My Spanish Steps Day

Today I am laying low, trying to get over a cold. Nothing serious, of course, but it's been niggling at me, so I am resting and trying to get well. Health is SO precious when one is travelling! Oh, and thank goodness it's only a cold.... it was interesting enough to try to explain my symptoms to the Italian pharmacist - hand gestures and all... glad it wasn't something else!

So, good day to update my blog... I am realizing how much time it takes to keep a good blog while travelling and being busy with sights. But I also realize it's value, not only to those who are following, but to me as a record of my trip. So I am going to to do some "catch up" posts soon... For now, I will share the day I went to the Spanish Steps to see a friend, and some of my wanderings earlier that day.....

My friend said, "Meet me at the Spanish Steps!" Um, ok.....
Rules for all the things you cannot do on the Spanish Steps. BTW, everyone was eating.

I have a new interest: taking pictures of people taking pictures...

The band that was playing.... I picked this shot as there are some interesting expressions on the spectators' faces - click the pic to enlarge it to see them well!

One closeup of the fountain at the base of the Spanish Steps. It's impossible to take a pic of the whole fountain on its own, as it is swarmed with people...

Ah, there amongst the crowds, I find Caroline - ex-boss and now friend! She and a friend are in Europe for 12 days and we managed to be in the same city on the same day, so got together for dinner. It is SO nice to see a familiar face!

Salute! Caroline and I drinking a glass of wine for a friend back in Vancouver.

The birds inside our restaurant. Yes, when I went inside to use the loo, I heard birds singing, but they were not on the stereo, there were in a cage, right next to where it appears they prepare the salads. Wouldn't see that one in Canada!

Our restaurant was around the corner from the Trevi fountain, so we wandered by. I'll be back again to take more pics another day, and throw a coin! BTW, there was lots of amore at the fountain and on the Spanish Steps.

Now for some pics from earlier that day....

I found my mecca!!!! For some girls it's an Italian shoe store. For me, it's an art store! This was just one aisle of pretty colours to draw with! The store was Vertecchi, described in one of my guide books as "the queen of Rome's stationary and art stores". Indeed.

I indulged myself in a new set of lovely pastel gel pens that draw just like fine paint.... This is the resulting doodle over lunch, no longer in my possesion. My server was admiring it, so I gave it to her. So far that's one doodle adorning Rome (have left a few elsewhere in Europe).... BTW, for those who know me, yes, that's my name on it. I used to just sign my initials. Made the big transition to signing my name.

Me in my napkin holder...

Odd picture really. Noticed a mirror in the storefront across the street from the cafe, so snapped a pic of moi and passersby. Weird....

Iniside the cafe, he biggest jars of Nutella I've ever seen. Probably a gallon. Just an average doorway, lol....

There was this HUGE swarm of people outside the Gucci store, it turns out Julia Roberts was in the store. Poor girl, no privacy whatsoever. She later left in a motorcade. Loved this one of my crowd pics, the girl's expression says it all (for those who are into this kind of thing).

Loved this moment: this car had two very beefy men in it, macho expressions on their faces, couldn't help but giggle.

That's it for that day. I will blog more about some of my other adventures, the highlights of which so far have been:

• A day trip to Pompeii and Sorrento!
• The Capitoline Museums
• The Palazzo Barberini

For now, back to nursing my cold, nibbling buffalo mozzerella for dinner, and wondering if it will rain again later. Boy, when it rains her, it RAINS! The loudest thunder I think I've ever heard. No wonder in ancient times people thought that the gods were angry, and created Zeus (Greek) / Jupiter (Roman) with this thunder sticks.....