May 24th, 2009 Frankfurt airport. 
We touched down at Frankfurt at 9:45 am local time.
I had managed to sleep well, and was fresh. Gayu had not and was looking haggard. Rhea hadn’t either – the personal entertainment system being over-utilized under reduced supervision – though was her usual frisky. We professionally killed 5 hours and took our next leg to Rome.
May 24th Roma
The city goes by the name Rome until the very second the plane touches down and then it Roma all the way. I guess, that more ROMAntic. Nowadays, all airports seem to have decided to lose local color, gravitating to a boring middle-of-the-spectrum uniformity. One can barely make one out from another. Leonardo Da Vinci is no different. Our pre-arranged cabbie picked us up and whisked us to Eurostars International Palace.
Eurostars was the only modern hotel in our itinerary. Part breaking in slowly, part wanting to be in the historical district, walking distance from every POI in any guidebook. The hotel was nice. Decorated with colorful frescoes and clean, we were not asking for much. The receptionist looked at our luggage and Rhea and asked us to upgrade to a larger room at E30 extra which we obediently did.
After a quick splash of water, we asked for a nice dinner place and a map. “Grill and Wine Restaurant”, our first experience at Roman outdoor dining, with live band playing - uh - American pop music. Amidst several hoards of tourists walking by, the restaurant being round the corner from the Trevi fountain, we relished our first authentic Italian meal of a full Sea Bass – tenderly done, chick pea soup and asparagus with a 2007 Nero d’Arola.
(Next: The Trevi Fountain)
