It's a good time for the great taste

I have not eaten McDonald's for several years now, both as a nod to my nutritive needs and also because I don't like their chow as much as I used to.  How their red meat beef patties come out looking grey is one matter; another is that their rolls, to me, all of a sudden began tasting curiously sweet, like Krispy Kreme donuts or something.  I don't know, but I see that McD's is still doing ok business without me, so that's nice for them.  There is something somewhere for everyone.

Out near us there's a McD's on Belair Road, and when I did go there for eats, I used to puzzle about the houses that were built right behind their parking lot. I mean, right behind their parking lot, so much so that to sit outside one of those houses would mean living with the "WelcometoMcDonald's.. MayItakeyourorderplease" squawk of the drive thru box, and of course the pleasant miasma of cooking oils wafting from the vents. Not to mention the arc lights out back or the car noises...

Now here comes the part where we connect the glory that was ancient Rome to those Golden Arches.  You know that building over there, the Pantheon (not to be confused with the Parthenon of Athens, the Pentagon of Washington DC, or the Pension of every retiree you know)?  It was built as a "temple to all gods" during the reign of Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD), and then rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian, who added vertical blinds, a deck with a smoker grill and Pergo©  wood floors to the kitchen in about 126 AD.  It's almost two thousand years old and still, the Pantheon's dome is the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.  The building has been in continuous use ever since it was built, and has been used as a church since the 7th Century.  It is truly one of the marvels from the ancient age that still stand today and is an object of veneration for tourists and Romans alike.

The square in front of the Pantheon is the Piazza della Rotonda.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do, goes the old saying.  So you can see the Pantheon right up close, if you wish:

or you can catch a view from right across the Piazza della Rotonda while you enjoy a McFish, fries and root beer some sunny day in the heart of Roma...

They're everywhere!