Monday, April 28, 2014

CNNGo.com

CNNGo.com


Pickpocketed in Europe! How it happened to me

Posted: 27 Apr 2014 11:00 PM PDT

We'd been warned about petty thieves. We took precautions. It didn't matter
Policeman speak with pickpocket boys in Madrid

As the de facto tour guide for my Chinese family of eight, I knew our first trip to Europe would be anything but easy.

There were a lot of details to take care of, a lot of things to worry about.

But my biggest travel concern?

Pickpockets.

Our vacation would take us to Paris, Barcelona, Rome and Milan -- all but Milan have been included in the past by TripAdvisor on a list of top 10 places to watch out for purse snatchers.

In addition, pickpockets are known for targeting Chinese tourists -- that would include my family -- due to our preference for using cash over credit cards.

Just last year, petty crimes against the Chinese jumped 22% in Paris according to local police.

MORE: Chinese tourists targeted in Paris pickpocketing spate

Air-tight game plan

Knowing we have "Please take our money!" written on our Chinese faces, our mini-tour group prepares for the worst.

Stay in physical and visual contact with our belongings? Check.

Be cautious about being cornered by thieves on public transport or duped by elaborate purse jobs? Check.

Study the helpful U.S. Embassy in France's anti-pickpocketing guide from front to back? Check.

The key lesson, we tell ourselves, is to stay alert and be aware of our surroundings.

Foiled!

Chinese tourists at Eiffel TowerPetty crimes against Chinese nationals jumped 22% in the Paris in 2013, according to Paris police.Fresh off Petty Theft 101, my family's sense of security is high.

Traveling in a group we keep a constant eye on each other from Paris to Barcelona and onward to Rome. 

Traveling in winter provides one major perk -- no crowds at tourist attractions.

This means great family pictures and fewer opportunities for pickpockets to hide themselves in a crowd.

At each stop, I applaud everyone's vigilance, convinced that we're one step ahead of whatever tricks the pickpockets have up their sleeves.

With Milan as our last stop, retail therapy is in order.

After a quick tour of the Duomo and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, my mother and I have one thing on our minds -- shoes!

We walk down Via Torino admiring all the leather goods.

Even the drizzling rain can't dampen our excitement as we hop from store to store.

It being the last day of the trip, petty theft is the last thing on our minds.

But our one true obsession has clouded our judgment, and all our anti-theft preparation is forgotten.

Ten minutes after sitting down in a busy shoe shop, my mother squeals from across the row of benches -- her cross-body bag is swinging at her side. Unzipped.

Her wallet -- with three credit cards and a few hundred euros inside -- is gone.

MORE: Louvre hit by Chinese counterfeit ticket scam

"It must be somewhere!"

Next come the five stages of loss and grief, travel edition.

Denial: I search the store, hoping we've made simply made a mindless mistake.

It has to be under the benches. Nope.

Maybe someone has turned it in at the register? Uh-uh.

How about the trash bins out in the street? Niente!

Anger: Next up, too many questions, too few answers.

"How could you lose it? Did it happen on the street? Was it in the shop? Who stole it? How did they do it?"

MORE: Peru to tourists: "Stop getting naked at Machu Picchu!"

In a state of panic, all I feel is frustration and confusion.

The shopkeeper insists the theft didn't take place in the store.

Surveillance footage provides no clues, but I remain suspicious of the "customers" who have just left.

Bargaining: The "shoulda coulda woulda" part.

If only we'd kept our surroundings in check … but like waking up from a dream, the blurry details of our short excursion are hard to recall.

Depression and acceptance: While my mother sighs and cancels her three credit cards, I realize there's little to be done now -- we're leaving in less than 24 hours and there's no evidence to show who committed the crime or how it was done.

We accept defeat.

Beaten, but not broken

Oh, petty-theft masterminds of Milan, on behalf of tourists from around the world, and especially China, I bow down to you.

In hindsight, getting pickpocketed might be a rite of passage for travelers in Europe.

It's certainly a growing pain that tourists who experience it bond over.

This is especially true for us Chinese tourists who I guess are just too distracted by every new cultural opportunity or taking pictures of every monument in sight.

While losing cash and credit cards feels like being booted in the stomach, it's best to put things into perspective -- at least, that's what my bruised ego tells me.  

It takes only a brief lapse of awareness to get robbed, but rethinking and retracing every painful detail dampens the spirit of what was otherwise a great family trip.

So cheers to you, pickpockets!

After everything my family and I did to stop you, I hope you and your hard-earned cash will be happy together.

Just remember: karma bites.

MORE: First medical tourism awards tout top treatment trips

CNN's Real Travel series presents first-person accounts of the gaudy and gritty, the surprising and surreptitious, and everything in between that makes up the modern global travel experience. 

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

CNNGo.com

CNNGo.com


CNNGo in Milan: Supermodels, high fashion and top brollies

Posted: 08 Apr 2014 05:00 PM PDT

Our monthly TV show cruises the home of some of the world's greatest designers, discovering a hidden museum and an exclusive umbrella maker along the way

Talk about style: this month, CNNGo TV checks out Milan Fashion Week's catwalk with model Eva Riccobono and explores the city's night scene with DJ Matteo Ceccarini.

We also visit to one of the world's most exclusive umbrella makers, a top restaurant and the navigli, the derelict canals that run through the city.

Francesco Maglia Ombrelli

Francesco Maglia CNNGo MilanFrancesco Maglia and one of his "Made in Italy" umbrellas.

Ombrelli Maglia, also known as the Maglia Umbrella Company, is a fifth-generation company producing umbrellas for the world's most exclusive brands.

It takes 80 steps to make an umbrella in Francesco Maglia's workshop and every one of them is done by hand using high quality materials -- a true expression of the "Made in Italy" trademark.

Francesco Maglia Ombrelli, Via Ripamonto, 194-20141 Milano; +39 2 5521 9333

 


MORE: Milan: 7 things to know before you go

Bamboo Bar, Armani Hotel

Bamboo Bar CNNGo MilanTastiest way to be a local Milanese: aperitivo!

Bamboo Bar at the top of the Armani Hotel serves some of the best cocktails in town and offers spectacular views of the city.

It's one of the best spots for an "aperitivo," a well-established Italian tradition and an art that the Milanese have mastered over the years. 

The ritual can start as early as 6 p.m. and involves pre-dinner drinks accompanied by appetizers. 

Bamboo Bar, Armani Hotel Milano, Via Manzoni 31, Milan; +39 2 8883 8381


Museo Poldi Pezzoli

 Museo Poldi Pezzoli CNNGo MilanA different kind of backyard activity.

Milan's courtyards are loved by locals but are often hidden from tourists and passers-by.

In a secluded courtyard we find one of Milan's most well-hidden secrets -- Museo Poldi Pezzoli.

This private house-turned-museum holds a collection of some of the most exquisite masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance.

"Portrait of a Lady," by Piero del Pollaiolo is the museum's centerpiece.

Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Via Manzoni 12; +39 2 79 6334/79 4889; admission €9 ($12)


READ: Happy when it pours: The umbrella man of Milan

10 Corso Como

10 Corso Como CNNGo MilanA place to see and be seen.

Founded in 1990, 10 Corso Como is a concept store dedicated to art, fashion and design.

Hidden behind a discreet façade, it's home to an art gallery, bookshop, garden cafe, restaurant and designer boutique.

One of the hottest venues during Fashion Week, 10 Corso Como is one of the best places to see and be seen in Milan.

10 Corso Como, Via Tazzoli 3, 20154 Milano; +39 2 2901 5130


Ristorante Giannino

Ristorante Giannino CNNGo MilanAfter San Siro Stadium, this place is your best bet to see an AC Milan player.

Giannino is an institution in Milan -- a restaurant with a long history, which these days is much favored by the fashionable footballers of AC Milan. 

Why? 

It serves some of the best Milanese dishes -- renowned classics like ossobuco (cross-cut veal shanks) and risotto alla Milanese can be enjoyed here. 

Giannino, Via Vittor Pisani 6, Milano; +39 2 6698 6998

MORE: Insider guide to the most fashionable place on Earth

Guests:

Eva Riccobono, model and actress

Filippo Fiora & Filippo Cirulli, fashion bloggers, thethreef.com

Francesco Maglia, umbrella maker

Alessandro Borghese, chef and TV personality

Matteo Ceccarini, DJ and sound designer

Alan Gelati, photographer

READ: The fashion model's guide to Milan


Mark as iReport: 

Saturday, April 5, 2014

CNNGo.com

CNNGo.com


iReport: Your favorite attractions in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:00 PM PDT

"[Colombo] has undergone a major transformation in the past five years and I'm glad to say that it's all for the better -- Colombo has become a much more interesting, beautiful and enjoyable place," says iReporter Abdul Rahman Ifham.

"It's a must visit for anyone and everyone."

Ifham has traveled to many places, but still thinks Sri Lanka's capital city -- also his home city -- is the best in the world.

He and his friends -- Praveen Wijayaweera, Rakhitha Fernando and Vithurson Vincendrarajan -- captured their favorite spots and shared the pictures on our iReport assignment: Your images from Colombo, Sri Lanka

"We share a common passion, a love for Colombo," says Ifham.

Travelers William Goggins and Meera Vijayann also contributed their best shots of the city.

MORE: CNNGo in Sri Lanka: Spicy crabs, blue whales and Ceylon tea

Here are the links to their iReport:

Meera Vijayann's "Colombo, where the heart lies"

William Goggins's "Galle Face Sunset"

Abdul Rahman Ifham's "Magnificent Colombo"