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| Mark and I ensure our return to The Eternal City by throwing coins over our shoulders into the fountain. The romance of this gesture was marred a bit however by the old woman just to the left of the photo fishing coins out of the water with a ratty old net. |
| I was probably looking forward to visiting the so-called Spanish Steps more than any other thing in Rome. Something about the architecture and the history was so romantic, that I was sure it would be the highlight of the trip for me. As we approached the famous landmark, I was almost giddy. And then... well, look for yourself. The picture on the right manages to disguise the horror. Oh the horror! Look to the picture below to see what I'm talking about. |
| What's that, you don't remember there being an enormous ad for Diesel jeans as being a part of the original architecture? Me neither. I'm all for restoring aging landmarks, and I even kind of like the Roman habit of masking the scaffolding with a silkscreen of what the covered building will look like, but the effect is nullified a bit when 20 foot tall emaciated blonde women appear to be climbing the bell tower. Sigh. We'll just have to come back. |
| One of the best things about Rome, is that you can drink from the fountains! The water is cold, and hopefully clean (neither of us have a stomach parasite yet)! This is great! America should do this. |
| Like a good, geeky English teacher, I made sure to visit the Keats/Shelley museum. Keats died in this house. I actually took a picture of his death mask, but I'll spare you. |
| Descending the famous steps. It was way too hot to ascend. |