Act I, Scene 3: The dance of the melon spirits.

To my surprise, our first trip on a Rome bus went without any bigger problems. Like in smaller towns in Germany, they did not announce or display which stop would be next. So you would also have to count the stops that you need to travel, or lean over to try and read the bus stop sign. I'm probably making it sound worse than what it was, since it worked out for us in about 90% of the cases.
Next thing you know, we're getting off the crowded bus and start walking down a narrow street, as they exist in abundance in Rome. Every other intersection is called a Piazza, and there it is in front of us: the back of the Pantheon. A big ole cube, only it was round. We walked around it in anticipation, and decided it would be a good idea to get our first ice-cream. We were expecting something good, but were not prepared for what was about to happen. First of all, we got a huge portion for the 2 Euros we spent, and the taste of that ice-cream alone makes a trip to Rome worth the money, no matter where you're coming from. Unbelievably good. We also bought a large bottle of water, as our frozen water was almost used up. Christina came up with the smart idea of pouring some of the newly acquired water into the bottle which still had a good amount of solid ice left in it. We would go through about two 1.5 liter bottles of water each day, costing us between 1.30 and 2.20, depending on where we bought it. The day before last we actually bought some at a supermarket. For like 33 cent.
The Pantheon is pretty amazing too, but as most things in Rome in the summer, overrun with people. From there we started heading towards Piazza Navona, a rather larger piazza with three fountains, the middle one being the largest and depicting four river gods. It was there that we first encountered the many street vendors, selling soap-bubble guns, silk scarfs, designer handbags and designer sunglasses. For some strange reason these vendors always decide to take their business elsewhere, whenever the police shows up. Oh, and the different types of articles seem to be split up between different ethnicities. Soap-bubble guns for example, were sold exclusively by people with an Indian (as in India, or ethnically similar) background. At night these same people were selling these flashy-light flying saucers. Very interesting. It was starting to be time for more ice-cream and a little shopping, before we stumbled upon the Castel Sant' Angelo (ex-Hadrian's tomb), saw st.Peter's square from the distance and chilled on a bench in a shade for quite a bit. A well-deserved rest.
Well it was time to get some food, and I had written down areas with good food and one recommendation before we left. At first we couldn't find the recommended restaurant, because the house number was incorrect, but we ended up at the right spot after all. It was pretty popular, and our Australian table neighbors said that it is mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide. The pizza was pretty dang good too. After eating pizza in Rome, I realize just how good (and authentic) the pizza at Da Franco in Trier is. After eating, it was time to head back to the hotel and get some of that there sleep. Finally.