D.C.: Top 3 free things to do in the capital

One of the best ways to explore San Francisco's killer hills is by venturing through the many, often hidden, stairways in the city. Most are lined with picturesque gardens, many offer benches along the way (phew!), and all offer stunning views of the city or the Bay. The better-known steps are adjacent to the winding Lombard Street, but some secret stairways traverse parks and wind through residential areas, affording you a glimpse that only locals usually get. Here are our five favorites. Telegraph Hill: The popular Filbert and Greenwich Street staircases leading up to Coit Tower. Highlights: Gardens of roses and irises, a picnic table overlooking the Bay, and trees filled with the famous wild parrots. Start at Telegraph Hill Blvd and either Filbert or Greenwich streets. Inner Sunset: The 16th Avenue steps, covered in mosaic tiles, were a neighborhood project inspired by the Santa Teresa Steps in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After you've done the 16th avenue steps, continue down 15th Avenue to the Aerial stairway (one of the longest in the city) or head up the hill to the Grand View Park staircase, whose benches are one of the best spots to watch a San Francisco sunset. Highlights: Native plants like Bush lupine and the endangered yellow Franciscan wallflowers, as well as views of various angles of the Golden Gate bridge and the ocean. Start at 16th Avenue and Moraga Avenue. Presidio: The Lyon Street steps lead from Pacific Heights through the Presidio park down to the Palace of Fine Arts (where you can check out the Exploratorium science museum) and the Marina neighborhood. Highlights: Tiered gardens and breathtaking views of the ocean. This is a favorite running spot for hard-core athletes. Start at Lyon and Broadway. Upper Market: The Saturn and Vulcan stairways lead through the residential neighborhood above the Castro district. Highlights: Lush gardens of rhododendrons, hydrangeas, azaleas, and fuchsias; quirky cottages whose residents have only stairway, not road, access; and views of the city streets below. Start at Levant Street near Lower Terrace. Pacific Heights: The Baker Street and Fillmore Street stairways pass through the Queen Ann Victorian houses and decadent Italian Renaissance mansions, near the Alta Plaza Park. Highlights: Some of the city's most breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and Palace of Fine arts. Start at Broadway and Baker. For more information, check out Adah Bakalinsky's guidebook, Stairway Walks in San Francisco.

New Orleans is on a roll! Fresh off the Saints' first-time win at the Super Bowl—which got its own raucous parade last week—came Mardi Gras, still America's craziest street party. We sent photographer Michael Mohr out to capture the wild costumes, impromptu parades, and energetic, bead-hungry crowds. See the results in our slide show, and look out for photo #9 of couples in clothes and hats made with iconic plastic beads and doubloons. Michael grew up in New Orleans, and one of his fondest memories, as a boy at Mardi Gras, was getting a prized Zulu coconut. His family and friends lined up along parade routes each year as early as 4 a.m. to claim their territory. They came prepared with tons of food: red beans and rice, Zapps potato chips, jambalaya, beer, and two boxes of Popeye's fried chicken and biscuits. "There is an energy about Mardi Gras that is beyond explanation," Michael wrote me. "You have to be there to feel it and understand it." True, but his photos get you close!

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Snow has been falling steadily over the Forum, Trevi Fountain, and the rest of Rome today for the first time since 2005—and at its heaviest in 24 years. The snow (la neve) has naturally thrilled Romans and tourists alike; Reuters reports that the Pope himself was spotted peering out of a Vatican window. Like D.C., Rome isn't used to dealing with more than a few flurries, so roads are backed up with traffic. Buses and the metro are running with limited delays, according to BusinessWeek, and the Colosseum is temporarily shut. Ciampino airport was closed this morning, but has since reopened. You can see photos submitted by locals to the Rome-based newspaper, La Repubblica, here. Rome's coolest vantage point for these kinds of storms? Inside the Pantheon, where you can watch snowflakes falling through the oculus, a round opening in its dome.