Roma quattro

After the fountains we strolled to the Spanish Steps.  This is the high fashion and upscale side of town.  The Spanish steps have their name because they are close to the Spanish Embassy.  They really aren't very remarkable steps, but they have become the place to be in Rome.  Many of the postcards showed the area decorated with beautiful flowers and striking colors.  We did not time our visit very well because this was our view.

People sitting on almost all the steps.  We think it was because a protest/demonstration type event was taking place just down the street at Piazza del Popolo.  Those that were tired of hearing the man drone on at the microphone walked to the steps and sat down.

We did our best to steer clear of the protest - something about public vs private control of things in Italy.  We visited a small church just on the edge of the Piazza that Kristi had read about when trying to decide which of the hundreds of churches in Rome to visit.

The Piazza also has an Obelisk.

This particular Obelisk was brought from Egypt in 10 BC and placed in the center portion of Circus Maximus (think Nascar infield).  Later (1500s) the obelisk was moved to this square.  After the crowd had dispersed we moseyed through the center of the square.

We searched for dinner next.  I mentioned we were in the high fashion district and I really wanted to walk our way out of the high priced wine bars and restaurants before we stopped, but we were just too tired.  We found a small outdoor cafe down a side street that looked clean and quiet.  The food was reasonable but nothing to really squawk about.

One last pic of the Trevi Fountain at night - you can get a small sense of the people swarming all around us from this picture (and remember night crowds are small compared to the day) .