Spiral staircase, Sistine Chapel.

An unreasonably early start and quick breakfast before heading to the Vatican Museums.  Having met our guide (from The Patron of the Arts group) we made our way into The Sistine Chapel.  The early morning (7.30am) access that we we'd been granted meant that, other than about a dozen other people, we had the chapel to ourselves.

Not only did we have access in such wonderful circumstances but, as we were there as Art specialists, we were not subject to the rules that demand silence in the chapel, meaning that our guide was able to go through, in detail, each aspect of the chapel's frescoes.  The experience was sensational.