Well, our first weekend is almost wrapped up here in Roma. I’m waiting for the rest of the guys to get ready and then we’re out to go watch the Steelers play in the AFC Championship game!
Yesterday we went with the ‘Burg girls to the school for a BBQ and then we headed out into Roma to see some sites. The first place that we came across was Sacra Di Largo Argentina. It was only found within 100 years ago. The ruins were found during some excavation. There used to be 4 temples in this area and now it has been turned into a cat sanctuary. People can adopt cats from the ruins here. Besides from the cats, it was the first set of ruins we got to see and I must say I was pretty impressed!
The next site we saw was The Pantheon. This was absolutely amazing! The size and the structure form were breath-taking! We saw a man sitting behind the rear of the Pantheon and he was sketching the side and back using a sawed off ppc pipe and ink. There’s a picture on the site, so check it out, but this was so unique and he really was doing a great job of it! Once inside, there were people everywhere but the size just captivates you, as well as the statues, paintings, etc. Check out my video tour of the area around the Pantheon and inside of it to understand truly what I mean.
We also encountered our first experience with pick-pocketers while at the Pantheon. There were 2 little boys playing accordians and I noticed an older man who stayed somewhat back of them but kept watching them. They stopped playing and the 3 definetely took notice of us 9 American tourists! Now I didn’t think much of them until after the fact, but I was so cautious about my valuables, nobody was getting them. Anyways, one of our girls started bartering for a purse with a vendor and we were all watching. I stood off in the back along the corner of the building and I just watched the 2 accordian boys and I could see them eyeing some of the girls. Now the boys were about 11 years old and 9 years old (so they weren’t “checking out” the girls). This is when I realized what they were doing. Before the boys could get close to the group, we all started leaving the Pantheon area and of course they didn’t follow us because it would have been even more suspicious! But as soon as we left everybody all commented how we noticed the boys and their father. So it’s good I think everybody sort of noticed what was going on with all of our’s first encounter with pickpockets. Also, while I was videotaping the area around the Pantheon, the boys kept spinning behind me, but I was spinning too fast and moving for them to get near me. They thought that I was distracted but little did they know my wallet was strapped to me and there was no chance of even touching it.
After we left the Pantheon, we took off for the Spanish Steps. The girls wanted to shop in all the luxorious stores, and the guys just wanted to see the sites, so it worked out. We walked down the most popular side street, Condotti and that is were Gucci, Versace, Prada, Dior, Louie Vatan, etc. were all located. I saw Versace and pointed it out to 2 girls who wanted to stop in. I went in with them and 40 minutes later we walked out and the 2 girls came out with $215 sun glasses! Now, I love women, and these 2 girls are sweethearts, but I definetely don’t love them that much! They definetely spent over $200 on sunglasses, that’s amazing! We walked around the stores a little longer and then finally got to the Steps. We took pictures on them and once at the top, we got one of the best pictures of a Roman sunset! The sun was setting and we were able to get the rooftops and a treeline in the background with the Sun setting. Check out these pictures also!
Well…I’m out, the guys are ready, and we want to go watch the Steelers game! HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO!!
