The Pantheon!

Wow, what a good day! The biggest thrill of my day yesterday was
definitely busking at the Pantheon. Being between a fountain and the
facade of the most beautiful building in Rome (in my opinion, as well as
that of Michaelangelo) was absolutely amazing. I went to the piaza and,
seeing several police officers, decided that subtlety wasn't the way to
go. I asked straight out if I could busk there. They were skeptical, but
after I pointed out that my instrument was very quiet they said I could
play for a half hour. Then, while I was setting up, a horse-drawn coach
driver asked me not to play there in case I scared his horse. I asked if
I could play three notes to test it (since I was pretty confident that it
wouldn't be an issue) and it worked out that I was fine. It's important
not to get on the bad side of those guys, huh Allison? It was an amazing
time, a yearlong dream come true. It was,
coincidentally, also a very profitable half hour for tips :)

That was hard to top, but my second favorite memory of the day was
watching as, en masse, a group of street vendors of illegal knock-of
purses and sunglasses ran like hell as a cop car came down the street. I
waved to the police as they drove by.

It was a fantastic day, and I did very well for myself. The tarot reader
in New Orleans said that I would work harder than I expected, and he was
right. I thought the work would be playing music but it isn't - that's
the fun part. The work is hauling a dulcimer up to two miles to where the
good pitches are! I found myself playing longer than I anticipated last
night so that I had an excuse to put off the walk home :)

Love to you all!
Vince