The Vatican Museum & the Sistine Chapel
Alli's favorite highlight of our trip to Rome was the Sistine Chapel. To get to the Sistine Chapel, you have to wind your way through the Vatican museum admiring the various works of art collected by the Catholic church over the years. 
Also there were many statues of granite and marble, a map room where the walls were covered in maps painted directly on the walls, and beautiful courtyards for evening strolls with the Pope and his bishops (all of which could technically be considered as art, I suppose). Some of my favorites included an octagonal courtyard that contained statues of Greek gods, and paintings by Raphael (yet another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle). 
I also appreciated some artwork that had I not been exposed to as a child, I probably would have just zipped by without much notice. The art was by a Japanese artist named Sadao Watanabe whom my grandparents became admirers of while they lived in Japan (Grandpa was in the military, while Grandma became the inspiration for my current lifestyle as A Well Kept Man...don't read too far into this).
most recognized work of art. I never fully appreciated the various aspects of the chapel, as the only nuggets that really ever lodged in my brain were that his back was probably sore from painting the ceiling as well as the more famous scene on the ceiling of God reaching out to create Adam. It also contains many other images from Genesis such as God creating the world, the Temptation in the Garden, and the Great Flood, in addition to various Saints and Biblical prophets. 
Unfortunately photography was not allowed inside the chapel, but fortunately it seems that rule is not enforced (it seems that it is really the flashes they don't want). Now I'm not saying the pictures in this post are from my camera, I'm just saying I have some photographs whose origin will remain nameless. They were more strict on dress-code and noise in the chapel in effort to maintain reverence for the space (it is a church after all). This chapel is where the bishops pick the popes, and vigilant Catholics wait outside for the signal of black or white smoke from the chimney indicating whether or not a new pope was selected. 
It is not easy to see the chimney in question, but I have included a surveillance picture of the roof with an arrow pointing to the pipe. The Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel are well worth the time (plan to spend at least two to three hours visiting), plus at the end you get to visit St. Peter's Basilica (stay tuned...).
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