Get away from the Pakistani flower vendors as soon as possible! Do not let them near you, watch your wallet! They will hound you and follow you around, after awhile they'll give a rose to your girlfriend/wife and say that it's a 'gift'..Do NOT accept the rose and walk away quickly. It is NOT a gift a but trick. Stay away from them!

Sue, aka LISA, cool it, OK?

When my girlfriend & I were in Rome this past April, we misunderstood the tradition and threw a con over our shoulder into the Trevi fountain. Fortunately for us, he was quite small; otherwise we might have pulled a muscle.

Sue, we were in Rome in April. I accepted a free rose from the Pakistanis. When he asked for money we said give us one more rose and we'll give you a Euro. Italy is romantic, in our 'party', our husbands bought several roses from street vendors, especially in Rome with no problems. We found a firm 'no' was all that was needed to have them turn away. On just a couple of occasions, the vendors were persistant, but again no followed by ignoring them and continuing with your conversation worked for us. What did others experience?

Capo! I love it! Three cons in the fountain....come along everyone hum along...three cons in the fountain.

Grazie. <BR><BR>Seriously, when we were there recently, one of the rose sellers gave my girlfriend a "free" rose. I knew what was coming but wanted to see how she'd deal with it since she's hardly a shrinking violet or a pansy. As we started to leave, the guy came up to us and asked us for money for the "free" rose and, *LOL*, did she ever let him have it! <BR>

I didn't find the vendors at the Trevi very aggressive, I just ignored them. At Piazza Navona I thought the guys trying to braid bracelets on your wrist were very annoying! The first night we were there my son fell for it before we could grab his hand and then they demanded 10E. We just laughed and said no and then they kept bugging us. I think my husband ended up giving them a couple of euro just to leave us alone.

It happened to me--I was with a guy at the fountain of Trevi and the rose vendors kept offering me a rose. I said no a few times, until one guy put a rose on my lap, told me it was a gift and walked away. I figured it was the end of the night and the roses didn't look too healthy and they were just giving them away. Wrong assumption. A few minutes later the guy comes up to my friend and asks for money. He was a little upset and told him off but ended up giving him some loose change...I felt really bad, but I did get a rose out of it and it really made my night a bit more special so I guess I can't really complain....

Just say no thanks and that should be enough...and try to remember that they're just people trying to make a (modest) living for themselves and their families. You all sound pretty hard-hearted to me.

SenoraSolidad,<BR>Give me a break. I feel for the poor and have often give a large bill or two to those who broke my heart on the streets - this however is not someone trying to make a "modest" living for their family.<BR>Lying and harassment are not moral ways of making a "modest" living.<BR>We also dealt with the "free" roses. Maybe we just had that one in a hundred persistent sellers but he ran us off and it ruined our evening at the fountain. While taking pictures this guy is bothering my wife with the free rose deal. Numerous rejections did not stop him (not sure why). I went closer to the fountain for more pictures and return to his constant requests.<BR>He tells my wife he just wants her to have one because she is so beautiful. We picked up and walked to the other side and the same guy follows and doesn't leave us alone until we leave.

If the vendor is really hassling you, just grab him by the collar and tell him in no uncertain terms to "f*** off." I find that this message usually gets across regardless of the language spoken by either the "vendor" or the person being hassled.

Most of the rose sellers that offer "free" flowers are just illegal immigrants trying to live of their flowers istead of turning to stealing and robbing. Does it make them less annoying? No, it doesn't, but it makes them very vulnerable by the police. It is no good dto grab one of these people by the collar etc., just act like you were calling the police or looking for a pooliceman. The largest part of these people will run off.