Best days to see Rome

Ditto Michael. Travel from the late great state of California to Rome does leave one off kilter because of jet lag. Arrive, unpack, head out to get adjusted to the noise, traffic, graffiti AND the amazing reality that is bella Roma. Spend a few hours wandering the alleyways, stopping at a little restaurant for lunch. Head back to the hotel for a late after noon nap. Then in the evening to explore the beauty of Rome Campo de Fiori or Piazza Novana are lovely. Find a spot for a leisurely dinner. Get some fitful shut eye, a couple glasses of vino with dinner might help. Wake up refreshed and ready hit the cobblestones Tuesday morning. BTW getting lost in Rome is a bonus. Have found the best trattorria's, cafe's when I did.
Have a wonderful visit.

I would suggest arriving on Tuesday. You'll find a lot of museums closed on Mondays and the Vatican museums are closed on Sundays. The rest of the week is fine and you won't have to deal with closures. Saturdays and Mondays are the most crowded days at the Vatican museums because of the Sunday closures. Donna

I've got a different perspective. To me, the good thing about arriving on a Monday morning is that your first day will probably be a lost day anyway, due to jetlag, esp. since you're a fellow West Coaster. Use it to do a lot of walking around in the daylight to help reset your clock. Depending on where you're staying, there might be a park nearby that would be ideal. Also, do you have the RS Italy book yet?

Monday is a great travel day because the museums, etc., are closed - you can recover from travel, walk around a bit, and orient yourselves. Most churches are open on Monday. The Vatican is open on the weekends, I think the last Sunday of the month may be free but that means more crowds than ever. Your plan sounds great to me.