Our final few days were spent in Rome. There was so much to see in such a short time, but it was also VERY HOT, so upon our afternoon arrival, we decided to enjoy a short siesta then go for an evening walk about. Jackson's siesta continued after we had already started our walking.
Having been to Egypt where we learned about the 29 remaining ancient obelisks scattered around the world (we've seen them in Egypt, England, Turkey, Scotland and France), we were excited to see one in front of us as we approached the Spanish steps.
The Spanish steps are a popular gathering point because they offer beautiful city views.
We continued on, stopping for dinner, then we walked to the Piazza del Popolo with its beautiful fountains and another obelisk. 
Having been to Egypt where we learned about the 29 remaining ancient obelisks scattered around the world (we've seen them in Egypt, England, Turkey, Scotland and France), we were excited to see one in front of us as we approached the Spanish steps.
The Spanish steps are a popular gathering point because they offer beautiful city views.
We continued on, stopping for dinner, then we walked to the Piazza del Popolo with its beautiful fountains and another obelisk. 
It was a lovely night, and everywhere we turned there was another gorgeous building...
Fountain...
Or monument to see.
The next morning we set off bright and early.
We did the ultimate tourist activity - the Open Top Bus Tour.
Aside from being (at times) too hot, the open bus tour was awesome! We went past the Roman Forum...
The Colosseum...
Circus Maximus (which is now just a large grassy field, awaiting excavation)...
Piazza del Popolo (which we had seen the night before)...
We passed a site with temple ruins that, according to the guide, may or may not have been the place where Julius Caesar was stabbed... ("Et tu Brute?")
Then we crossed the River Tiber...
And approached Vatican City. Look, another obelisk! We were starting to wonder 'just how many obelisks are in Rome?'
We decided to take a guided tour of Vatican City. It started by walking to the Vatican Museum past Il Passeto...the secret passage that the pope uses to flee Vatican City should it ever be under attack. It's 1 mile long (leading to Castel Sant'Angelo) and it's inside this big brick wall. 
The courtyard of the Vatican Museum was beautiful. That's the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the background. Next to that, the Gregor Tower, of Pope Gregory XIII who bestowed upon us our calendar.
In one area of the museum, all the genitals of the statues had been covered with fig leaves. In another section, they were removed from the statues altogether. And there were A LOT of statues in this section. Apparently at this particular time, whatever pope was in charge thought it was vulgar, so he had them all removed. All the "special parts" are in boxes somewhere in the museum as they couldn't bare to throw them out. Apparently, the museum used to show them, but they kept getting stolen. 
Then, the last room in the museum is Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Though it's "technically" forbidden to take photos inside the chapel, Cisco managed to get a couple good ones :) Shhh!
The chapel was beautiful, to say the least. But Hannah had to rush out of this quiet zone (guards were responsible for issuing out chapel-wide SHHH!'s every 5 minutes) when Jackson decided that it was time to eat and he was going to yell about it until he got fed! He had been perfectly quiet and content up to this point for two hours. His timing is really impeccable. As you can see, once Jackson was fed, he was perfectly content again. (The Sistine Chapel is just at the top of those stairs.)
Next, we visited the crypt containing the remains of the previous popes, then our last stop in Vatican City was St. Peter's Basilica. 
By now, the Walkers have seen A LOT of churches, cathedrals and basilicas around the world. It was almost starting to feel like, "If you've seen one, you've seen them all." However, St. Peter's Basilica is in a class all its own. It was truly incredible.
We left the Basilica and passed a couple of the infamous Swiss Guards stationed at the Vatican. Swiss Guards at the Vatican must be Catholic, Swiss, celibate, male (although they're considering allowing women to apply), between the ages of 19 and 30, at least 174 cm tall, must have a high school or professional degree, and must have completed basic training in the Swiss military. Sheeesh!!
We were reaching siesta, as was evident by the scorching heat, so we decided to hop back on the open bus and head to the air-conditioned hotel.
There were more interesting places to see on the return trip.
Including yet another obelisk in the distance.
Then we stopped to cool off at the Piazza della Repubblica fountain (just a couple blocks from our hotel).
We all enjoyed a siesta, then Kathy and Cisco took off for another evening of exploration.
The famous Trevi Fountain at night, a social hotspot of young and old alike.
St. Peter's, glowing over the rooftops.
The Parthenon, moon, and yet another obelisk.
The following morning, Kathy and Cisco were off on another adventure while Hannah and Jackson got some much needed R&R&R (rest, relaxation and reprieve from the heat!).
They explored some ruins. Here's Cisco trying to get the perfect shot of the ruins around Circus Maximus.
They walked through the Roman Forum.
They took a turn around Circus Maximus. (I'm still surprised that this is what it looks like...not the big, grand stadium depicted in Ben Hur.)
They came across this statue...featuring Romulus and Remus, who were said to be raised by wolves before founding Rome.
They came back to the hotel for some of that delightful R&R&R during the siesta hours, then we all set off to our final Roman destination...The Colisseum.
When we arrived at the Colosseum, we found that it was temporarily closed. There were lots of police surrounding the site, which we learned was for the protection of the visiting Chinese Prime Minister (or the Chinese "First" Minister as was told to us by a local...I think something was lost in translation there). You might be able to see Wen Jiabao if you look closely at the zoomed in section. 
Oh well...it was a perfect opportunity to change Jackson's diaper & clothing...seeing as how he had just peed on me and himself. Again, impeccable timing.
Before long, we were let into the Colosseum. It was very cool!
And VERY HOT! Jackson was drinking (licking) as much water as he could get.
We were all trying to imagine what this place looked like in its original splendor.
Back in its day, the whole place was covered in white marble and sat 50-70,000 season ticket holders...imagine that!
There was also an awesome view of the Roman Forum from the Colosseum. Zoom in to check it out. Apparently, just behind Hannah, a 100' tall "colossal" statue of Nero once stood, giving the Flavian Amphitheater its more common name, Colisseum.
Our time in Rome was packed. And we would definitely like to go back again (maybe not in the scorching summer though). At any rate, we taxied to the airport, ready to fly home. And much to our pleasure, Jackson did wonderfully well on the flight home. He didn't cry or complain one bit! 
Oh...and for those of you who are interested in the obelisks...we found out that Rome has 13 of them, though only 8 are originals (the other 5 are more modern copies). Still, 8 of 29 is a lot...and according to our tour guide, they were all taken during the conquering of Egypt.
Fountain...
Or monument to see.
The next morning we set off bright and early.
We did the ultimate tourist activity - the Open Top Bus Tour.
Aside from being (at times) too hot, the open bus tour was awesome! We went past the Roman Forum...
The Colosseum...
Circus Maximus (which is now just a large grassy field, awaiting excavation)...
Piazza del Popolo (which we had seen the night before)...
We passed a site with temple ruins that, according to the guide, may or may not have been the place where Julius Caesar was stabbed... ("Et tu Brute?")
Then we crossed the River Tiber...
And approached Vatican City. Look, another obelisk! We were starting to wonder 'just how many obelisks are in Rome?'
We decided to take a guided tour of Vatican City. It started by walking to the Vatican Museum past Il Passeto...the secret passage that the pope uses to flee Vatican City should it ever be under attack. It's 1 mile long (leading to Castel Sant'Angelo) and it's inside this big brick wall. 
The courtyard of the Vatican Museum was beautiful. That's the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the background. Next to that, the Gregor Tower, of Pope Gregory XIII who bestowed upon us our calendar.
In one area of the museum, all the genitals of the statues had been covered with fig leaves. In another section, they were removed from the statues altogether. And there were A LOT of statues in this section. Apparently at this particular time, whatever pope was in charge thought it was vulgar, so he had them all removed. All the "special parts" are in boxes somewhere in the museum as they couldn't bare to throw them out. Apparently, the museum used to show them, but they kept getting stolen. 
Then, the last room in the museum is Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Though it's "technically" forbidden to take photos inside the chapel, Cisco managed to get a couple good ones :) Shhh!
The chapel was beautiful, to say the least. But Hannah had to rush out of this quiet zone (guards were responsible for issuing out chapel-wide SHHH!'s every 5 minutes) when Jackson decided that it was time to eat and he was going to yell about it until he got fed! He had been perfectly quiet and content up to this point for two hours. His timing is really impeccable. As you can see, once Jackson was fed, he was perfectly content again. (The Sistine Chapel is just at the top of those stairs.)
Next, we visited the crypt containing the remains of the previous popes, then our last stop in Vatican City was St. Peter's Basilica. 
By now, the Walkers have seen A LOT of churches, cathedrals and basilicas around the world. It was almost starting to feel like, "If you've seen one, you've seen them all." However, St. Peter's Basilica is in a class all its own. It was truly incredible.
We left the Basilica and passed a couple of the infamous Swiss Guards stationed at the Vatican. Swiss Guards at the Vatican must be Catholic, Swiss, celibate, male (although they're considering allowing women to apply), between the ages of 19 and 30, at least 174 cm tall, must have a high school or professional degree, and must have completed basic training in the Swiss military. Sheeesh!!
We were reaching siesta, as was evident by the scorching heat, so we decided to hop back on the open bus and head to the air-conditioned hotel.
There were more interesting places to see on the return trip.
Including yet another obelisk in the distance.
Then we stopped to cool off at the Piazza della Repubblica fountain (just a couple blocks from our hotel).
We all enjoyed a siesta, then Kathy and Cisco took off for another evening of exploration.
The famous Trevi Fountain at night, a social hotspot of young and old alike.
St. Peter's, glowing over the rooftops.
The Parthenon, moon, and yet another obelisk.
The following morning, Kathy and Cisco were off on another adventure while Hannah and Jackson got some much needed R&R&R (rest, relaxation and reprieve from the heat!).
They explored some ruins. Here's Cisco trying to get the perfect shot of the ruins around Circus Maximus.
They walked through the Roman Forum.
They took a turn around Circus Maximus. (I'm still surprised that this is what it looks like...not the big, grand stadium depicted in Ben Hur.)
They came across this statue...featuring Romulus and Remus, who were said to be raised by wolves before founding Rome.
They came back to the hotel for some of that delightful R&R&R during the siesta hours, then we all set off to our final Roman destination...The Colisseum.
When we arrived at the Colosseum, we found that it was temporarily closed. There were lots of police surrounding the site, which we learned was for the protection of the visiting Chinese Prime Minister (or the Chinese "First" Minister as was told to us by a local...I think something was lost in translation there). You might be able to see Wen Jiabao if you look closely at the zoomed in section. 
Oh well...it was a perfect opportunity to change Jackson's diaper & clothing...seeing as how he had just peed on me and himself. Again, impeccable timing.
Before long, we were let into the Colosseum. It was very cool!
And VERY HOT! Jackson was drinking (licking) as much water as he could get.
We were all trying to imagine what this place looked like in its original splendor.
Back in its day, the whole place was covered in white marble and sat 50-70,000 season ticket holders...imagine that!
There was also an awesome view of the Roman Forum from the Colosseum. Zoom in to check it out. Apparently, just behind Hannah, a 100' tall "colossal" statue of Nero once stood, giving the Flavian Amphitheater its more common name, Colisseum.
Our time in Rome was packed. And we would definitely like to go back again (maybe not in the scorching summer though). At any rate, we taxied to the airport, ready to fly home. And much to our pleasure, Jackson did wonderfully well on the flight home. He didn't cry or complain one bit! 
Oh...and for those of you who are interested in the obelisks...we found out that Rome has 13 of them, though only 8 are originals (the other 5 are more modern copies). Still, 8 of 29 is a lot...and according to our tour guide, they were all taken during the conquering of Egypt.
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