ITALY--GENOVA: BEAUTIFUL CITY; THIEVES AT THE TRAIN STATION..... PHONE STOLEN!!!!! ALL PHOTOS LOST!!!

 Yes, it is most tragic that my otherwise great visit to this city was tainted by this horribly traumatizing experience... and the SECOND time this has happened to me...unbelievable!!! (The first time was in Mexico City, a couple years back....) 

ALL THE PHOTOS TAKEN IN GENOVA WERE LOST.... I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY DIDN'T BACK UP... SO... ARE GONE FOREVER WITH THE PHONE!!!!!! 

SOOOOOO HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED:

I was in the train station, taking my leave of the city this past Wednesday... after purchasing a croissant to eat while waiting for the train, I sat down (on the ground at the platform--as usual, no one had the courtesy to let this senior have a proper seat!!) to eat the croissant. 

I THOUGHT I remembered having the phone in hand--along with the croissant bag--as I walked to the platform from the pastry shop. But, when I went to check the time on my phone...well, it was simply...gone. NOT anywhere!!!! Did I set it down on the ground next to me, only to have the crafty thief snatch it when I wasn't looking?! Seems the most likely explanation. Strange that I wouldn't have noticed, but I WAS focused on enjoying the croissant.... and a practiced thief could have finely honed skills of stealth... targeting a momentary lapse of care from just such a traveler as myself...

Needless to say, it was EXTREMELY traumatic!!! I was worried about my banking apps (of course I changed the passwords); VERY upset about losing ALL the messages on Whatsapp (irrecoverable, since they were attached to my Mexican SIM card and phone number, originally on that phone); the loss of a valuable Samsung phone itself; the fact that I had JUST put a new SIM card and plan on that phone a few days' back in Germany; the fact that I lost a paid-for day at the Airbnb in Montpellier, my next destination, and had to find--and pay for--ANOTHER place to stay for the night in Genova; the fact that I spent two hours sobbing in the police station, utterly bereft (they WERE at least quite kind to me, and even got a translator from TrainItalia to help me out, since my Italian is nil, as was their English); then paying to store my luggage at the station so I could make my way to a Vodafone store and buy yet ANOTHER new phone plan; then the GPS not working properly as usual... and on and on and on. Really, really HORRIBLE day!!!

Oh, and did I forget to mention? NO, I DIDN'T...BUT LET ME REITERATE: I LOST ALL MY PHOTOS OF GENOVA...AND THEY WERE GORGEOUS!!!  BUT NONE HAD BACKED UP!!!!!

AND....I lost ALL my activated trips on my Eurail Pass, and when I finally made my way to my acommodation for the night (an overpriced, funky place far from the center of town, but only place even close to being affordable), I spent hours back and forth--via email--with their customer service TRYING to find a way to recover those trips. There is NO number to call, so email is the ONLY form of communication... and their customer service reps are only slightly better than useless!  Two days later, as I write this, there is STILL no resolution to this issue... and the loss to me--should I now have to pay double for the train tickets--is enormous.

The only "good" point in all this is that I have a backup phone with me--the one I normally use in the U.S., of much worse quality (battery drains like water through a sieve)--so at least I was able to avoid having to go out and purchase yet another new phone... 

So...the lesson learned?? NEVER be careless with valuables, NEVER carry the phone in hand, and be ESPECIALLY cautious in train stations and other places where there are LOTS of people moving about, tourists and otherwise. I KNOW all this, though...so HOW did I get so careless?!? I am mad at MYSELF, most of all.

OK, moving onward...the brighter side... 

Yes, Genova was lovely... many beautiful historic buildings, with my favorites--per usual--being the breath-takingly gorgeous churches. Also, Genova is filled with many narrow passageways that look like alleys, but are actually real pedestrian streets, with a surprising number of little shops tucked away in them. It was really QUITE fascinating!!

 Furthermore, though the train statiion charged a whole euro to use the bathroom, I found--much to my pleasant surprise--TWO free toilets in the city!!! (This IS a big deal, mind you...for when it is hot, and necessary to drink a lot, frequently paying for toilets is a criminally unacceptable money drain!!) One was actually in a metro station, and the other, down on the pier. And they were manned and CLEAN! Truly a wonder. 

Besides the trauma of my stolen phone, the other down side was my Airbnb: the room itself was quite basic, but not bad... only, for $57 a night, very pricey for what it was (but typical in Europe, as I have seen everywhere so far...). Worse, the old building--built in 1933, according to my host--stank. I could not figure out if the bad smell was mold, sewage, animals...or a combination of all three (and perhaps some general rot thrown into the mix!) 

Then, right outside the front door, there were many prostitutes hanging out in doorways on the same alley-street, and side streets as well... so the area had a seedy, unsafe feel to it. Ironically, though, a few minutes away from this dwelling were very NICE streets, filled with happy people in cafes, many touristic shops, and the municipal building! (Clearly, there is no policing of the prosititutes, even though they are so close to the areas of tourism! Rather shocking, really!) 

Anyhow, despite the horrors, someday I MIGHT go back, in order to reclaim the great photos (I took dozens!!!) and replace the bad experience with only the good. 

You see, folks? This business of travel is NOT the wonderful, romantic, madcap adventure that it sometimes appears to be...

And now, back on the train, one day later than planned, heading onward to France and Montpellier...