So I consider myself to be a bit more street wise than the average human being. So when planning a trip to Paris, I had the whole security thing to consider. Yes, the internet is full of people who have been pick pocketed in Paris. But surely that would never happen to me. But then I keep thinking about my sister. She was obsessed with the Eiffel Tower. I mean OBSESSED. It is all she ever talked about. Every trip I took to Las Vegas would have her begging me to bring back something Eiffel Tower related. She talked about this stupid tower ALL THE TIME.
Finally, she is going to Paris. She is going to the Eiffel Tower. She is so excited. Flash forward about an hour after she gets to Paris, and I get a voicemail I can barely understand because she is crying and choking. She tells me to call her back, does not leave a number or a hotel name. I had to break into her email to find the confirmation. Turns out, she did get to the Eiffel Tower. As soon as she got off the plane. And she got pick pocketed and was now broke in Paris.
I know my sister pretty well. She doesn’t like to pay attention to anything. She carries ginormous purses that are never closed. I don’t necessarily want to blame the victim here, but these things did cross my mind. She swears that she was super careful.
So now my turn to go to Paris comes. I don’t want to do things like carry a money belt or whatever. I want to just go. I am street savvy, I can do this. But in the back of my mind, I can’t stop thinking about how stupid I will feel if I am robbed. I picture the conversations. My sister saying “I told you so”. So I buy a money belt. But I still don’t want to use it. So I compromise. I head for the Eiffel Tower with only 5 euro on me, in a change purse. I leave my wallet back at my hotel.