We arrived at about 10:00am expecting to wait in a very long line, but moved in quickly amid throngs of people, got tickets for 18,000 lire ($9), and then proceeded to the audioguide rental desk (up more stairs) to get a CD guide for 10,000 lire ($5). (I highly recommend the CD audioguide.) It is a good idea to read up on what is in the museum and plan your trip ahead so you will not miss what you absolutely want to see (like I missed Laocoon--but there's always next time).

We began in the Pinacoteca (Painting Gallery) and discovered the mesmerizing Renaissance artist Carlo Crivelli, whose Pieta and Madonna and Child were a unique mixture of Gothic flatness and Renaissance perspective.

In the Candelabra Rooms, we found remnants of sculptural ruins propped up here and there (see my photo), plus a marble likeness of the very breed of dog we own two of, doing exactly what they like to do: bug us (see my photo). Speaking of photos, one of the interesting things about the Vatican Museums is that they let you take photos!!!! (except in the Sistine Chapel)

The "Raphael Rooms" covered with frescoes of historical and contemporary scenes are breathtaking, and a good place to take a breather before tackling the Sistine Chapel.

So, we get to the Sistine Chapel, and . . . it is a teeming mass of humanity, shoulder to shoulder, faces all turned upward, mouths open. But despite the fact that the Sistine Chapel is in fact a CHAPEL, the people are loud and babies are crying! So, the social experience of it wasn't what I expected, but the frescoes are truly amazing. (By the way, you are not allowed to sit or lie down on the floor to look at the ceiling.) I expected the chapel itself to be larger, based on all the hype I'd heard, but the individual scenes were larger than I thought they'd be--I guess they weren't as many in number as I'd imagined.

A word about getting there: When you get to St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, do not think that you can waltz right into the Vatican Museums from there. It is another half mile away (around the right-hand side of the square and behind St. Peter's), and there is no shuttle bus. Give yourself fifteen more minutes to get to the entrance of the Museums. Also be forewarned that not all the museums in the complex are open at the same time. We had wanted to see the Etruscan Museum, but it was closed when we were there.

It is room after room of incredible treasures from all over the world and from every era of art history. My favorites were the magnificant Tapestries, the gold crosses and jeweled chalices.

They say that only about 2% of the art and treasures displayed in the public areas of the museum. I can't imagine how so much art could be in one place.

This is a must see and leave plenty of time to see it all.