tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3874137447740219052.post987025800482746228..comments2024-03-15T20:22:06.967+01:00Comments on A View of Madrid: Words of WarningA View Of Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08276030592377295471noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3874137447740219052.post-68860358076365814852009-12-05T21:09:54.266+01:002009-12-05T21:09:54.266+01:00Another tip....watch your purse or bag at outdoor ...Another tip....watch your purse or bag at outdoor cafes, especially if you're approached by a kid trying to sell you something. They'll grab your bag and be gone in a flash. I've noticed some of the restaurants near the Prado have hire security guards to keep the kids "moving along" with a few well-aimed blows to the head and ears!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3874137447740219052.post-16051288146502487662009-11-18T02:36:27.048+01:002009-11-18T02:36:27.048+01:00This is my second year in Madrid, and I have never...This is my second year in Madrid, and I have never had anything stolen. Having said that I knew before moving here that Madrid had a slight reputation for pickpockets or caracteristas! I think it's better to have a handbag with a cross body strap. Mine has 2 shoulder straps and a cross body strap. I always wear it so I have the zip in front where I can see it and have my hand near it with my thumb through the metal holes that attach the shoulder straps. I am especially caregful on the metro, and even more so when it is extremely packed! I have never had my mobile phone stolen but I was on the metro once a while ago, and I saw someone steal one. Luckily the man realised, and confronted the pickpocket before it was too late. He said "you have my mobile, empty your pockets" and the thief denied it, but sure enough he emptied his pockets and there was the mobile he had stolen! Beware of men with large coats hanging over their arms, they usually use these to hid what they are stealing! You can usually tell pickpockets because they look around trying to suss who will a be a good unsavvy victim. <br /><br />I'm also weary of people asking surveys on the street. I always ignore them, and say I'm in a rush which is more often than not the truth. <br /><br />It's true, I do feel safe here, it depends on the area of course. Some areas, I don't feel so safe. It does feel safer than Oxford or London, thats for sure! You just have to keep your wits about you, be alert and know what's going on.Bellanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3874137447740219052.post-84486459396935975032009-11-07T02:28:20.572+01:002009-11-07T02:28:20.572+01:00I feel safer here that in Canada. I´ve lived here...I feel safer here that in Canada. I´ve lived here for nine years, and have been pickpocketed only once, do to my own stupidity. I was walking down C/Fuencarral with my backpack (stuffed with work papers) and I forgot to move my wallet to the bottom. Oops. Lucky for me the Spanish police are very efficient and within 15 minutes that were calling me to return it. I would never walk downtown at 4 am in Canada, and here I walk to Cibeles late at night and there are more people in the street than in the daytime! <br /><br />Love your blog by the way!!Miss Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09135958249378330817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3874137447740219052.post-24042554175800882012009-11-03T21:14:49.015+01:002009-11-03T21:14:49.015+01:00Some tips given to me during my years in the USA.
...Some tips given to me during my years in the USA.<br />1 - Whenever possible wear sunglasses,they enable you to 'scan' without eye contact.<br />2 - Carry your 'stuff' in a supermarket carrier bag.Looks valueless and 'local'<br />3 - Do not carry your laptop in one of those neat black bags that scream "laptop" use a standard briefcase.Superhoophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13622188173094824240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3874137447740219052.post-21637570179631391392009-11-03T09:56:50.616+01:002009-11-03T09:56:50.616+01:00Talk about stable doors and horses!
After I left ...Talk about stable doors and horses!<br /><br />After I left you the other week, one of my wallets went walkabout. No great drama; there wasn't anything of any real value in it ... that was in my other wallet, in a rally secure place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3874137447740219052.post-79832545488300844372009-11-02T10:29:50.373+01:002009-11-02T10:29:50.373+01:00Yes, I feel safe in Madrid at night in the areas t...Yes, I feel safe in Madrid at night in the areas that I know. More safe than in London. <br />I have two stories to tell. Some English friends came to Madrid an one had his camera stolen in the metro. (he had it on his back, and by the time I was telling him that was dangerous, it had gone). We went to the police to report it in Huertas, and obviously they have quite a lot of reports a day, they even have the forms in English. My friend got a better camera with the insurance money!<br /><br />My in-laws and my sister-in- law came on visit to Madrid, and as we were walking down Carrera de los Jerónimos, I saw a gipsy looking woman unzip the handbag of my sister-in-law and put the hand in. I was so astonished that I could not react, but my husband, who is 6 ft did, while this woman was 4ft10in, all she had taken was the empty camera bag, not the purse and it was restored to the owner. <br /><br />I have visited Naples, where you also here a lot of mugging stories, and I walked even without a handbag, in jeans, trying not to look tourist at all. No problem.pippahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03563738127032800575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3874137447740219052.post-13524095540110619082009-11-01T13:34:42.811+01:002009-11-01T13:34:42.811+01:00Great post and excellent advice. My 23 year old d...Great post and excellent advice. My 23 year old daughter just moved to Garmisch, Germany last month. She and friends are going to either Innsbruck or Munich tomorrow on her day off and I referred her to this post for good, common sense advice.<br /><br />As for feeling safe in Madrid, perhaps it is being a large male, but I have never felt unsafe. But I have not visited any areas in Madrid that appear to be unsafe - if I felt at risk, I would depart quickly. I have found dangerous places in other cities (parts of Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Prague, Paris) and not stayed any longer than necessary.Sherpa Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10872916562511309808noreply@blogger.com