Our coworkers have been deported, robbed, and humiliated many times over, but we lived to tell the tales—and to travel smarter.
O.A.T. associates are a well-traveled bunch, but even our best-laid plans can yield (shall we say) unexpected results. Read on for our funniest confessions, and share your most memorable fail—and the lessons you learned from it—in an email to [email protected].
Last Laugh
I couldn’t have been more excited to be in Italy. The first time I embarrassed myself on my trip was during the first meal with my group (and my mom). Our Trip Experience Leader sat right next to us, and all was fine until our pastadishes showed up. I have nothing against linguine, spaghetti or fettuccine, I just prefer a stubbier noodle, so I impulsively started to cut my long noodles. Trying to be as polite as she could but louder than she probably realized, our Trip Experience Leader demanded I stop cutting my pasta right now… I started apologizing for whatever reason. She laughed. I didn’t.
The second time I embarrassed myself in front of the same Trip Experience Leader was after our first night on our small ship. My mom and I spent much of the night with terrible seasickness, skipping dinner all together. Despite how I felt the next morning, I was not missing out on anything, so I decided to head down for breakfast. When I ran into my Trip Experience Leader, and we started talking about how rough the night was, I felt myself feeling sick all over again. And she immediately realized it, backing out of the way, she pointed me in the direction of the bathroom. Later that day off ship, she told me she spent the entire night sick, too—afraid even. I laughed. She didn’t.
— Madilyn Amico, Copywriter • Mediterranean Navigation: Malta, Sicily, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco & Coastal Spain
Shorts and Sweet
I was traveling with my husband through Europe. We flew into Belgium then traveled by trains to London and Paris. Then, we flew out of Paris and for a 1-night stopover in Iceland. The weather was terrible when we landed in Iceland and while we landed safely, our plane was unable to unload the luggage until the following day. Due to traveling the rest of the trip by train, both of us forgot to pack an extra outfit in our carry-ons—we only had the clothes on our backs for our full day in Iceland. My husband, being a true New Englander, wore shorts on the plane and therefore had to wear those shorts throughout the full day of our bus tour in Iceland. Everyone on the tour with us was shocked to see him in shorts when it was in the 30s there. Luckily, he was fine, though we were also unfortunately without our hiking boots. We got the tour bus to drop us off where we could finally pick up our luggage, and we were able to get it back before flying home the next day.
— Jessica Pooler, Graphic Designer
Lose the Luggage, Take the Cannoli ...
The first sign of luggage trouble was at the airport shuttle in Braintree, where my cousin Kenny and I were being dropped off for our trip to Sicily. Going to retrieve our bags from the trunk, we discovered it was broken. Luckily, one of Kenny’s contacts in the Police department (he’s a retired cop) arrived with the “Jaws of Life,” popped the trunk, and we made it to the airport on time. But because our flight to Rome ended up being delayed, we missed our connecting flight.
When we finally got to Palermo, our luggage stayed in Rome. But after repeated calls to the airport, we finally got good news. They found our bags and would deliver them to our hotel shortly. The airport was about an hour away, so how long could it take? Apparently, three days is how long it takes. Kenny said, “Well, at least you packed extra clothes in your carry-on, like O.A.T. says to do, right?” You would think so because I work for O.A.T., but no, I didn’t. Which the rest of the group found quite amusing as they watched me scramble to find toothpaste, deodorant, underwear, shirts, shoes, and more on an Italian shopping spree. Two days later, when we were enjoying our Mafia discussion and our luggage still hadn’t arrived, I jokingly asking the speakers if they “knew a guy” that could help locate them. I’m sure it was a coincidence, but our bags arrived at the hotel later that night...
— John Bregoli, Senior Copywriter·● Sicily’s Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions
Lodging-Podge
I spent my junior year of college abroad in Prague, and at the end of the year, my mom came to visit and travel around Europe with me. She is a music teacher, so doing The Sound of Music tour and seeing opera in Prague and Vienna were bucket-list items for her. I was really traveling on the cheap and trying to experience local culture, so she let me have the reins when booking accommodations and experiences for us.
This was before Airbnb, so in Vienna I went to book what I thought was an experience of just staying in someone’s empty apartment, similar to how Airbnb is now. It turns out that we were actually staying in someone’s room in their apartment. This isn’t necessarily weird, but if you’re expecting to not interact with anyone, it’s a little bit of a shocker.
First, we showed up to the address we had and waited for about an hour for someone to let us in. My guess is that they got double booked for the extra room and had to figure out where we’d sleep. The room they gave us was a hallway that they had to walk through to get from their room to the main living room … I’m pretty sure it’s where their dogs slept. My mom and I curled up on the twin, dog-hair-covered bed together to sleep.
My mom and I were hoping to sneak out in the morning to go get breakfast, but it was a bed-and-breakfast situation. It was formalized by our hosts who busted through the doors with a loud “The Breakfast is Ready!” At breakfast, we met another couple who were staying there, also confused by the situation. They thought it was more of a formal bed and breakfast rather than staying in weird rooms in someone’s apartment.
However, the host couple couldn’t have been nicer. I had a lot of luggage, which we eventually shipped back to the US from Salzburg since I had been there for the year, and because of that, they offered to drive us to the Vienna train station. They were also really into pop culture and tabloid gossip, so they wanted to gab about what the hot gossip was, which my younger self loved.
My mom and I are all about embracing experiences and moments, so we’re okay with the weird things that happen and we laugh about them later. Now, with smartphones, online booking, and Airbnb, this is a much less weird situation, but of that entire trip (other than The Sound of Music sing-along tour and seeing some of the most beautiful opera), my mom and I typically just talk about this couple and our stay at their apartment.
— Sarah Bordelon, Video Team Manager
Making an Entrance (and Exit)
Back in 2014, my sister and I went on Japan's Cultural Treasures. During one of our free nights in Kanazawa, we were determined to find a truly local, authentic sushi place. This quest involved a few “fails.” First, we had a hard time reading the placemat-map we’d picked up from our hotel’s front desk, and ended up at a very deserted mall. Then, after passing over a few sushi restaurants that felt little too touristy, we discovered what looked like hidden gem: stairs leading down from street level to a secret sushi joint.
It was pretty dark when we first walked in, and it took a moment for our eyes to adjust to the light. It was a moment too long however, because my poor sister didn’t realize that the entrance was actually a sunken floor, where you were meant to take off your shoes before stepping up into the restaurant. Instead, she bumped right into the high step with a loud crash and nearly toppled in. A hush fell over the diners as they all turned to stare at the noisy Americans. A startled hostess rushed over, and—when she realized we didn’t speak Japanese—she ran off again to fetch someone who spoke a little English.
It turned out to be one of the chefs. He said, “Do you speak Japanese?” We amicably shook our heads. He continued, “Our menu is Japanese only. No pictures.” We knew what that meant immediately—our Trip Experience Leader had advised us to find a place that had pictures of the dishes on the menu so we’d at least have an idea of what we were ordering. At this revelation we said, “Oh! Arigato! Sayonara!” and high-tailed it out of there!
— Megan Mullin, Senior Copywriter • Japan's Cultural Treasures
Kicked Out, Snowed In
I was living in Australia and thought I had a second-year visa, until someone from immigrations (customs, the embassy, I don’t really know but something government-related) came to my apartment and told me I only had a one-year visa and my second-year never processed. I was being deported! Luckily they were pretty nice and gave me two weeks to organize flights home. Naturally I ignored them, because they told me once I left I would be banned for three years (who would want to leave such a beautiful country), so I left about six months later. My three-year ban is now over, and this past November I was fortunate to travel back to Australia to see the West Coast, something I didn’t get to do before I left the last time.
In Iceland, I was with my sister and our husbands driving the Ring Road (route 1) in the winter and we got to a point that was blocked off and said the highway was closed. But the road was completely clear, so I convinced Meg to drive around it. All of a sudden the road was covered in snow, and our car was very quickly stuck. We used our hands to dig out for hours without luck and eventually called for help. We waited around four hours until a truck came. We played endless amounts of car games, sung out loud to all of the songs downloaded on our playlist, and even built a snowman. Eventually someone came to tow us. They tied a rope to the back of our car and as they pulled the rope snapped, whipped back, and snapped our bumper in half. We eventually got to our destination, but lesson learned: If the road is closed, it’s probably for a good reason. And luckily the car rental company didn’t even notice the cracked bumper!
— Lori McMillan, Senior Marketing Project Manager
The High Mountains of Portugal
Arriving early in the morning in Portugal didn’t seem like a fail at first. My husband and I knew we wouldn’t be able to check into our first hotel in Lisbon, but figured we’d stash our bags and go exploring. Who needs a shower? As it turned out, Mother Nature thought we did, because it poured for the entire morning. We pretended to enjoy ourselves, but we were dirty and wet and jetlagged (so … miserable).
After leaving Lisbon to go north for Porto and the mountains, we returned to Lisbon for a final night in the Castle District (our previous stay had been at sea level). When we dropped off our rental car, the attendant offered to call us a cab. My husband, without discussion, immediately said no. Let’s pretend I accepted this gracefully. The trouble started as soon as we went down to the Metro station—which was devoid of elevators or escalators. Did we call a cab then? Of course not! Down the stairs with our luggage we went—and then back up when we exited in Lisbon proper.
The subway doesn’t go all the way up to the Castle District, but streetcars do. If you think we took one, you have never met my husband. We proceeded to drag our suitcases up those tortuous hills—which have very narrow sidewalks—clattering on cobblestones all the way. The rain, by this point, had given way to intense sunshine and 80-degree temperatures. Suffice it to say, this was not my finest hour. I hope our audience of tourists and locals appreciated my performance when I melted down on a corner and he threatened to keep going without me. I know he felt bad, though, because once we got up there—drenched in sweat—he didn’t dare object when I took a vinho verde from the minibar: a one-time only deal.
The best part? We did call a cab from that hotel to the airport the next morning. I think it cost less than $10 U.S.
— Laura Chavanne, Director, Relationship Marketing Copy
Learn from our mistakes and do not cut your pasta during Mediterranean Navigation: Malta, Sicily, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco & Coastal Spain. Share tales of your fails in an email to [email protected].
