thanks everyone for all the advice before my trip. thought i would report on a few things for you. i started out my trip in paris. where i fell & sprained my ankle. at first i thought it was nothing but woke up the next morning and it was very swollen so i decided i better have someone look at it. if i was not going to be able to walk (i did not want to be doing further damage)i migth have had to cut my trip short & return to the US. went to an emergency room and it was just sprained. the dr gave me a prescription for a brace & painkillers and said i could walk on it. it wasn't all that painful after a day or so. big tip folks..travel with your insurance card. they accepted it at the hospital and told me they would bill my insurance co. i did not have to pay the hospital anything. now i still may end up with a bill someday but i fully expected to spend money that day. i did not think they would accept my insurance. i was in & out in a little over 2 hours. not bad compared to NY!

my first night in rome was at the inn at the spanish steps. it was a very nice small hotel. i had a room facing the "courtyard". i am sure rooms facing the street are larger. they had a wonderful rooftop breakfast and i think they offered a snack in the evening but i missed that.

the area is so crowded! and the hassler at the top of the steps is covered with scaffolding. i was surprised to see that. i hadn't read about it anywhere. sorta ruined my photos.

i spent the next several nites at the hotel de la ville (an intercontinetal hotel) which is next door to the hassler. it was very nice. here's a tip to avoid walking up those steps. there is an elevator right off the entrance to the metro. i don't know about anyone else but walking up and down those steps a few times a day is too much for me. especially with my ankle. the only thing is that is closes early so i went to dinner one night and had to walk back up the steps.

i did 2 tours while i was there. i did a vatican tour with icon. i had maya as a guide and i thoroughly enjoyed her. she is an american who has been living in europe for several years. i had not made the reservation ahead but called that morning and added on to the tour. it was a pretty small group (approx 10). and the tour ran long which was perfectly fine with me.

i also did the rome antica tour with context. i wish i could say i loved it but i was a bit disappointed. i was switched from the docent i selected to another. i wrote to context and to their credit they did offer a free tour as compensation the next time i traveled to one of the cities they service. they do have a disclaimer on their site stating the docent is not guarenteed. course i did not focus on that. i selected the tour based on who i thought would be leading it. the tour guide/docent can make or break your tour. after all the great things i read here about conttxt i decide to spend the extra money and fully expected to be wowed.

oh i almost forgot. there is an xray machine going into the coloseum. i was not expecting that and had to put my camera and film thorugh xray. i know everyone tells you there is no porblem but i always carry a lead bag to protect my film if i know it will be xrayed. so i was caught off guard. they did not make you take off your coat so i stuff the loose rolls of film into my pocket. i have not developed the film yet so i am hoping its ok.

thanks again everyone

oops sorry for the typos folks!

Assuming that your film isn't over 800-speed, you should have no problems. Xray machines at sites are not as powerful as those at airports.

MW - who was the guide on your Context tour? When we went last year, we had Luc at the Vatican, who was just awful. Context also provided a reimbursement to us for his less than stellar performance.

However, Sarah Yeomans was terrific for the Forum, and I would highly recommend her to anyone.

my guide was giampaolo pes. i hate to blame him. i think it was a combination of factors however, i will say a guide who was amazing certianly would have overcome them