Seeing the City - Chelsea and Tina Style

This morning I lounged around for a little bit, trying to make arrangements for the cities after Rome. I made a light lunch and headed to Piazza del Popolo - the Square for the People. After sitting and watching (American) students drink beer and talk about finals for a while, I headed down Via del Corso. Corso is a almost-mile long stretch of shopping; it spans from the Piazza del Popolo to Piazza Venezia, where Capitol Hill begins. It was a day of shopping.. this is what Chelsea and I would usually do on the first day of visiting a city. What a great day.

Obviously, my bag is almost fully packed, so (thank goodness) I don't have any room to buy much (and don't have any money to afford what I would buy). I found a leather shop with great purses and jackets, but decided they were still too expensive for me. The manager recognized me the second time I stopped by and said "I'll give you extra off, what do you like?" I refused saying that I may come back tomorrow. Really, I am just not going to let his temptations get to me. Here are pics of the purse and the shop.

 

The purse was priced at 130€ with a 20% discount and who knows what else he would have given me off. Still too expensive for this traveling girl. Amid the shopping, I made time to enjoy a cappuccino, pastry and gelato. It's a hard life being me.

I bought a new pair of sunglasses (Ray Ban's new Wayfarers), a pair of tights and a pair of sandals (both from Zara). I have been wanting Ray Ban's and looks like they may have actually been cheaper here than at home - 89€, about $120 - but we will have to wait and see what the bank statement says.

After a full day, I dragged myself to the grocery and back home for a yummy meal of pasta, salad, bread and yogurt. [I am starting to get used to this.] Today is Earth Day, and National Geographic sponsored a free outdoor concert with artists Pino Daniele (Italian), Morcheeba (British), and Rokia Traore (Italian). A ten minute walk brought me to Circus Maximus, the concert site. Even though it was rainy, hundreds of people came to watch, sing and dance along with the performers. 

I made friends with Gabriel from Sao Paulo, Brazil. I shared my umbrella and cardboard box (to sit on), and he shared his wine. We managed to stay fairly dry and had a great time!

what a great pic!

my free bag, empty bottle and cardboard seat.

crowd during Morcheeba's set... can you see all of the people?

Gabriel is a new lawyer in Brazil and was sent to London for a work conference; he is enjoying this free plane ride to enjoy a bit of Europe: today Rome, tomorrow Prague.

Tomorrow is my last day in Rome! It's hard to believe that a week has passed by so quickly.. What to do, what to do? I think I will visit Capitoline Hill, Palantine Hill and St. Peter-in-chains Church. I'll keep you updated!