Take an early morning walk in Rome! Soon you have you first view of the Pantheon:

This cafe is a great place to start the morning. It is open early, while the Caffe Sant’ Eustachio does not open until 8AM (but remains open until 2AM!). The cafe looks small in this photo, but is very deep and much larger than the Sant’ Eustachio. Walk around the Pantheon before day-break and then walk over to this cafe a block to the side in the Piazza Sant’ Eustachio. Stand at the bar and order a capuccino, and soon you might see a baker bring in fresh pastries you might not be able to resist.

Then you might walk over to the Piazza Navona a few blocks away and look at the fountain, which includes this figure, a reclining man shielding his eyes from the sight of the building on the other sde – the sculptor of the fountain, Nicola Salvi, and the architect could not stand each other – before returning to the Pantheon to watch the sun light up the dome of that wonderful, wonderful building.

You might see three nuns crossing the piazza, you might see a woman looking out of her window, or you might check out waiters setting up tables for the day-long invasion of tourists.