I consider myself pretty well-traveled, so I know all the tricks: don’t carry a lot of cash, keep your bag in front of you, put your passport in a safe place... So I was pretty shocked when someone tried to pickpocket me on the metro! I ignored my purse dangling at my side for just a second to say “thanks” to a compliment from Allison about my newly purchased earrings, and noticed a woman standing very close to me. I didn’t think anything of it, but then Jess suddenly whispered,
“Logan, your bag!”
I looked the other direction and didn’t notice anything.
“What?” I said, clearly confused.
“Your bag! Her hand was IN your bag!”
I whipped around to see the tattoo-covered woman lazily walking to the back of our compartment. I ripped open my purse. Passport—check. Money—check. Camera—check. Dr. Pepper chapstick—check. That was all I cared about, so I wheeled back around to glare at the almost-thief. After several minutes of my talking loudly about what would happen to the next person who tried to steal from me, the woman attempted to dart off the subway.
Unfortunately for her, Karma decided to intervene right at that moment. She collided with a passerby, and I watched as the doors quickly closed on her body, leaving half her torso, and head, outside the car, and her legs and the rest of her body inside. We all burst out laughing, pointing and screaming. The thief was clearly terrified, and she finally pried open the doors and stumbled out. Before the doors closed, I cried, “That’s Karma, thief!”
“Logan, your bag!”
I looked the other direction and didn’t notice anything.
“What?” I said, clearly confused.
“Your bag! Her hand was IN your bag!”
I whipped around to see the tattoo-covered woman lazily walking to the back of our compartment. I ripped open my purse. Passport—check. Money—check. Camera—check. Dr. Pepper chapstick—check. That was all I cared about, so I wheeled back around to glare at the almost-thief. After several minutes of my talking loudly about what would happen to the next person who tried to steal from me, the woman attempted to dart off the subway.
Unfortunately for her, Karma decided to intervene right at that moment. She collided with a passerby, and I watched as the doors quickly closed on her body, leaving half her torso, and head, outside the car, and her legs and the rest of her body inside. We all burst out laughing, pointing and screaming. The thief was clearly terrified, and she finally pried open the doors and stumbled out. Before the doors closed, I cried, “That’s Karma, thief!”
Purses in death grip, we all exited the metro and continued to wander around a very cold, wet Madrid. We took shelter in the nearby National Archaeology Museum, and passed by artifacts from Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Roman and Iberian cultures. But it was hard to be awed after touring the 2000-room Royal Palace earlier in the morning. My favorite part was the all-porcelain dressing room.
A group of us continued to walk through the bustling streets and took a stroll through the city’s Parque del Buen Retiro, which translates “park of good rest,” which has almost 300 acres of land and gardens.