I have to admit, those "falling-asleep" stories are pretty funny. But, when standing up and walking around at the Vatican, how is it possible to fall asleep, no matter how boring the guide? Or maybe the sleeper is resting on his/her spouse's shoulder?

Willtravel - 2 times as we listened to his droning during the initial introduction in the courtyard ( I nudged her softly awake the first time out of embarassment, but let her continue slumbering the second time when, luckily for her, she was able to drift off again just before we got up to start the tour itself).

Her third entree into the Lucless Land came as we were being somewhat informed about something or other in some corner of St. Peters itself...and this time, yes, her head was indeed on my shoulder.

WillTravel - unfortunately we were stuck in the courtyard for an hour and a half in front of a diagram of the Sistine Chapel listening to him talk. Once that was over, we went into an interior courtyard and listened an additional 30 minutes. It was two hours before we actually started walking through the museum, so we had to rush through it and the Sistine Chapel in less than an hour to make it out of there before the "back door" to St. Peter's closed.

never - I really think we were on the same tour!

suzq - We were there in May, 2005, and Luc had a trainee with him...talk about a wasted investment in the future...ring any bells?

I have climbed to the top of the Vatican's dome twice - once in my mid 20s and again in my mid 40s. I have to admit, it seemed very easy in my 20s and less so (but still worth it) in my 40s. If you are doing this mid-summer, it is warm in the dome but the view is amazing and it is an interesting climb.

never - Yes, I thought that was probably you! It was Friday the 13th - maybe that was the problem!

< on the vatican website, it states you can reserve on site via fax, has any of you had experiance with this? It does seem significantly less expensive than context, etc. Does anyone know if you can book and receive confirmation via email? I get faxes to my office at work, but unfortunatly, others seem to feel at will to rifle through my faxes, so I am concerned about actually receiving a coveted fax. >

daisy58,

For various reasons, I wasn't comfortable booking the official Vatican tour by fax, so I used goporta.com to make the reservation. For us, the extra fee (€ 6.00 per each)was worth it.

Mark

suzq - what would be the odds? In any event, and just for the sake of memory, did you or a friend have a very bad cold?

never - no, the girl with the cold was traveling alone, as was the other woman (blonde?) on our tour. I was the red-head and I had my DH with me.

Hi, kindy,

In October, our Context guide for the Vatican was Cecilia Martini, and she was great, very friendly, interesting, and knowledgeable. That said, though, when we originally booked the tour it was under a different guide's name, so I agree that you probably can't choose your guide with 100% certainty. Best of luck!

I'm trying to pick a tour company for the Vatican and thinking about Context, Eternal City Tours and Eternity Rome tours. Any input for me? Thanks, Lisa

oops, not Eternity Rome, but Through Eternity. Lisa

Hi again. I am trying to decide on using Icon Tours for the Vatican or Context Tours. There is a big difference in price. Anyone have experience with either? Icon does its tours in the afternoon and Context, I think, in the morning. Do you really think Context is worth the extra money (about 70 euros)?