I had posted a few weeks ago asking for some help after my sisters and I were robbed in Vence. Just wanted to give everyone the background so other people can be aware! Below is a copy of my sister’s robbery update from another website. I’m trying to put the whole thing out of my mind so it’s easier for me to post her update.
-- My two sisters and I were heading to Vence, near Nice after a lovely stay in Vaison La Romaine. We are all 40 something years old and are pretty good travelers. I guess we were having just too good of a time, and we should have had our wits about us. I had read a post here about the couple robbed at their car rental return in the same manner we were robbed. We knew to keep our car doors locked.
We noticed a motorcycle while we were still on the A8 with two people on it weaving around us. They were all in black with black helmets and black visors. Sometimes they were behind, sometimes in front. When we got off of the exit, they were still with us. Again, they would disappear and reappear. When we were in Vence, we saw them again as we tried to locate our Hotel Miramar. We had pulled into the drive there, backed up to straighten up, and almost hit them! They drove off, probably just behind the wall where we could not see them. Once we were in the drive, 10 steps from the front door, my sister who was the driver opened her door and stepped out. Unfortunately, by opening her door, all of the other locks came open automatically. Before we even blinked, the two from the motorcycle were at our rear doors (we all sat across the front, it was a BIG car) and they grabbed what they could. One was my small bag that I usually had strapped across my shoulder. The other was a large market bag filled with souvenirs, wine and a rather ugly pink sweater, which we hope they enjoy! One also came back around the front but my one sister was ready with the bicycle kicks with her legs. It%26#39;s pretty funny in hind sight. They did not want any part of a confrontation.
My passport, credit cards and over 300 euros was in my little bag. Our hotel was little help. The girl at the desk finally realized we needed the gendarme. They came immediately, took our information and details and then said they were off to look for the criminals. (Yeah right!) We found the notes they had taken lying on the driveway after they left. The hotel owner Daniel did not understand anything that was happening, and we were shocked at how he could not understand any bit of our English. We had read that he was quite good and his emails were always very competent. He also did not understand any of our French. Basically we got nothing from him as far as any suggestions, help or sympathy. %26quot;Nothing had never happened there before%26quot; according to him.
We went to the Gendarme station and made a police report, called the Nice consulate and were told that it was too late to come in that day. It was Friday at 3PM. The next appointment available was Weds! We were leaving in two days! The Marseille consulate was able to see us on Monday.
We sent one of my sisters home on the scheduled flight Sunday. My other sister stayed with me. The TI in Nice set us up with the Ajoupa Residence. It was a clean little studio for only 65 euros on the Rue Messena in Nice, which was a wonderful spot. We had a sturdy door and good locks, which made us feel so much better and we had great entertainment and eating.
We spent Sunday lying on a beach chair in Nice just taking it easy and having a slow day. Monday we drove to the Consulate in Marseille. It was a little hard to locate despite being across from the Prefecture. I was looking for an American Flag and US soldiers. The guards at the barricade were French. Security was very tight. More so than even the airport.
We were treated wonderfully. It only took 1 1/2 hours. I had to go get photos taken at the Metro stop nearby and come back. It%26#39;s a good idea to be prepared with that if you have a similar incident. I did have a copy of my passport, which was very useful. It was my only form of identification. The consulate issued me a passport which expires in three months. The cost was about $95. I need to apply for another but there will be no charge for that one if I do it before the temporary one expires.
We met a family at the consulate that had just been robbed pulling into their hotel for the first time too. They were in Marseille when it happened and the men actually were a little beat up in the tussle because the thieves wanted the trunk keys.
Delta Airlines was also wonderful. All additional charges were waived because of our circumstances. That is the second time Delta has helped me in an emergency in such a kind manner. They get an A+ from me again.
Back at our hotel... Upon check out on Sunday we discovered that Daniel suddenly spoke perfect English. He thanked us when we complimented him on it and then he was a little nonplussed when we asked him why it had disappeared on Friday. He is a total jerk and I do not say this lightly. We have never met a more pompous man. Yes the hotel is lovely, but nothing can take the place of customer service and human kindness.
We had kept our hotel key with us because we were jittery. The keys were often left unattended and the side door wide open. When we came back Saturday night, our room was unlocked and open! Yikes! We were so angry and we know it was locked when we left. He blamed us for taking the key with us and repeated that nothing bad ever happened there. yeah sure.
Thanks to all of you here for their kind thoughts and suggestions when I asked for help. It felt comforting to read your kind words.
We had a fantastic time in Paris and Vaison la Romaine. Everything except the robbery exceeded our expectations. We met lovely, fun locals and made new friends. It does not get any better.
- End of her report. We did have a wonderful time in France and I am looking forward to going back soon. I just wished we would have been more aware so this wouldn’t have happened to us. Thanks to anyone who responded to my original post.
Ingrid
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Ingrid - thanks for a very well written post. I lost my passport a few years back and had to have a new %26quot;temporary%26quot; one issued in Paris. It was fairly simple.
Your post is very informative and I appreciate it. I%26#39;m glad you still enjoyed your trip. It could have ruined it for most people.
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Ingrid -
Thank you forr your post. I%26#39;m sorry you had this unfortunate experience, but pleased that you did not let it ruin the pleasanter memories of your trip. These things can — and, sadly, do — happen almost anywhere these days. The good thing is that nobody was hurt.
Kudos to you and your sisters for dealing with this so well, to the American consulate staff in Marseille for making the process as painless as possible, and to Delta for understanding your situation and working with you.
I hope you will go back to France again soon and not let this put any of you off travelling there — or anywhere else for that matter.
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Greetings Ingrid,
Thanks for sharing your bitter sweet memories of a horrific experience that you gals made the best of.
I wish some day to read a post of how the gendarmes, made a capture of these low life pieces of garbage, but I%26#39;m afraid that would only be in the movies. Just think of only the fun times, and let those memories be etched in your lives. Wishing you only the best!
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Warning for travelers to Nice driving cars
Like Ingrid who wrote of men following their car on motorcylces, I had a similiar experience in Nice. I am based in italy and was driving my Volvo w Italian plates. MANY people had warned me that the motorcyle thieves target italian plated cars. I have since learned that they are also aware of special license plates on any rented cards as well as (in general) any cars with other than local license plates. Even if you keep the central locking system on (which I did), one has to be very careful as soon as you open the door. If you stop for just one minute so that someone gets out to buy something or goes into a hotel or gas station, as soon as one person (driver or someone else) opens the door, all four doors and trunk of the car will automatically open. This is when they strike. So look around VERY well before anyone opens the door. Do not keep purses, camers or anything valuable on the seat beside you on in the back seat. I keep everything in a fanny pounch and buckled to my waist. Another option is to keep your purse or fanny poucn down by your feet as you are driving and out of eye sight of the motocycle thieves. They apparently especially target Italian cars because Italians (being paranoid and old fashioned as they are) often do not trust in credit cards, therefore they carry large amounts of cash. The Prefecture told us this. The german or Dutch tourists reporting similiar car thefts were lossing 60€ or max a 100€, many Italian tourists are loosing something like 600.00€!!!! They carry a lot of cash. Keep your wits about you, carry little cash, and dont only keep on your centralized lockiing system, be very careful at the instance in which you open any one of the doors....
Hope this will help someone else....
ciao from Milan!
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These are very unfortunate stories and I hope that it never happens to any of us.
This is a good reminder that we should always be aware of our surrroundings, carry copies of our passports (in a separate location). Another option is to leave a copy with a family member or your secretary so it can be faxed in an emergency. Also we should have the phone number of our bank should the credit cards get lost or stolen. They usually have a separate number to call if you are out of the country. And maybe even follow our mother%26#39;s advice and pin some money inside our brassieres!!!!
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Thanks for keeping this post alive. My sisters and I are the ones on the original post. We have some good laughs about it all now. The thing about the whole experience that still irks me the most is the idiot Hotel Miramar owner. What a jerk. I can forgive almost everything else. We are still laughing about the ugly sweater the theives got. It was an unfortunate marked day purchase that my sister was glad to be rid of!
We are off to Spain this Fall for another adventure. Crooks Beware! We are ready with all sorts of ugly clothes for you to steal!
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