Spanish Steps-Monumento a Vittorio Emanualle II-Coliseum

One of our number wanted to photograph the Spanish Steps in early morning light - we were out of the hotel before six (glad I had dozed the day before) and had the light and the Steps virtually to ourselves. Magical; serene, timeless. We returned to Steps many times: busy afternoons with people milling everywhere; and at night, when people just settled in to be part of the scene. Lunch was at a traditional Roman restaurant - very good and a welcome rest, one we didn't take every day. I had thought I was a good walker, but I was outclassed. These people were tough!

By the end of the day, we had threaded our way from piazza to piazza leading us to the Fontana Di Trevi - another highly populated place, but we were still able to photograph. No crowd could diminish the scope, detail and magnificence of the fountain. We passed the Presidential Palace, the Monumento - which seemed out of scale with more impressive antiquities that flank it - past the Forum, which just appears around the corner along side a busy thoroughfare -- as if serious history were the most normal thing to find in a city. And then, at dusk, the Coliseum. We couldn't go inside, but we waited across the street, watching the day fade, the lights come on, the structure glowing in the oncoming twilight. Even my tired feet couldn't diminish the sense of awe. We decide to take a bus back to the hotel. Happy me!