"When in Rome..." That seems to be the only thing that we can say with certainty about Rome. Last Thursday, Brittany went to the ATM to take some money out; however, when the ATM said that the money would be dispensing, nothing actually came out. At first Brittany thought that she just lost her mind, but then Kristen looked around too and it was true- the money never came out. Now maybe you are thinking someone stole it while we weren't watching, but that was not the case either. Kristen had been standing guard the entire time (actually she was just standing there waiting, but same thing). The worst thing about this whole situation was that, Brittany being her tree hugging self (not really), didn't ask for a receipt, so there was not even a shred of evidence that she really did take out money. At this point, it looked as if Brittany's two hundred and fifty Euros disappeared into thin air.
But already being tight with money, we decided our best option would be to go into the bank and tell them the situation. We walked into the entrance, and we were completely at a loss of what to do. Before actually getting into the bank, you had to put your bag into a locker, then you had to walk into what looked like a time capsule, place your thumb on some kind of reader (we guess), and hope they accepted you. Furthermore, only one person could go into it at a time. Once you were in the thingy majig (that is the only way to really describe it), the entrance to the actual bank would possibly open, possibly not. It was a complete game of chance. After being denied at least five times into the bank, we didn't know if it was us or the actual door (it was very temperamental), but at this point, we both were ready to just give up completely. Eventually the door did slide open for Brittany and she quickly slid in before the door randomly decided to deny her access again.
Sadly, the only news she got was that she would need to call the bank in a few days or so when things got processed and then they would see what they could do. We were not expecting much considering that dealing with banks in general are a mess, and we were in a different country. At this point we gathered that they probably just thought of us as "stupid Americans" spinning lies, even though that was not the case at all.
A few days later after many failed attempts to call the bank, we walked into the same bank (after another long time of trying to get through the doors again...) hoping that some how we would be lucky and guess what... we were! After waiting no more than ten minutes, Brittany got her two hundred and fifty Euros and we walked out of the bank with tears of joy! (In all seriousness, it probably took longer to actually get into the bank, then to actually get the money). So Brittany got her money back and life was good again. We think the only thing that would make it better is if banks could just give us free money and contribute to our great travels :)
But already being tight with money, we decided our best option would be to go into the bank and tell them the situation. We walked into the entrance, and we were completely at a loss of what to do. Before actually getting into the bank, you had to put your bag into a locker, then you had to walk into what looked like a time capsule, place your thumb on some kind of reader (we guess), and hope they accepted you. Furthermore, only one person could go into it at a time. Once you were in the thingy majig (that is the only way to really describe it), the entrance to the actual bank would possibly open, possibly not. It was a complete game of chance. After being denied at least five times into the bank, we didn't know if it was us or the actual door (it was very temperamental), but at this point, we both were ready to just give up completely. Eventually the door did slide open for Brittany and she quickly slid in before the door randomly decided to deny her access again.
Sadly, the only news she got was that she would need to call the bank in a few days or so when things got processed and then they would see what they could do. We were not expecting much considering that dealing with banks in general are a mess, and we were in a different country. At this point we gathered that they probably just thought of us as "stupid Americans" spinning lies, even though that was not the case at all.
A few days later after many failed attempts to call the bank, we walked into the same bank (after another long time of trying to get through the doors again...) hoping that some how we would be lucky and guess what... we were! After waiting no more than ten minutes, Brittany got her two hundred and fifty Euros and we walked out of the bank with tears of joy! (In all seriousness, it probably took longer to actually get into the bank, then to actually get the money). So Brittany got her money back and life was good again. We think the only thing that would make it better is if banks could just give us free money and contribute to our great travels :)
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