I had the best day being pick-pocketed in Rome!

One my best days in Europe, was being Pick-Pocketed in Rome. We had a free day on my tour, so we decided to take a bus into Rome and explore. I went with a group of four guys, one of the guys I had “butterflies in my stomach” feelings for. We got on the bus, I was wearing a backpack at the time, and this man starting acting really suspicious around me. The guy who I had a crush on was watching my backpack, as the man was hovering around it. I mean really grinding on my backpack for ages. I looked at my guy, and he said “you’re good, I’m watching your bag”. Then the man ran away to the other side of the bus, after all the hovering behind me. We were just thinking it was your regular weirdo on a bus. Then we got off the bus and headed for the metro trains we still had to catch. I got on and went to take a seat, and grab my phone out of my cardigan pocket and it clicked. The man wasn’t really interested in my backpack. He was acting, to get to the phone out of my pocket. I know absolutely my fault for leaving my phone in my pocket. But when the bus was coming, I just quickly put in my pocket, which I safely take for granted back at home in Australia. I was shattered and came to terms that it was gone. Not as bad as a passport or cash, but that was my way of getting around. I had photos from already travelling half of Europe, contact back at home, emails for flights saved. It felt like a lot. I was quite upset, but the guys I was spending the day with tried everything to get my mind off of it, and took me all around Rome. We got to this beautiful lookout at the top of the Spanish steps and started to walk down, but the steps were so slippery, I fell straight down them. All the way to the bottom. I sat there for a moment, defeated, felt as though I might lose it then and there. I honestly didn’t know how to feel. When all of the sudden I had four lots of hands grab my arms and pick me up. Every one of them did it without saying a word, or having a chuckle. And continued to walk, as if nothing happened. Now this was a rare thing for me, where as back at home any guy would have “cracked up” and made fun of me. But those guys knew I was already having a rough day, and decided to help me make the most of the rest of the day. Honestly out of my whole tour, that moment really stands out for me and touched my heart. But, the day did get better. Nice lunch, beautiful sites, sunny gorgeous weather, hell I was in Rome! I was still worried about how I was going to get around Greece, after the tour was on. So one of the guys offered me his spare phone he had brought with him, and said he would meet up with me back in Melbourne, to return it after the trip was done. I know right, where are these guys at in everyday life? Then the guy I liked let me download all the apps on his phone. HappyCow – so I could still find places to eat for my diet, my bank app – to organise money, to change all of my passwords, to take photos throughout the day, to message back at home why I wouldn’t be in contact. He also didn’t let me pay for anything else, the entire day. As if I already didn’t like him enough, he had to go and be all sweet. Although he was very surprised, with how I was handling myself. Kept asking so many times if I was okay. And I surprisingly was. I felt really calm about the whole thing. I mean it was just a phone, in reality. We enjoyed the day and then I got back to a dinner with my tour group, and word must have got around that I was pick-pocketed. Two of the girls I had barely spoken to, came up, hugged me and gave me a rose. It was a fake one, and to this day I still have it. It sits right along my TV. So I can remember that day always. So I went from almost losing it at the end of the stairs, to actually losing it from the overwhelming amount of love I felt that day. So that’s my amazing day in Europe. Everyday can be what you make of it, even if it seems like the worst thing in the world. Because behind bad instance, there is a good one waiting to see how you react to the worst, first. I could have gone back to my room and decided to give up, or freak out about all the things that would be harder, without my phone. But I didn’t, and had the best day. Life rewarded me for soldiering on. Oh, okay okay… Want to know what happened with that guy, don’t you? Well lets just say he was the love of my life… And we continued to see each other. And we’re together still. And we’re in the process of buying a house together. So I’d say pretty serious. xx.

(Taken from that day)