| Subject: Travel wallet |
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Another thing I always take on trips is my travel wallet/purse. It has
three zippered compartments with a flap to cover the zippers that's
velcroed (Is there such a word??) closed. The largest compartment will
hold a passport, and the smallest compartment will hold credit cards. The
middle sized compartment holds cash. The flap also has a small zippered
compartment. It has a wide leather strip on the back for your belt to pass
through, so it's firmly attached to your person. It's a tiny bit larger
than a passport, and about 1/2 inch thick, so it's not too bulky, but it
holds everything that you really need, including a lipstick (if it's the
pencil kind), a small pen, receipts.
I found it a year or two after my wallet was lifted from my purse, and I became really paranoid about losing important things. It's a bit casual looking (came from LL Bean) and I'm always looking for a nicer one, but for now, it's great. We made two new friends this year on our trip to Venice. While walking back to our apartment after dinner one night, my husband saw a purse in a dark doorway. We thought it was trash at first, but when we saw an American Express card peeking out of the top, we took it to the closest police station. After the polizia decided we didn't steal the purse, they began looking at the contents. There were identity papers, credit cards, wallets full of the usual stuff minus the cash, and they belonged to three different people. While we were there, one of the three came in, to report a stolen purse. She and her family were from Geneva and scheduled to leave that evening for home. Her train ticket was still in the purse. As usual, they spoke wonderful English so we had a nice visit while the police filled out forms. Just recently we got a thank you card from a couple in New Zealand who got some of their belongings back as well. It was a most interesting evening - we spent about 2 hours in the police station what with people and forms, etc. The highlight of the whole evening, however, was the report that the police gave Bill about the incident. Before we could leave, a full report had to be filled out, complete with the contents of the purse, how and where it was found, etc. After it was completed in triplicate and he signed all three of the forms, they gave him a copy - complete with everyone's name, credit card numbers and all... It's framed and hanging in his office. Callie in New Orleans |