When traveling, always bring your good sense of humor . . .

In all the trips that I've taken so far I don't think that there is any one time that everything went perfectly as planned. In fact, sometimes these inperfect moments can be a bit embarrassing. One of the most important things that you should bring when traveling is your good sense of humor. Inspired by a couple of entries by blogging pals, Sandra and AnnieNC, I'll share a few more of my own embarrassing moments when traveling...

In 2005 while in Rome, a friend and I decided to visit the Trevi Fountain. Did you know that approximately 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day and that the coins are collected daily each night. The money is used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's needy. Did you also know that the fountain recieves a thorough cleaning on certain days of the month and when it does they completely drain the fountain?

Well, my friend and I didn't know and it was on one of these days that we decided to visit the fountain.


It was interesting at the beginning, but after about 30 minutes, my friend and I decided to kill some time by admiring the cleaning crew. My friend started teasing me, saying here comes Kathy's Amore. I told her shhhh, but she told me that she was whispering and no one could hear. She then asked how much longer it was going to take. A female voice on my right responded, "maybe only a few 20 minutes more". The Italian lady next to me had the biggest smile. I was so embarrassed and shot a look over to my friend who just shrugged her shoulders as in "oh well." We all started to laugh and the lady actually ended up being really nice. And when they finally turned on the water, it was very cool seeing the fountain fill up. Almost exciting even. Lesson learned: Don't assume that people aren't listening because they are and secondly sometimes what may seem bad at first can end up being great!

By the way, here is a photo of my amore! :)


Moment # 2 - In 2006, I was traveling from Salzburg to Munich. Before hopping on the train, I decided to use the little girls room. After giving the (male) attendant a few coins, he unlocked one of the stalls for me. One of the down sides of traveling solo is you have to carry your luggage every where you go and that includes the restrooms. I roll my luggage in with me which barely had enough room. When I was ready to leave, I open the stall door, I turn back to grab my luggage when I heard this click. The door re-locks! Are you kidding me!

As embarrassed as I was, I called out to the attendant. I said hello, sir, excuse me, help, are you there! I could not remember how to say help in Austrian. And guess where my translation phrase book was? You guessed it, deep at the bottom of my suitcase! I think I was in there for a good 10 minutes before the attendant finally heard me. He unlocked the door and started to laugh. I think he forgot that he still had his lit cigarette in his mouth. Ashes were flying all over the place because he couldn't stop laughing. I was laughing too! I grabbed my things, washed my hands and as I exited the door, the attendant was still laughing. You know, I had never been in a restroom stall that locked someone in like that. Anyway, as I exited I just had to snap a photo of the restroom! My lesson--never travel without my phrase book handy and also memorizing a few important phrases like excuse me and help!



Moment # 3 - Ronda, Spain. Here is a nice video that I shot of the Puente Nuevo on a very cold and wet evening. I braved the freezing cold weather to capture this scene.



After a few minutes of filming, I heard a pleasant "male" voice say hello in Spanish. I turned and it was this guy that I had seen in my hotel earlier at dinner and then again in the lobby before I came across the bridge. I kept snapping photos thinking I could wait him out. Keep in mind that I had mailed back all of my warm clothes in Seville so all I had was a short sleeve thin top and my wind breaker jacket. After a few minutes I came to the realization that I was not going to outlast him here, so I slowly moved towards the street. And then it came, "The pass." Normally I have no problems getting myself out of situations like this, but I think the freezing cold somehow impaired my thought process. I politely said, "No comprende Espanol!" As soon as the words left my lips I knew what a huge mistake it was for me to say that! And why? Because he was speaking to me in English! We both sort of looked at each other and started to laugh. He actually ended up being very cool and let me off the hook. The lesson here! Maybe honesty is the best policy! :)