October 16th - 20th: Rome - a day at the Vatican

Managed the drive to Rome's Ciampino airport without major incident - glad to hand the keys back without a scrape.  Soon annoyed by taxi driver insisting on too much to transport bikes to our next lodgings across town.

When in Rome, visit the Vatican museums, culminating in the Sistine Chapel

I was amazed at the breadth of the collections of antiquities - sculpture, paintings, tapestries, frescoes - the diversity and quality was stunning

The Sistine Chapel (no photos allowed) was almost anti-climactic after 3 hours of fabulous offerings!

Did I mention the crowds??? If mid October is after the peak, then I don't want to be here when it's busier.

Speaking of crowds, this queue to visit St Peter' Basilica wound back and forth for over a 150 metres