We had walked through the Villa Borghese and reached the edge of the Pincio, in time for the sunset, or in the Italian 'across the mountain' - tramonte, light filtered through trees...
From the edge of the cliff, to which Helen advances above, we took this photo, the cupola of St Peters half hidden behind the spires of a nearer church.
When we had reached the wall at that clifftop there was a young Japanese couple in close embrace there - we had thought we were approaching a solitary figure... We then found we were following these two happy people, whose feet scarcely touched the ground, along the road below, towards Trinita dei Monti. They in fact turned that next corner and, running down below us, looked up, shouting, smiling and giggling "paparazzi, paparazzi!"
From this road, as we went along, the horizon made odd combinations, including here the chariot of the Victor Emmanuel Monument and the figure atop the column in Piazza Mignanelli, celebrating the immaculate conception, see whole item below.
Here we were, then, at the top of the Spanish Steps, before the Chiesa Trinita dei Monti, with sunset upon us...
It was a wondrously warm evening, we have no recording of the voices lifting from the stairs, full of the music of Italian language. Yes, some tourists, but also a high proportion of Romans out to take in the warmth and beauty of the end of the day...
... and this was the view back up the steps...
From the Piazza di Spagna above we turned left and immediately were in the Piazza Mignanelli, with the column, with Elena asking: "How did those flowers get up there?"
... Up there, see? (below - click to enlarge if you wish)
Good question. They may have been put there by someone particularly excited around the time of the annual papal visit. (How extraordinary the internet, that link courtesy of the Nigerian Federation of Catholic Students!)
"And, and," we ask, "Who put the flowers on the police car?"
