Saturday, June 09, 2007

Virtual Visit to the Pantheon

Well, not really the Pantheon itself, but rather the madness in front of and around it. I was struck the other day when I rode my bike through, noticing just how crazy it has gotten now that tourist season is in full swing. It's hard to tell from the video but it was pretty chaotic. Plus, I can't possibly resist an excuse to showcase the men who sell bubble guns. For the love!

Here's a 360° view of what it looks like from the center of the piazza, taken a few days ago. The quality is bad because my camera was accidentally set to the "email" video function, so it wasn't a big enough file to really be clear, but... I'm putting it up anyways. If nothing else, at least you can listen to all the electronically-generated madness from the above-mentioned bubble gun. (And the eternal question remains: who BUYS those things?)


13 comments:

Eryn said...

oh the pantheon, when i went it was late october and i still remember there being hoardes of tourists. bc i was studying there......we would always refer to ourselves as students.......not tourists *shiver.

i remember the bubble guns being sold outside the colisseum.

back to the rachel ray thing.....upon coming back to the states i remember being so out of touch with anything and everything american.

African Kelli said...

LOVE. Cannot wait to see this for myself!
Hey -- did your wedding gift ever arrive? I sent it to Ale's work pre-Africa trip. I have my fingers crossed the darn Italian post hasn't swiped it.

Tea said...

I would love to see the pantheon someday and also travel to Tuscany....sigh

tea
xo

Wanderlust Scarlett said...

I love that you did the video, it's pretty nice to look around the square (piazza?) and see everything and everyone.
It is what I would have done, if I'd been standing there.

As far as the bubble gun thing... that has to be for tourists. I think maybe no one who lives there would get one... but when we are on vacation, sometimes we buy the silliest things to try to take home some memento of the trip. Some people just have different taste than others.
I'd skip the gun and bring home a gazillion photos and a bottle of vino.

Scarlett

Anonymous said...

Yeah, the agitation in this place is incredible : I sat there once, on the "benches" along the Pantheon, waiting for my boyfriend who was getting some cash at a bank nearby and I was fascinated by the hustle and bustle around me.. I even regretted I didn't have my camera then (great minds think alike ;-)
I'm more and more eager to finally settle in Rome : how come we're not already in September ??!!! ;-)

Anonymous said...

Having lived in Florence I thought I would be used to any influx of tourist but now I live in another tourist town across the pond. There are some places I just won't go in the summer.

Anonymous said...

Basta!
Enough of those bubble guns~ and you are right. Who buys those things?
Can you imagine "I was in Rome~ and bought this for you."
Thank you for the video...It is almost as good as being there.

Jeff Gromen said...

The Pantheon is one of my favorite monuments in Rome. An amazing place where kings and one queen are buried next painters and an architect.

Belizegial said...

I would love to visit the Pantheon one day to experience this firsthand.

Thanks for taking the time to share this.

Enid

ginkers said...

Another great image of life in Rome. I'm not sure who buys the bubble guns - maybe the bubble mafia?

Lauren said...

When we were in Rome in November, we saw the bubble guns everywhere and wondered who in the world was buying them. The guys kept coming up to us and practically shoving them into our hands. Horrible! But even the bubble guns can't take away from the beauty of that piazza!

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

That is one of my favorite buildings in Rome. I also wonder about the bubble guys. Are those things for tourists?

Anonymous said...

Shelly, I am "anon" who left the previous post on the granita...When I was at the Pantheon two weekends ago, I remarked to myself at how crowded it was... but it also happened to be Republic Day, so everyone came to town... plus, it was closed, yet everyone tried to look inside through the cracks in the door... I was lucky I had more time in Rome and came back the following Monday, when the crowd was not too crazed, and I had a lovely time inside. On my first attempt, in my disappointment, I thought I saw a gelato place that was BLUE ICE, from one of your posts, but as I neared, it was NICE Gelato, so I did not enter, and instead found Tazza de Oro... your turn to post and describe!

At the Pantheon, I was suprised to find the Roman gladiators for hire posing for pictures. Last time I was in Rome 7 years ago, I only saw the "actors" near the Colosseo. I also saw them at the Spanish steps this time. I hope they don't become too prevalent, I understand that it is a living, but I'd hate to see Rome get Disneyfied!