Barcelona pickpockets 😞

Unfortunately, pickpockets in the larger cities in Europe are a fact of life! My iPhone was stolen in Sevilla several years ago by a similar distraction technique. I hope your daughter and you can move on and not let it spoil your trip - but I definitely sympathize. BTW - I've returned to Spain twice since it happened and have not had a similar experience.

I read your post and in the end, it was only a phone your daughter lost, not her passport, not her credit cards, not her airline return ticket. As for the Barcelona policeman who insisted that you speak Spanish to him. are you suggesting he could speak English but would not? Highly unlikely. You also say "shame" on the people around you who ignored your daughter's hysterical sobbing. What would you expect them to do? Had she been all alone someone probably would have stepped up, but she was a young adult accompanied by her parents in the midst of what looked like a private family crisis.

It was an unsettling, unpleasant event to be sure but to cry "shame" ? No, not in my opinion. Sorry.

I am suggesting that the police officer not scream speak Spanish when we were actually trying. She was alone when she discovered her phone gone. Her sister and I had walked over to see what the fountains were doing. My husband is not on the trip. My daughter was not hysterical. I just know I have helped so many tourists in my country and no seemed to care last night. This morning the staff at the police station were very kind. The place was filled with people who had similar experiences. I have been to many large cities and never had such an experience.

I am so sorry to hear this. Indeed it puts a damper. Unfortunately, this is a problem all over Europe in the most tourist destinations, from Rome to Paris, from Seville to Barcelona, and especially when large crowds are gathered. Last year I was in Rome and I had to accompany a friend of mine to the police, and the scene was pretty much the same you described.

It's unlikely you'll get your phone back, but your pictures might be salvageable. Does your daughter use a cloud service for backup purposes? I bet she does... a lot of people have it activated in their phones. Most of the time, the stolen phone is not turned on again in order to avoid the legal user or the police locating its position, thieves just discard your SIM card and sell it. If that's the case, you should be able to recover your pictures any time, just logging into the cloud service. At the very least you might be able to recover your memories of the trip.

For those not aware... this was yesterday at the site Jules is describing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUk7hzFDsf8 over 120.000 attendees, locals and tourists alike, packed into Maria Cristina boulevard, by the Magic Fountain, to see the celebrations... fertile ground for pickpockets indeed. Not that 'helps' in any way, but pickpockets do not discriminate and we locals are also pickpocketed sometimes. I bet the Police station had a number of locals filling up their complaints too!

I'm sorry this happened to her as well. Unfortunately, pickpockets are a problem in many tourist/crowd hot spots but with just a few precautions, you can avoid becoming a victim.

First rule? Almost no pocket is safe. Never put anything of value in an exterior pocket: zippers are no deterrent at all. Even pockets inside a jacket aren't really safe unless they've been designed to thwart light fingers.

Never carry anything of value in a purse. Again, zippers are no deterrent. Pickpockets are very, very slick and can be in and out of them without you noticing a thing.

iphones are especially desirable to thieves, and yours was obviously watching to see where your daughter stowed her phone. Whenever possible, avoiding use of an expensive phone in crowded places where eyes may be watching is advised. Same with disclosing where you're keeping your wallet.

The RS forums are full of great methods for keeping valuables from falling into someone else's hands, and we all have our favorites: moneybelts, neck wallets, leg wallets, belt-tethered wallets, specially designed interior pockets... Our method is a slash-proof, cross-body Pacsafe day bag with locking zippers that would be very difficult for light fingers to access and impossible for those fingers to even try without our knowledge as it would take them much too long. Travelon makes a version as well. Some travelers object to their weight but that has never bothered us.

I do carry a standard shoulder bag when sightseeing for the guidebook, water bottle, tissues and other items which wouldn't be a headache if lifted (my husband usually carries the Pacsafe). My Canon goes in my bag as well when not around my neck; thieves aren't all that interested in that.

Assuming you're already familiar with the basics: no leaving stuff unattended, carry your purse/bag in front of you -not in the back-, no wallet/phone on back pocket, etc, I must add, that the most important rule is to avoid close proximity when possible. So when in a queue, at the metro, on a market stall, anywhere where people are packed like sardines, keep your hand on the purse/pocket where you wallet/phone is kept until it clears out (you get off the metro, you get out of the busy corridor at the market, etc) and check who's around you. Any suspicious activity -note appearance has nothing to do, some pickpockets dress impeccably- should be replied with a direct stare which says "I know what you're (might be) up to. Piss off!" A good friend of mine in the Police here in Barcelona always says that, statistically, over 90% of the pickpocket thefts are due to opportunity when one's guard is low, so in these particular scenarios (crowds) be alert and avoid close proximity.

Thanks for the tips Enric, you are a good resource. We are actually pretty astute travelers tho with limited experience in Europe. I think you get it. She feels violated and stupid and for a young person, their phones have everything. But we are working on getting our joy back. We'd like to try paella. Is it typically made from scratch? I ask because one daughter is vegetarian and the other loves seafood but can't eat onions. Might you have a suggestion for a paella place?

Sure, there are plenty of places. One of my preferred ones, albeit it's not cheap, it's El 7 Portes, one of the oldest restaurants in the city (est. 1836), located near the seafront. Ca la Nuri is another one, much more easy-going, located by the beach and Arrosseria Xàtiva, located in Gràcia is probably another good choice for variety -there are plenty of paellas, not just one type... examples. Besides, the neighbourhood is quite cosy and town-like. Check this for further options: http://www.timeout.com/barcelona/restaurants/barcelonas-best-paellas-the-rice-stuff

Onion is an ingredient very common in Mediterranean cuisines so it's used in many dishes, including paella. But you can ask the waiter not to put it in. Paellas are (should!) be made from scratch and on-demand, hence the reason many restaurants require a minimum order for two people and always warn it'll take 30' to be served. The only exception to that would be in menu del dia (a value day menu offered in most restaurants at lunch time) on Thursdays as it's traditional to include paella as the main dish on the menu del dia that day. In that case, it's made in larger quantities and served as demanded, and when it's finished, another batch is cooked. In that case, it's gonna be difficult not to have onion in it.

Some establishments -which I refuse to label as 'restaurants'- especially around La Rambla, offer an un-edible frozen piece of crap they call 'paella', from a company called Paellador (there's now a second brand offering the same s***t). Stay away from those... it's like loving hamburgers and eating one in McDonalds!

Pickpocketing is organized crime in Europe; the opening of the borders has meant that well organized crime families from Eastern Europe mostly, have moved into major tourist cities such as Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Florence and aggressively practice their craft. They are good at it. If you have valuables in an external pocket, odds are high you will lose them and anytime strangers are inappropriately close and friendly you should be on high alert. But if valuables are accessible, you are likely to lose them. No goodies in outer pockets, even zipped, or backpacks.

It is maddening and discouraging to lose things. We have been traveling for over 30 years in Europe and it has been an ongoing argument with my husband about carrying things in pockets. He has been targeted half a dozen times but until this year had never lost anything (he once put his hand in his pocket on the Paris metro and found a hand already there; he once lost his wallet to a picker and grabbed the guy's arm and jumped off the train with him and retrieved the wallet) This year in St. Petersburg his luck finally ran out and he lost his passport card, credit card and transport card; luckily I had nagged him into only carrying ID and one card but the thieves had already put 20K on the card in the two hours it took to report it and the card was disabled and we didn't have it's use for the next 8 weeks of our trip and the issue was only resolved recently. I am just grateful he didn't have a pocket full of cards and money as he would have 30 years ago.

Moneybelt under the clothes for deep storage. Walking around money, phone etc needs to be in inner hidden pockets, a neck wallet under clothes or a cross body purse well controlled. Not 100% but 99% or so.

I hope the next 3 weeks will return the joy to your daughter and your trip. I loved Barcelona, but I remember walking down Las Ramblas and noting that it seemed every woman had a small purse, carried in front, with their hand on it. That example was the best reminder to me.

Because you have 3 more weeks of travel, may I add this piece of advice... learn to look around yourself in crowded situation. You'll be amazed at how you can pick out people watching people and you do get a sense of who is just people-watching and who might be interested in something else. You may even want to practice this to get used to it. It's a skill that will last a lifetime and pickpockets need the element of surprise/lack of attention. My daughter lived in Europe for several years and actually had to use the skill coming out of the Las Vegas airport -two guys following too close, when she stopped and looked at them, they reversed course back into the airport.

Best of luck with the rest of your adventure.

Shame on the bystanders for ignoring you? What were they supposed to do?? They probably didn't even know why she was crying, and if you don't speak Spanish (or Catalan, more likely) how could they help? Same for the police - they can't be expected to know the language of every visitor to this highly touristed city. Would you expect the police in your city to automatically understand a frantic person speaking Catalan? It is too bad that this happened, but the pickpocket situation in major cities is hardly a secret, particularly in crowded conditions like you experienced. As for the pictures on her phone, I don't know about iPhones, but my Android automatically uploads my pictures to Google +, so all that would have been lost was any pictures taken while out of wifi. Does iPhone have something similar?

While this is not exactly a really 'hard time' experience, I have found in life that from the hard times come good, and usually beneficial lesson(s). Perhaps your daughter will discover there is life without an iPhone and there is no need to show off to friends in the moment, but rather be in the moment herself and enjoy it. She might discover she is her own best friend, which is one of the greatest lessons of all, IMO. Things happen for a reason...

Wray,
As a mom, I totally get what you're saying, but I feel like I must point out that she isn't on her phone all day long, in fact, we don't have wifi except at the hotel. Our budget didn't really allow for use of phones for this trip. Actually they'd be helpful for directions or pre purchasing tickets but not in the budget. she is not showing off to her friends. We were sitting and waiting for fireworks and she wanted to create a New Years greeting with a lovely picture she had taken. She is a junior in college and her dad and I consider this her "study abroad". This is a cheaper way to accomplish that kind of experience since her twin sister is traveling with us. She has never been on a school trip whether it be Chicago, Wash DC, or to Germany when her high school German class traveled. My husband didn't come on this trip either, didn't fit the budget. She is a cheerful Midwest girl who always seeks the positive in everyone that spent today clutching her purse and telling anyone that came near to back off. That's not the way she is, not wants to be but sure learned a lesson.

I recently watched this fascinating documentary... Very eye opening...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia2b54srRZM

about professional pick pockets.

One thing we have found helpful in our extensive travels is this: Yes, money belts under clothes, cross body purse, but then we take small amounts of money for that day (without having to go to your money belt)----get a large diaper pin and a chain necklace (strong one--can get them cheap at Walmart--take off hook). Get a small zippered coin purse, attach the chain to it on one end and the safety pin on the other. Pin it sturdily inside your front pants pocket. I also did the same with my Safepac purse. Not 100 % but definitely helps and never had any trouble.

from London's Channel 4 - The Secrets of the Pickpockets Barcelona & London

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I was ripped off by a taxi driver in Rome and felt violated and thought my experience in Rome would be ruined. I was prepared on how to handle taxi drivers prior to arriving. I felt I was prepared! But it happened! I lost money to this unscrupulous taxi driver! At first I thought my day would be ruined, I had to make a conscious effort to not let it hurt our experience! Eventually I got past it and now it is an experience I share with friends. I refused to let it ruin my visit to Rome. I love Rome! Shame on those pickpockets! Don't let it ruin your experience! I hope the rest of your trip goes well!

I'm sorry that this happened to your family. I lost a $60 pair of sunglasses (old and beat up though) and a nice case at the Vatican Museums in late October. That was the first time on my sixteenth trip to Europe. My wife was pickpocketed twice, once in Venice and once in Madrid (that time the thieves were immediately nabbed by undercover cops!) A $600 or so phone is a very serious loss and you have my sympathy. Once there is time so it's not so fresh, the positive aspects will prevail in your memory of the trip. Also, the point about photos uploading automatically to iCloud is a good one. My wife's phone does that, and my Windows phone uploads automatically to OneDrive. So the photos actually might not be lost. One time on a business trip in Barcelona, I was walking right on the Ramblas at dusk with my backpack hanging open and a local alerted me to it. I did not have anything of great value in it, but I took that as a sign that (not surprisingly) there are a lot of good Samaritans in Barcelona as well.

This is a tough one. I'm sure you are hurting for your daughter and feel violated, too, but will help your daughter turn it around, be pro-active, have her read all the guidelines others have written and be strong. I hope she can see that this was a material object, not an assault or worse. (Will your homeowner's insurance cover it?)

My husband was assaulted in LA many years ago, and it took several months for us to feel confident again, so I understand her feeling vulnerable, especially if she's from a nice, friendly mid-west area--the kind of place we live now. On the other hand, my kids, as young teens growing up, had to face a lot of attempted thefts from other kids both in California and while visiting family in Paris--city life in the 1980s and 1990s. They got smart about city life fast. I was just a little bit older than she is now when I first went to big cities in Europe and learned to wipe the mid-western smile off my face.

So if she's reacting strongly today, hopefully, with your help she'll find a balance and regain confidence soon. As for you, all the best wishes seeing her through this.

Jules,

Sorry this happened to your daughter...
I have a daughter, around the same age as yours; and I know she would be very upset if her cell phone got stolen.

I do hope you enjoy the rest of your trip :-)

Thanks all. We are feeling better, stronger, my daughter most of all. She likes to see and look for the positive. Perhaps the biggest loss was the plan for a lovely New Year's Eve in an exciting city. My husband reminded us that I have commented that I choose to travel in spite of the more frequent terrorism because I won't give in and be terrorized. This was a little very mini version of terrorism in a way, and we can't let it get the best of us. Also we gets some chuckles from the fact it was a very old version of the iPhone 5, worn with a cracked screen, minimal storage and Verizon phones do not have SIM cards so not very useful in Europe. "Bad day at the office" for these thugs!

That's the spirit! While initially a big wet rag on your good time - as it would have been for anyone - it's very good to hear that you and your sense of humor are feeling better! Here's hoping that you all have a wonderful time on the rest of your trip!