Present for You .. Now a little something?

Sam, Aimee, and I took a nice, long (and I mean long) walk around the city yesterday which brought us to Piazza del Popolo. Although this piazza looks open and welcoming now, it apparently used to be the site of barbaric instances, specifically public executions of condemned men during the celebration of Carnival. Luckily for criminals, this doesn't happen anymore.

Right in the middle of this great piazza stands an Egyptian obelisk, brought to the piazza in 1589 by Domenico Fontana on the orders of Pope Sixtus V. However, it was deemed too "inadequate for the size of the square," and so the fountains of lions were added to the four corners around it. The water flows out of the lions' mouths into a circular pool below.

It was here that the girls and I were approached by a man handing out roses. After being in the city for just a little over a week, this has happened many times. Men will walk around, hand out roses as "presents," try to strike up a conversation, and when one turns to leave will ask for "a little something?" It can get very irritating to constantly say, "No, grazie" without having them get the message. However, we are getting better at avoiding and forcing the "no," no matter how badly we feel. It may seem funny for everyone at home to hear about men walking around like this, trying to get money for roses, but we see it every day when we are out and about. In fact, even tourist sites warn of these rose peddlers. I think the men like to hang out at certain tourist destinations, hoping to catch a young couple in love or some women who want to be swooned, which is why they were found near Il Fontana dell' Obelisco.

1. Publishing, DK. Rome (Eyewitness Travel Guides). New York: DK Travel, 2006.

2. "Rome by Thais - Fontana dell' Obelisco." Thais.it - Arte & Natura. 20 May 2009 .