As a continuation of the Studies Abroad series – where I offer you stories of my trials and tribulations abroad to hopefully prevent you from having many of the same problems – this will hopefully act as an explanation as to why I may not speak very highly of Milan in my blog posts.

It was March 2022, and I was in my last week of solo traveling in Europe before I started my semester study abroad program. I had taken the cramped and uncomfortable overnight train from Rome to Milan that morning and wasn’t able to check into my hostel until 3pm that afternoon.

So, I took a train into the city center and, because of my lack of interest or energy in finding a new place to relax and sit, I went to a Starbucks to get some work done on my computer. I know, how typical and boring of an American to visit a Starbucks when they’re traveling instead of finding a small Italian cafe and having some of the best coffee on the planet, but this was the fourth city I’d traveled to in a week and a half! I was exhausted.

It was after 1-2 hours of sitting in the back of the Starbucks that I was approached by a seemingly homeless woman with an infant baby strapped to her chest. Keep in mind, I’m sitting at just about the furthest table from the door. She held a wrinkled piece of paper with some random photos and text in Italian out on the table in front of me, pointing to the paper as she spoke to me in Italian. I shook my head and apologized for not being able to understand her, but she persisted. After about 15 seconds, I realized:

She had been holding her paper directly over the spot where I left my phone, which I had placed on the table in front of me. As she had started to slowly and awkwardly withdraw the paper, I quickly swatted it out of the way to see: my phone was almost to the edge of the table. She had been inching it towards her – and away from me – throughout the exchange.

I quickly grabbed my phone and told her off, angrily shooing her away. The interaction left a distaste in my mouth I’ve scarcely ever felt before, and seeing as it happened within a few hours of arriving in the city, it was a lasting first impression. My phone had all of my train tickets and travel information on it, so if I were to lose it, I would have had no idea what to do.

From that point on, I checked out. I couldn’t wait to leave Milan, and arriving in Zurich the next day was a beautiful breath of fresh air (I mean this literally, Milan had some of the most polluted air I’ve ever experienced).

Anyway, the bottom line of this story is to be on the lookout for people that try to swindle you like this. Not only when traveling abroad, for my US readers, but also domestically too. I say that because someone tried using the exact same tactic on me in Chicago last year, so it would seem as though it’s an internationally recognized and universally effective strategy.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story! I hope it encourages you to keep your belongings close when you travel and take the extra precautions to prevent one of these swindlers from ruining your adventure. Make sure you follow the blog for more travel tips!

On a side note, I will be traveling to NYC this weekend for the Experts Only Festival, so let me know in the comments if you have any recommendations for things I should do while I’m there!

Have a great week!