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Handicap stall in ladies rooms
Ladies: it’s not a parking place. 90% of the times I bypass a long line at a ladies’ room, I find an unused, available, extra-wide, “accessible” cubicle. Trained by parking spaces, women think those...
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Springfield IL airport
It’s 2014 in the airport of a state capital and this is the luggage scale. Here it is, 2014, and we are in the airport of Springfield IL, the capital of Illinois. I’m amused to see the actual, in-use,...
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Bugs in Hotels — Hotel Oddity #43
On first glance, an ordinary curtain, right? NIGHTMARES, ANYONE? These curtains look ordinary at first glance. Who scrutinizes the design on hotel room curtains? But your eyes have registered the...
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Pickpockets on trains
A typically crowded train in Athens Unfamiliar fingers fiddled with the flap of my bag. I let them. My American Express card was in the purse, along with a small camera and other things I’d hate to...
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Venetian glass beads, blown live in Venice studio
A mannequin at Muranero glass bead studio. Serendipitous finds are one of the joys of travel. In Venice, the rule is wander, get lost, and head away from the unbearably crowded tourist areas. Doing...
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Pickpockets on Rome Metro
This young pickpocket has just returned Bob’s wallet and is now nervous and uncomfortable, trapped on a moving train with her victim. Hunting Pickpockets on Rome Metro As we rode the steep escalator to...
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Naples pickpocket Angelo sighted
Guest Post Naples pickpocket Angelo Dear Bob Arno and Bambi Vincent, I want to thank you for your information. Before I went to Naples I searched for info on street crime and pickpockets there and also...
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Overcharge scam or accidental mistake?
The salesman who overcharged me in Rome’s Mercato di Campo de’ Fiori Kitchenware for sale at Rome’s Mercato di Campo de’ Fiori Overcharge Scam “Do you take credit cards?” “Si, signora,” the salesman...
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Hotel Oddity #45
Window magic at Hotel Luna Baglioni I was happy to discover that all three windows opened in my beautiful room at Hotel Luna Baglioni. So many hotels seal up bedroom windows, forcing guests to rely on...
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Fresh Swedish potatoes
Fresh Swedish potatoes In Stockholm, it’s that time of year. Fresh, delicious, Swedish potatoes. Get them in the neighborhood grocery stores, dirt and all. I’ve never seen them sold like this in the...
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Romanian Pickpockets in Romania
Romanian pickpocket in Romania today. Where will he be tomorrow? Paris? Rome? Madrid? The pickpocket pair was plain as day to us. And we were just as obvious to them: tourists—by definition, filthy...
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Romanian beggars
A gypsy girl in Romania I recently wrote about beggars on the streets of Stockholm. I observed that an abundance of beggars are now stationed in the streets, and that they are mostly from Romania. I...
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Nigerian torture officers
A form of Nigerian torture “Torture has become such an integral part of policing in Nigeria that many stations have an informal torture officer, Amnesty International says. “Both the military and...
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Wake-up call — Hotel Oddity #46
Four Seasons wakeup call comes with coffee delivered to your door. Four Seasons wake-up call: great morning! I recently had the great fortune to stay in the Four Seasons Hotel in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet...
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Airport survival
Masked traveler in a lounge in Istanbul airport Sometimes an exhausted traveler just has to give in and conk out. You can intend to be productive. You can try to be productive. You can even be...
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Pickpockets in Paris
Bosnian pickpocket on the loose in Paris. Pickpocketing in Paris is out of control. Or rather, the pickpockets in Paris are in control. The police arrest them regularly then see the same faces on the...
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Paris pickpockets – kids you wouldn’t suspect
A pickpocket in Paris. Would you suspect him? “No, no, I won’t steal from you,” the little boy says. “You’re my brother! Family! Family!” He touches his heart, repeating “family, family.” He calls for...
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Four Seasons Hotel Perfection—Hotel Oddity #47
A flashlight on hand at the Four Seasons Sultanahmet in Istanbul. What has the Four Seasons Sultanahmet in Istanbul not thought of? I’ve already written about its coffee delivered with wake-up call, a...
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Arlanda shopping trick—offensive
This is the way to the gates and lounge right after security at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport. For years, the exit has been blocked by luggage carts. Like shopping? Like to be forced into shopping? Ever...
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Hotel Oddity #48. Shangri-la tea
The basket beckons at Shangri-La hotel, Singapore. This intriguing basket was waiting in our room when we checked into the Shangri-La hotel in Singapore. It had been a long journey for us and our heads...
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