St. Peter's, Spanish Steps, Fountain of Trevi

Today, we did what the guidebooks said and got to St. Peter's before 11:00. It takes a long time to walk to where security is but security was very fast. Why? Because they set up about 6 checkpoints, unlike the Colosseum, say, which had 2.  Once inside, it was crowded and much of it is divided by curtains and ropes. You have freedom to roam around, though, so not everyone is going in the same direction. The pictures are bad because you can't possibly capture how big it is or get proper angles. The pieta is still my favorite although it is now surrounded by bulletproof glass:

Michaelangelo Pieta

Altarpiece by Bernini

When we left the church, we saw the window where the Pope appears and the piazza filled with chairs for his Wednesday morning appearance. The Swiss Guards give out free tickets Tuesday afternoons; it's not clear how many tickets are available:

After siesta which went on for several hours (the old bones are getting tired), we took a bus to Trevi Fountain. We arrived around 5:30 and it was fairly crowded, even with some tour groups. The fountain is spectacular:

Trevi Fountain

I guess the superstition is that throwing coins in the fountain means you will return some day. Worked for me although it took about 45 years. We never have small change because everyone rounds off (except the grocery store) but I found a penny and gave it to Lola to throw in.

After seeing the fountain, we walked up the Spanish steps which seem to have nothing to do with Spain--there are many and they are steep. The guidebooks all say to go to the top for the views and that certainly is true. Fantastic views of Rome.  We went up more steps to get to the church, Trinita dei Monti. Unfortunately, there was a service going on so we couldn't really tour it.

From there, we walked down a long hill to the Piazza del Popolo which is a beautiful square. The church to visit is Santa Maria del Popolo; it contains artwork by many famous artists. Again, there was a service so we didn't get to tour the church. We're sure that will be true of all churches for the next week--services at every hour.  I did get a picture of this sculpture:

For dinner, we finally got to try the famous Rome artichokes. They are small, roasted, salted and oiled. You can eat the entire leaf. Easy to see why it is a famous dish.  Then we stopped to buy cookies and tarts from the bakery which is right next door to the apartment courtyard. In fact, where they bake is one door down from the apartment so the courtyard always smells great. Lola goes every morning to buy croissants so everyone in the bakery knows her. In fact, this morning they let her leave even though she owed them an additional half euro since they didn't have change. It's good to have friends in high places.