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Monday, June 19, 2017

A Tale of Lost Bags


How many times have you lost your baggage while traveling?

Not a very nice question to ask, but then some of us do face this once in a while and what follows next depends on the outcome in immediate future that follows.

On my recent trip to Italy, it happened, and despite all precautions what I could possibly take. Before I come to this episode, I would like to share the one which was a little less disastrous. Quite a few years back, I arrived in Paris from Amsterdam and was informed that my baggage had not reached. It was a winter month, so but for a thin jacket that was my shield, I had no protection. After lodging a complaint, I went to the hotel and since it was morning time, after checking in,I decided to explore the city, as brooding in the hotel room would hardly help. So I took off and went around the city and being the first visit to the city, everything looked very pretty, except for the freezing cold weather! Towards the evening, I reached Eiffel  Tower and purchased the ticket to climb to the top. The view was fabulous with neon lit streets, the boats full of merry makers astride boats on the adjacent Seine,even the tower dazzled in the illumination. Gosh! it was really cold on the top so after a while I climbed down and returned to the hotel. I had the most pleasant surprise to find my bag in the room which the airlines had located, and delivered to the hotel, bringing an end to the misery.

Not this time as on arrival in Rome , coincidentally from Amsterdam yet another time, the entire bag was missing, but for the hand bags. This time I was with my family, so the setback was bigger! The same evening, we were to board a train to Florence, from the Roma Termini station , so the anxiety was doubled. After lodging the complaint, we headed to the Roma Termini  to take the train. There was still some time for the train to leave so we made a few quick purchases to mitigate the situation created by the loss of bags! An urgent purchase of SIM card was necessitated as now we had to follow up with the airlines too!

The train arrived and with just a few handbags we boarded the ride to Florence.As the sun sets late by 9 PM we got a glimpse of the lovely towns of Orvieto, Arezzo located in the Tuscany region. A glimpse of the quiet flowing River Tiber, the verdant countryside tried to lift our spirits and by the time the train entered the sprawling Florence city, we almost forgot about the incident. We checked in the room our temporary abode for next  three nights . My spare night suits came to the rescue and we dozed off after a bite.

The next  three days it became a routine to follow up with the airlines as we kept exploring the marvels of Medici's and Michelangelo's city. We spent hours appreciating the art of some of the greatest sculptors and painters at the Uffizi Museum and Galleria dell Accademia. The creations of Michelangelo, Bernini, Lippi, Leonardo di Vinci,Raphael, Botticelli and many others left us spellbound with its sheer beauty and depth. Even the unfinished works of Michelangelo that adorn the Galleria are marvellous. The remaining time was spent admiring the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, the Cathedral and several other attractions.

The little time in between was devoted to finding some more daily essentials for our minimalist existence and following up with the airlines who kept assuring that it would reach us the next day. In fact it became  a celebration time for my family to indulge in some shopping at Mango, Zara and other leading brands which was not on the agenda . One man's sorrow became other's delight!On the last evening in Florence I got a call from the transporter that he will deliver the next morning which was not agreeable as we were to depart for next destination Moneglia by the morning train. With a little more patience and deliberation he agreed to deliver the bags next afternoon in Moneglia.

The next morning, with just hand bags and a few more additions we reached Santa Maria Novella station of Florence. The journey to the small village of Moneglia in the Ligurian region deserves another post as the train passes through some breathtaking views besides Pisa Centrale, through tiny towns of La Spezia, dozens of tunnels in Cinque Terre before arriving at Moneglia. Our hostess Silvana with her pretty daughter awaited us at the station and took us to our temporary abode for next one week. She gave us the good news that the transporter would arrive with our bags in an hour and so did he!

We had got accustomed to our handbags to to an extent that for our next train trip we wished the airlines guy reappears to take care of our bags so that we travel with just handbags and he delivers our bigger bags at the hotel door step. The lesson learnt on the trip was that one must carry at least two pairs of change in handbags especially when traveling by air, keep patience, be ready to exceed the budget and above all enjoy the planned itinerary without getting flustered as otherwise a good holiday could become a nightmare

PS Image Kind Courtesy Google

13 comments:

  1. Good advice, sir. I always carry some clothes with me. Even in my car. I am sorry to hear about your experience. It is bothersome. But that line - one man's sorrow is another's man plight - is so true.

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    1. Learning never ends and you certainly are wise, Saru:)

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  2. Missing baggage is a traveler's worst nightmare. Glad that you got it back and liked how you made the most of the given situation.

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    1. Sometimes the brain works better when pushed against the wall:)

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  3. You remember every detail, places etc. so vividly! Enjoyed your experience and we can learn a thing or two from you!

    Husband always is particular about carrying a spare set of clothes, night clothes etc. in the hand luggage...he too had a bad experience!

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    1. True Sandhya! All of us face such situations once in a while! Thanks for your kind comment .

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  4. Wow - that really was a disaster! Glad you could enjoy the marvels of Italy anyway and that you finally got your bags.

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  5. Thanks for reading, and yes the disaster was averted.

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  6. Oh my!
    What a bothersome thing to lose your baggage. Glad you got it back in the end. :)

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    1. Notwithstanding the initial setback, we sailed through the trip, well.

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  7. Appreciate the positive attitude! Loosing the bag was in a sense boon in disguise...unplanned shopping must hv been the cherry on top :) ;)
    ------Anagha from Team Mocktailmommies
    https://mocktailmommies.blogspot.com

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    1. Welcome to my. Blog! I always believe that every dark cloud has a silver lining:)

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