In 1986, when McDonald's opened next to Rome's Spanish Steps, Italian celebrities caused such an anti-Big-Mac furor that the government passed laws zoning the chain out of all historic city centers.

FORBES: Eating McDust

With a break for lunch (pasta and wine, of course) we then proceeded to the Spanish Steps for some gelato and topped off the day with a visit to the Vatican and St.

FORBES: Rome In A Day: The Best Walking Tour Of The Eternal City

But my dim recollection is that the single most important factor in selecting a stroller, besides price (particularly when you're rushing for the crosstown bus with your kid under your arm, or chasing it down the Spanish Steps), is weight.

WSJ: Cutting Edge, for Baby

LONDON, England (CNN) -- In 1986 Italian journalist Carlo Petrini was so disgusted by the sight of a McDonald's at the foot of the Spanish Steps in Rome that he took it upon himself to lead the fight against fast food.

CNN: Skip the fast food and go slow

Spain's foreign ministry said that it was "taking all possible steps so that Haitian minors who have been adopted by Spanish families can travel to Spain given the special conditions affecting Haiti, " according to the AFP news agency.

BBC: Orphaned Haitian children to be allowed into US

The Spanish Banking Association says banks have renegotiated more than 400, 000 mortgages in the past five years and taken voluntary steps to delay evictions.

WSJ: Spain Region Upsets Asset-Sale Plan