Frankfurt - 04.03.06

There is a lot of snow on the ground here, and it is cold. We struggle to find our way to our connecting flight. The snow, it turns out, has wrought havoc with a multitude of departing flights. We walk through a maze of sprawled, sleeping human forms; the corridors and gate areas are filled with stranded passengers, and the terminal smells like it could use a shower. There is no gate posted for our flight to Pisa, though it leaves in an hour. We find a Lufthansa counter and check in. They post the gate number, and we run to make the flight.

We must go through passport control and customs, then back through airport security, which annoys us. Also, our passports are stamped "Frankfurt," and we realize that, now that we have entered the EU, we will not be getting the Italian stamps we had coveted. In our sleepless state, this registers as a major disappointment.

We must ride an overcrowded bus to our plane. The ride lasts just short of forever. I sleep on the plane, and then we are landing in Pisa.