Day one and ETC decided, wisely it turned out, to hop onto one of the obliquitous tourist tour buses that circle the major tourist points around central Rome, the Colosseum, the Vatican, Circus Maximus, the American consulate. You get the drift, all the important stuff. Typically got touted by the quintessential Italian conman, but all service with a big smile, onto that was not our hotel nominate one but actually saw all we needed to and located ourselves in our...

And now let the holiday begin !!!!!! Arrived at Fiumicino airport, Rome to you non travelers, to the travelers worst nightmare. Five hundred weary and frustrated passengers and no passport control officers on the non Euro Citizens controls. In defense of the system it only took them 30 minutes to notice us and one, yes one, officer took it into his head to direct us through the Euro desks. We were in the first group through and as they just stamp your passport ...