my father wore a money belt when we traveled.  I have seen Americans robbed in many different countries. Most of the time it is because they are not alert, or are flashing their belongings (wearing gold or designer items) or they are too casual with luggage, cameras, etc.  One time a boy ripped a gold necklace off a middle-aged American lady while she was walking in South America right near us.  My husband actually chased the boy but he was too fast. He did not know the lady --it was just instinct--nowadays I would never let him do something like that since more people have weapons.

 

Now that we are older, we stay in very good hotels and try to avoid more lower level neighborhoods any where we go, including the U.S.A.  

 

Do you have travel insurance?  You should submit a claim. I think these days it is important to take travel insurance any time you travel out of the country.

 

I am a very experienced traveler, but I have no plans to travel internationally in the near future, as the world is NOT yet back to normal.  Last year I just did domestic driving trips--this year I am flying and cruising in the U.S.  I hope you have the chance to someday visit the wonderful countries you had on this travel itinerary!

 

 

 


@FancyPhillyshopper  thank you for your lovely post.  Yes, I'm experienced as well.  My father was in the travel business.  Mom and I spent our summers traveling about Europe.

 

My boyfriend also speaks fluent Spanish and is from Boston.  He had an apartment there for some years before covid hit and had to give it up.  He just loves Spain.

 

Your so right.  spain, Italy, Greece, and more have such high unemployment rates.  They are not the most enthusiastic of the bunch to go and get a career.

 

And covid has turned the whole world upside down.  What was bad is now worse but I don't want to turn this into a virus thread.

 

Please just split everything up you need in different places is my plea to you all.  

 

Funny, I didn't even have a lipstick or compact powder.  It was in my purse.  At the end of the day we took a cab to a mall where there was a Sephora.  It didn't have much folks!  I picked up a little here and there from different names.  I got eyebrow pencil, lipstick, and a powder compact.  Even my hairbrush was in bag.

 

Mix it up folks.

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Re: FOR MY QVC TRAVELING FRIENDS PLEASE READ

@Pink123   oh i'm so sorry that happened on your vacation... so unfortunate. my friends traveled to Spain and Portugal in 2019 and it seemed they were on the alert the entire trip.  Austria and Bavaria were beautiful, we were lucky to travel there in Sept 2018. Hopefully when things settle down another try at an Austrian vaca is in your future!  

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Re: FOR MY QVC TRAVELING FRIENDS PLEASE READ


@kaydee50 wrote:

@shoesnbags   Well, in a way you're correct.  Also in the 1980's we were in Milan in front of La Scala opera house and a group of children came up to us.  One took my husband's passport from his pocket but fortunately the child wasn't successful and hubby grabbed him.  But in general travel was safer 20 to 30 years ago than it is now, e.g., no terrorists, no pandemic.  Crime never goes away.  


I guess that kid was still learning!  Our gypsy boy was much better  - or my hubby was more clueless lol.

 

As far as terrorists, don't forget all of the hi-jackings 20 to 30 years ago.  We were traveling in Paris when an airplane (TWA?) was hi-jacked in the 1980s.  Very scary, as we could see what was on TV, but my French wasn't good enough to really follow what was being said.

 

Then on another trip our plane back to the US was delayed in London due to a bomb scare.  We were finally cleared to leave after all luggage was spread out on the tarmac to be checked.  I spent the entire trip home worrying that the plane might still blow up at any minute.  Wow, @kaydee50 , you're making me remember things that I haven't thought of in years.

 

 

"Breathe in, breathe out, move on." Jimmy Buffett