It's very embarrassing for me to have to admit that I was robbed during my recent trip to Barcelona. I have nobody but myself to blame (apart from the robbers, of course), and thinking back I should have realized that there was more to their actions than met the eye.
On April 22, Barcelona was buzzing. It was St. George's day and the streets were lined with stalls selling flowers and books, and whichever way you looked there was a sea of bobbing heads as far as the eye could see.
We were headed up towards the Casa Mila, when two women accosted us and stuck red carnations inside our t-shirts. We were a bit taken aback, but since the whole place was humming in a fiesta-type way, my friend and I both thought that this must be some kind of local tradition. This is where we missed our first clue: they weren't red roses, they were red carnations.
The two women then held up what looked like 5 cent pieces, and kept saying “Penny Madam!” My friend took a 10 cent piece out of her purse and said she didn't have any 5 cent pieces but that this would be for both of us. But the two women were adamant: “No, Madam, penny!” Then they kissed their pennies and tapped them on her purse.
I knew I had some 5 cent pieces, so I got out my purse and took out two. Meanwhile, I heard my friend saying “Don't pull!” and then the two women were in front of me waving their coins at me. I offered them the two 5 cent pieces, but they took them out of my hand and tried to open my purse as if to return them. I wouldn't let them do so, and I took the coins back and tried offering them again.
Again the women refused and one made as if to open my purse and return my coin, but I held on tight and wouldn't let her. Then she kissed her coin and tapped my purse. At this stage I should have smelled a rat, but I was thinking this must be some kind of strange ritual, like giving good luck etc. and I really didn't want to offend anyone.
I offered the coin again. I really didn't want to just take the flower without paying, since it was obvious something was expected from me. Again she said “No, Madam, Penny!” and once again she kissed her coin and tapped it on the side of my purse, then I felt her pulling at it, and I decided enough was enough. I pulled my purse away, gave the flower back to them, and caught up with my friend.
I told my friend that they had pulled at my purse but that I'd managed to not let them open it, and she said they'd done the same to her. But when I checked inside the billfold part of the purse my paper money was all gone. I turned around to chase them, but they had disappeared.
A nearby stall holder said that they weren't Spanish, most probably gypsies or migrants, and he called the police for us. But the police would have had a job to get through the crowds, especially since some of the more central roads had been closed to cars. They said we should go to the police station that night, but there didn't seem much point.
I was very lucky. They didn't get any of my cards, my passport, or my driving license, and the money they stole was just the money that I thought I'd need for that one day. The rest of my money was safely tucked away.
It all happened so fast that it reminded me of watching a magic trick where the magician removes someone's money, watch, and even their underwear, after minimal contact, and returns them to the surprised owner in front of an admiring audience. Only this time, they didn't magically reappear and return my money, but that didn't stop me from checking to see if I still had my watch and undies on! I'm happy to say all were intact.
It really bugged me that I'd been robbed without even opening my purse. That night I thought carefully about what happened and this is what I figured out. The kissing of the coin and tapping the side of my purse was a signal to the other thief that the kiss/tapper was about to steal. The other thief would then pull at my purse from her side to disguise the fact that the kiss/tapper was sliding a finger into the billfold section and pulling out the paper money. That's the only way I can think of that it could have happened. Luckily, I pulled away from them then and there or they may have managed to get my driving license and my credit cards.
It was an expensive lesson to learn, but it could have cost me much more, and for that I'm grateful.
