Saturday, April 21, 2007

Hook, line, and sinker

Yep, I got scammed. I'm actually kind of embarassed to tell this story, because it was a pretty obvious scam, one that I've seen before and never fallen for because it's *that* obvious. So in Barcelona there's this area called Las Ramblas, basically a big street with lots of vendors, street artists, etc. So there's this guy doing the trick with the three cups and there's a ball under one of the cups, and he moves them around and you have to guess which cup the ball is under. Right, we all know not to bet on that. Well somehow I got sucked into betting on it. Not once, but twice. And all in a matter of like 10 seconds. I could see it happening and hear myself saying this is a terrible idea, do not hand him your money. You're going to lose. But it was too late. And I lost. Twice.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Monica!
I love that you are blogging your travels. Have an amazing time in Spain -- I loved every minute I spent there. Just stay away from the calimocho -- a revolting concoction of cheap red wine and pepsi or coke. Blech!

Can't wait to hear more and see your pics.

Serena

Peter Holland said...

That's ok mons... when I was in Barcelona, they copied my credit card at a restaurant... had it for almost half an hour while I was waiting for my check... got back to the states and had $3000 in charges I didn't make (luckily all made after I'd left the country).

Make sure you go to Parc Guell... it's beautiful.... great view of the city. And go see all the Dali stuff... also pretty damn cool.

Peter Holland said...

Oh, one other thing about Las Ramblas that I remember... if you're there around 4 am, you'll see the guys come out with the big hoses whose job it is to water-blast all the crap from the day off walkway into the street. Pretty gross.

Peter Holland said...

ok, one more comment...
did you watch the Sant Jordi parade in Las Ramblas? I guess it happened yesterday (by the time you read this)
I just read an interview in the Barca newspaper (La Vanguardia) where one of the flower sellers was talking about how noone buys the roses anymore and La Rambla has become a theme park for the tourists. She was also complaining about the human statues taking away all the attention... I thought that was funny... a little rivalry between the flower sellers and the human statues.

Ok, I'll stop posting now.

clarissa said...

Hey Monica!
Great stories! As i'm stuck in my lab with no windows that i've been in since 7 this morning, your tales are a lifesaver. i hope you don't mind i'm living vicariously through you. :)
love,
clarissa