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I will be going to Rome with my school in october, soon after my birthday. Am wondering what should be ontop of my wish list?
My current set up consists of:
Pentax K-x, 18-55mm kit lens, 50-200mm kit lens, Sigma 70-300mm, Tripod
I will probably not take the tripod and sigma lens, perhaps not even the 50-200mm lens, I will be there for 4 days, will be visisting; Trevi fountain, Spanish steps, Sistine chapel, Vatican, Gallera d'arte moderna, coliseum, pantheon and "sight seeing" on the last day.
I am thinking along the lines of a sturdy, compact monopod, or perhaps a lens filter. Any suggestions? i know i should buy an umbrella since there is most rain in october and should take care of my equipment 
If it is photography related gear you want for your Birthday, then a wide angle lens would seem to make sense looking at what you have, depends the level of present you can expect, 
as they are not cheap. lol If you're not into Landscapes then maybe forget about the wide angle lens. For filters, consider a Polariser if you haven't already got one. I have one on all the time, and really like effect. I went to Rome in October about 3 years ago, and the weather was still quite hot, and no rain.
I'm planning a trip to Rome for July hopefully, and even though I'll take my 70-300mm lens, I doubt I'll use it. Last time I went I took a borrowed Sigma 10-20mm lens, though I only used it a few times, it was handy, particularly on the Vatican staircase. I always take a Tripod, as there are some good shots to be had of the Colosseum at least. I'd also ask whether you will be out late enough to take advantage of a Tripod.
Am not sure what times we will be out, but i dont think that i will be out late, therefor didnt think the tripod would be necassary, i thought a monopod would be great in the lower light conditions as i have read that it steadies the camera quite alot, perhaps a gorilla pod? and investing in a wide angle lens might be a bit out of my budget. A polarising filter WILL be on my list however, thanks for all the input! 
I went to Rome and @ 70% of the shots were with a wide angle lens, so my vote would be to go with your 18-55mm and 50-200mm lenses. If you have not tried it before, it could be a good time to try out stitching as their is often not a lot of space, so turning the camera on its side and then stitching them together after is a good low cost way of getting a wider field of view.
If you were to get anything for the trip a couple of extra memory cards or spare battery would be my advice. I loved Rome hope you have a good time.
At least take a small tripod -you can balance it on a wall etc. For crowded situations, you can set a long exposure, 30 sec, this will blur some of the people.
I have one of these - Ultrapod 2 http://www.pedcopods.com/specsup2.htm
http://www.morrisphoto.co.uk/ProductDetails~productID~7965~categoryid~149.html
For quick usage i was thinking of getting a teleconverter so instead of switching lenses in a crowded place where there is nowhere to stop, then i could pop on the converter? i can get a gorilla pod aswell and perhaps a small monopod. Have decided on not taking my tripod because i will probably not be going out in the nights, if i am i will use the mono or gorilla pod, and i will be in a group in museams where you cant have tripods as they can be "trip hazards". So, monopod, small tirpod/gorilla pod, polarising filter, SD card (have plenty of batteries!!) and what about a teleconverter? 1.4x or 2x or none?
The teleconverter fits between the lens and body, so you would still have to stop and jiggle things about.
Ian
Why not ask for a 50mm lens for your birthday & only take that for the body with a bean bag
Saves lugging stuff around every day & it’ll cope with many more low light situations & allow/force you to really think about composition & with a little horizontal movement on your part it’ll still do a wider angle/close up.
If you don’t think you could manage with just this lens than also take the 18-55 only for when crowds/barriers don’t allow you to walk back/forward
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