The Vatican

St. Peter's.


Standing in line to get into St. Peter's.


St. Peter's square.

You can take an escalator up to the dome.


We visited on a Sunday, so they were conducting mass while we were up in the dome.


You can walk up a set of stairs to the summit of the dome.


537 steps up to the summit.


The reward after climbing all those steps.


You can see St. Peter's, the square and the rest of Rome from the summit.

Rome

After 8 seasons, I finally made it down to Rome.

The Spanish Steps. Kind of hard to see in the evening.

Gucci's version of the Spanish Steps.

Trevi Fountain. A French couple took this picture of us.

After dinner gelato. It was so cold, our hands were freezing.

Alex's favorite combo: strawberry, chocolate and mint chocolate chip.

The next day, we headed out to the Palatine, where Rome's rich and famous once lived.

Tree-lined path connecting the Palatine to the Roman Forum.

Overlooking the Roman Forum: House of the Vestal Virgins, Temple of Romulus and the Basilica of Constantine.

Along Via Sacra. The Arch of Septimius Severus is behind me.

Via Sacra from the other side. To the left is the Basilica Aemilia and behind that is the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina.

You can see the Temple of Castor and Pollux from under the arch of Septimius Severus.

The Arch of Septimius Severus. Built in AD 203.

Alex and the Forum.

Looking for the Colosseum.

The arena floor.

Cheesy actors dressed as gladiators outside the Colosseum.

Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of unified Italy.

Pantheon. Built in the first century A.D, designed by the emperor Hadrian.

The interior of the Pantheon is lined with the tombs of Italian monarchs and the painter Raphael.

Tuscany

We took Erin on a tour of our favorite Tuscan towns, Montalcino and Montepulciano.

Streets of Montalcino.

We found the vineyards of our favorite brunello, Casanova di Neri. Love this place!

Sitting on the walls of Montalcino.


Another view of Montalcino.

Our other favorite town, Montepulciano. Rare pic of me and Alex together!

Erin's Visit

Erin came to visit us for a week, so we took her to some of our favorite spots.


Assisi.


Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi.


Another view of the basilica.

Erin was in town to watch Fabriano play against the team from Jesi, the biggest rivalry in the league. This is also the first time Erin had seen Alex play since college, back in 2000. The people in orange are Jesi fans.

Time out.