As always, we encourage you to be aware & be careful...

 Hi guys,  Hope you're all getting excited about France!  We sure are!  Many of you have told us you're departing in less than 30 days... So the countdown begins!  Terese & I  personally will  be leaving on June 8th to go over, work on the Tour plans and prepare for your arrival at the Villa!

For those of you spending a few days in Paris, and
especially if you're staying at our recommended
hotel, Londres de Eiffel,  be sure to catch the
evening light show in the fields at the The Eiffel Tower...
(consider a blanket, a bottle of wine, a corkscrew
& couple glasses ~ It makes a  great memory! 

We also wanted to again mention that it is an extremely busy tourist season all over Europe... and of course in the larger cities like Paris & Rome, it is indeed crowded... This creates the perfect environment for pickpockets and we are hearing and reading that indeed, they are active in the bigger cities ! 

I've read several first-hand accounts on travel group sites of folks describing having been pick-pocketed recently...   A year or two ago on our flight home after our Tours, we sat next to a family from Colorado who was cutting their Italian vacation short because the husband had been pickpocketed in the Rome rail station. He told us a large man stood at the top of an escalator and created a log jam, and in the commotion of people bumping into each other, they lifted his wallet from his back pocket. He had all their money in the wallet... Very sad indeed... 

So we don't want to scare you... these activities are no different than in major metropolitan hubs here in the US like NY, Chicago, LA, etc... But indeed Americans are often picked on in Europe as they know we as a group, tend to be a little more naive, compassionate and trusting...  It's not just pick-pockets... there's a lot of tourist travel scams out there... be careful.  Just be aware of your surroundings... And be careful with your valuables... Don't wear expensive flashy jewelry or watches... it's like advertising that you're a target... My brother got hit a few years ago in Scotland (likely because they were traveling with expensive designer logo'd luggage...) Even Travel Guru Rick Steves got pick-pocketed on a rail car 3 years ago, and he's spent most of his career warning travelers about pick-pockets....

So what can you do???  To start with, this is a mostly big city issue... The bigger the city, the more tourists sites, the more likely that there's pickpockets around... be especially careful in any crowded area... In Paris, this could be the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, The Arc de Triumph, Seine River Boat Cruises, The Champs Elysee, Rail Stations, Subways, Airports, etc...

Be very careful not to carry your wallet in your rear pocket... Also be careful with purses and backpacks... A pro can sneak up behind you in a crowd and unzip you back pack / purse and you'll never hear/feel/ or see him...  In big European cities, often children are involved in pickpocketing & travel scams...  Use a money belt or a neck wallet... Today these are available in lightweight silk and fit easily under your clothing.... Don't put all your money in these; you don't want to be pulling it out every time you're buying a gelato... put the walking around money you need for a day in your front pocket, and put the rest in the neck wallet... Consider splitting your money up so not all of it is on one person, or in one place... 

And of course lastly, use credit cards more often instead of carrying a lot of cash... and use your debit card at ATM machines just to get enough cash for a couple days so that your not carrying around too much money...   

Again these issues are mostly a big city problem and are less of an issue in Provence, but of course, these things can happen anywhere... Your best defense is just to always be aware of your surroundings...

This is Taylor Swift from her Eras Tour Concert in Paris this week