Hi all,

I covered this in my Trip report post in the General Spain Chatter Forum. I'm restating my near Bag Snatch Experience.

Yes I'd read all the reports of being careful before I went to Spain and I did keep an eye out at all times. Despite that I had a near bag snatch in the McDonalds on the Gran Via in Madrid. I had my bag under the table ( in the middle of table) right beside me on the side facing away from traffic (i.e it was on the side of the table blocked by a wall). Yet someone still tried to get at it. The only thing I hadn't done was to entangle the bag strap in my legs as I normally would do if putting my bag down when standing outside on a street or sitting in a streetside patio. I figured that inside a restaurant in a quiet corner, keeping the bag away from the main traffic walkway should suffice... WRONG!!

Anyhow luckily someone sitting nearby saw someone trying to pull my bag out and thus stopped it all... Thank God! I only had my camera and jacket in it, all other valuables were in a money belt... but it still would have ruined the mood of the trip!

Compared to the other cities in Spain, in Madrid, one has to be much much more vigilant against pickpocketors. Yes they exist all over Spain, but in talking to other tourists too, we all agreed that one has to hold onto their bags a little tighter in Madrid compared to the smaller cities.

But overall I didn't feel unsafe in Madrid at all once I learned to adjust to the higher pickpocketing threat. Though I went with another female friend, I can easily see myself coming back and visiting on my own. This despite being a very short (5'0) young looking female.

I would definately go back again, as Madrid has a very cultured sophisticated feel to it.

Cheers,

Adventura

in sevilla it's known as the "andalusian snatch"
during my mother's 1st trip back home to sevilla she was with her sister fumbling with the keys to their flat and someone jumped out of the shadows and grabbed my mom's handbag...well the strap didn't break and "el pobrecito" ended up flat on his back at their feet...which were immediately put to good use...the crowd in a taverna nearby heard his cries for help and dragged him away...hopefully to administer a little justice.