The Pantheon (notice all the people).

Inside the Pantheon with a view of the oculus above us.

Trevi Fountain by day…

…and by night.

The Spanish steps, which were about a five minute walk from our hotel in Rome.

Looking down on the remains of the Roman Forum from Palatine Hill.

View of the Colosseum in the distance from Palatine Hill.

Inside the Roman Colosseum…

…and outside. Not pictured: hundreds of people also trying to take a picture.

The Swiss Guard at the Vatican

Inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Again, notice the crowds. The Vatican museums were definitely the most crowded places we visited.

Outside of St. Peter’s Basilica in St. Peter’s Square

An afternoon maritozzo (a Roman pastry) and espresso

Rome has four “signature” pasta dishes — cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana, and alla gricia. We tried them all, and the amatriciana (pictured here) was our favorite.

We also tried lots of gelato, but this place in Rome was one of our favorites.

Piazza Navona with Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers behind us.

The famous Duomo cathedral in the city center of Florence.

Giotto’s Bell Tower in Florence. We climbed the 414 steps to get to the top.

Mid-Giotto’s Tower climb…

The views from the top were worth the climb!

The Duomo cathedral at night.

Took a day trip around Tuscany, and our favorite stop was Siena. This is the Piazza del Campo, where Siena holds its famous Palio horse races.

Views from inside the Siena Cathedral

Tuscan countryside

We got to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but we mostly laughed at all the people taking photos with it.

The dome inside the Duomo in Florence.

Me awkwardly posing on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.

Michelangelo’s famous “David” statue.

Florence at night from the Piazzale Michelangelo. We (and a few hundred of our closest friends) watched the sunset from here.

A viral coffee drink called an affogato — half ice cream and half espresso. There’s a reason it went viral.

View of the Grand Canal from a water bus in Venice.

The Rialto Bridge in Venice

And us on the Rialto Bridge

Walking the books at the Librairie Acqua Alta, the most famous bookstore in Venice.

Outside of Harry’s Bar — birthplace of the bellini and a frequent hangout of Ernest Hemingway.

Banksy’s work on one of the buildings in Venice — Migrant Child.

Views of the Grand Canal on our gondola ride in Venice.

More gondola ride views

St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, covered in gold.

Sun rising over Venice on the morning we left.