A few good links: Delta shuts many gates, Chicago's Olympics, and more

Ciao! I'm back from Rome and eager to begin responding to the many comments you posted before I left. Look out for future blog posts and stories that will address common questions like alternative lodgings (apartments, convents), personal safety and security, finding reliable tour guides, and smart strategies for visiting major attractions. First off, congrats to reader Bruce Logan for completing the Rome marathon! I landed at Fiumicino airport early that sunny morning and joined the crowd at Piazza del Popolo just in time to watch the leaders speed by, as a brass band played and kids waved balloons. Lorraine's comment about eating a wonderful meal 20 years ago at Taverna Cinque intrigued me. She wondered if the restaurant was still open. I took up the challenge, roaming the blocks around the Colosseum, searching online, and asking some locals, but no luck. Sorry, Lorraine. I did make it to Da Augusto in Trastevere, however, and thank Peggy for the tip. It's a no-frills, perpetually jammed Roman trattoria, where we were greeted—or rather, brusquely acknowledged—by the owner, who motioned us back out to Piazza de Renzi to wait. Da Augusto doesn't take reservations, or even names. After waiting our turn for about 20 minutes, a waiter plunked down a brown-paper tablecloth (where our bill was eventually scrawled) and a laminated menu. It seemed only right to order something as traditionally Roman as the restaurant: rigatoni all'amatriciana, cooked al dente in a chunky, lightly spiced tomato sauce with pancetta for €6. Piazza de Renzi 15, 39-06/580-3798. That's all I sampled at Da Augusto because it was actually the second dinner of the evening. My husband Dilip and I stopped first for an aperitivo at nearby Freni e Frizioni. Once a car mechanic's workshop, the trendy bar (named "Brakes and Clutches") whips up creative cocktails—buy one, and help yourself, as we did, to multiple servings from the buffet. Via del Politeama 4-6, 39-06/5833-4210. I noticed that Dorie, Debbie M., and other readers asked about places where Romans eat. Freni e Frizioni is one of them! So is Felice in the mostly working-class neighborhood of Testaccio, where we enjoyed our favorite meal of the trip: a steaming bowl of tonnarelli cacio e pepe. The waiter mixed the thick spaghetti with potent cracked pepper and pecorino shavings for us tableside. No menus, and no English in earshot. Via Mastro Giorgio 29, 39-06/574-6800. PREVIOUSLY Questions for an editor going to Rome?

The U.S. government isn't the only one in the world spending money to help the travel industry. The Canadian government has announced that it will cover more of the costs to run Toronto City Centre Airport—for this year, at least. Why does this matter? Well as reporter Brad Tuttle points out, if you're flying into that airport later this year, you won't have to pay the current high airport fee that is automatically added to your plane ticket. Why does that matter? Well, Porter Airlines currently has to tack on capital improvement fees, which add $12.25 to a ticket, because it flies into Toronto City Centre. Other airlines, which fly into an alternate airport, don't have to charge passengers those fees, giving them an unfair competitive advantage. Once the fees have been equalized across airports, Toronto City Centre Airport will look especially attractive, given that it is the closest airport to downtown. To recap from Brad's recent BT story, "Flying Under the Radar," Porter flies 70-seat turboprops to six Canadian cities, Chicago-Midway, and Newark. This year, it may add service between Toronto and Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. EARLIER Four Upstart AirlinesYou may not have heard of them (yet), but these four upstart airlines are starting to descend on American cities, just as the big boys are pulling out.

Who doesn't like the friendly butterfly? Starting this weekend, the San Diego Zoo will have thousands of the colorful insects on display at the Butterfly Jungle. The zoo's Wild Animal Park will play host to the Hidden Jungle, an aviary that looks like a South American rain forest. Guests walk through as thousands of species of butterfly, including the blue morpho pictured here, flit from plant to plant, looking for pollen. A close encounter is almost guaranteed, as the butterflies often mistake people for flowers. Although butterflies are the stars of the show, no pollinator will go uncelebrated—this year's theme is Pollinators of the Animal Kingdom, including birds, bugs, and bats. A Discovery Station in the park will have educational displays about bugs and the ecosystem; there's even a bat cave with live bats. The event is great for kids, with crafts, puzzles, games, a Butterfly Wrangler performing, and a daily butterfly costume parade (so those leftovers from Halloween will get a second use). Through April 26. Free with the cost of admission, which is $35 for adults and $26 for kids 11 and under. You can buy tickets online. PREVIOUSLY Zoo Babies: Where Are They Now?

Londoners are being encouraged to put down their Blackberries, stop racing from one thing to the next, and take part in the first-annual http://slowdownlondon.co.uk/" target="_blank" >Slow Down London festival. Starting April 24, the informal 10-day series of events includes wine tastings, poetry readings, and meditation workshops, according to the Financial Times. The festival starts with The Big Slow Walk across London Bridge at rush hour on April 24 at 5 p.m., leaving from Embankment Gardens (free). On April 24, poet Miriam Nash will lead a Snail Mail workshop, persuading people to use pen and paper for occasional personal letters instead of sending e-mails or texts. (2 p.m., The Gallery, Foyles Charing Cross, (free). On Sunday afternoon May 3, sample at leisurely pace the fare for sale the Slow Food London Market at the stalls at Southbank Centre Square, all afternoon long. Then at 7 p.m., drop by the National Portrait Gallery for a quirky lecture from David Rooney, curator of timekeeping at Greenwich’s Royal Observatory, who helps set time for the world (free). For details, visit Slow Down London.