29 Sept
We manage to finish our day by 6pm, a little time to go explore some of the city, although not enough time to see the forum, which closes its doors at 6pm.
The oblisk and Dioscuri statues in the middle of the Piazza del Quirinale. The Quirinal Hill is the official residence of the Italian President.
The famous Trevi Fountain. People throw coins in the pool for luck, particulary the luck to return to Rome the next year. I tossed in a coin for Erica who is having surgery tomorrw, so that she will have a full recovery and someday we go to Rome together - where I would like to point out, we'd be of average height, not elbow height. I wouldn't say that Italians are much skinnier than the average person on the front range of Colorado, although they are on average short and small in comparison - and way better dressers.
I understand why there are a hundred tourists sitting here, cropped out of the photo, its a cool fountain.
At the top of the Spanish Steps an iconic point in Rome. Not really that much to see unless you like to shop at really really really expensive shops near-by and stay at really really really expensive hotels. Its was built in the 1700's by Francesco de Sanctis - I guess that's why they're called the Spanish Steps. It is a very luxurious part of town, compared with the part of town we live in (San Lorenzo), which is filled with graffiti. Somehow, I like the graffiti part better. Although I wouln't mind it if people went to bed around midnight. San Lorenzo never sleeps. Parties in the street last until 5am and then the street cleaners show up - ear plugs have come in handy. The upside is that there are lots of restaurants, people don't get roaring drunk - they just talk, sometimes loudly, all night long- and are very nice to us dumb foreigners.
