> What the freak is a gypsy anyway? Never really understood where they come from and who they are.
Gypsies are from Northern India. For around a century centered on 1330AD the Muslims warred on India and took several million Hindus to sell as slaves in Europe. The majority of them perished in the Hindu Kush Mountains (Afghanistan) from exposure and cold. Hindu Kush means Hindu slaughter. The ones that made it to Eastern Europe eventually became called Gypsies, because they were though to have come from Egypt.
One might check with the local gardening supply store. They usually sell "witches balls' which are those colored globes on pedestal bases that adorn front yards. They ward off witches. There might be a similar item to ward of gypsies. I don't think a plastic pink flamingo would do the trick, because, as has been pointed out, they invented flamenco.