Day 2 in Rome

May 11 was dedicated to the admiration of Ostia Antica near Rome. A short Metro line to the train followed by a short train ride to a short walk to the site.... did I say short enough yet?

All of us had tired feet, but my brain ignored the cries of mercy as I staggered, limped and crawled from one exciting ruin to the next.

The ancient Roman city of Ostia was in antiquity situated at the mouth of the river Tiber, some 30 kilometres to the west of Rome. The shoreline moved seawards, due to silting now three kilometers from the beach. Ostia is Latin for "mouth", the mouth of the Tiber. The river was used as harbour and was a bustling small, working city bringing trade to Rome in as early as 700 BC. By 800 AD it was all but forgotten and abandoned to be buried and overgrown.

Because it was a Roman place, all of the buildings and history are well documented, making this sprawling site all the more interesting.

There were loads of bathhouses (famous for their well preserved mosaics)....

an open theatre... a university with magnificent columns, gardens, a necropolis, a military base and oh so much more.... as well as government, palaces, temples.....

We were free to climb on and explore everything with a map bought at the entrance.

T oo much to see on our tired feet in one day.

I must have been really tired, I didn't take nearly enough photos of this inspiring place. It felt so amazing being on the stones of the ancient streets, wandering unsupervised through the abandoned homes and shops and institutions....

..... trying to imagine what went on in it's hey day.

Our only companions for much of our exploration was the bright green lizards sunning themselves.....

For all the wonder that Rome holds with its vital and energetic core with all around it the ruins of its past, Ostia Antica held a different kind of awe for me. Something that really was so alive and so integral to that very same ancient Rome could be left to be buried in the ivy. It held a quality of peaceful surrender to the ghosts of antiquity. I really liked it, and would be very interested in spending a night or 2 within its walls.

Travelling to Rome: Part 1

Italy was amazing, from start to finish I was enthralled and enchanted by this ancient and diverse country.

In short: the art and architecture were stunning and inspiring, the scenery was lovely, the people were accomodating and the bathrooms were the stuff nightmares are made of.

My wonderful friends that made all the arrangements seemed to read my heart and showed me what I needed to see!

First lesson, I would rather have my entire body waxed than fly eastward trans atlantic in economy class. Ugh, that was seriously unpleasant. Jet lag happened, though the brave faces of my friends kept me from totally feeling despair. Check out that leg room:

ROME: terrifying drivers, fast talking restraunt waiters, great gluts of people, sights that staggered the mind and made my heart race with awe!!!!!

Since I am a virgin to the travelling idea, I was surprised to see that our hotel was actually a heavy door on a busy street -- just buzz the appropriate button on the list at the door and wait for the responding noise that lets you know the door is openable. Haul the luggage up a couple flights of stairs and there, next to the landing, a skinny front desk and a sign saying "Hotel Giardino". I was a little surprised, but delighted to see a nice bed. And I put it to good use too.

(Like the T-shirt I saw in Cinque Terra said "Damn right I'm good in bed -- I can sleep for days!") The morning was greeting with a lovely continental breakfast, including a great cappucino on the hotel's private terrace.... I have a picture of it:

Our first day in Rome was and action packed sight seeing marathon! Okay, that didn't sound right. Somehow we saw TONNES of stuff, and yet managed to take our time with it.... here are some highlights:

Ancient ruins, impressive facades, magnificent fountains, lovely paintings and scuptures! My feet were screaming death threats at me by the time we got back to the hotel, but I was so happy! The things I saw! The Pantheon, though relatively small almost brought me to tears, so beautiful in its symetry in its graceful form, what a marvel of engineering in marble and stone.

That first day alone ALMOST made up for the flight.

So close!

Only a few more sleeps! And then we are off to Italia!

I am borderline bundle of nerves and my kids are completely on edge. Stevie is a mess. He is cranky, confrontational and uncooperative, and it just has to be the trip. I feel very bad about that, but it makes me want to get the heck out of here even more! In a way I wish I hadn't mentioned it until closer to the date (ya right).

At the same time I am floating on the cloud of blissful expectations of lovely sights, and exquisite Italian cuisine!

T wanted to know how he could reach me if he had to... I gave him the itinerary with the hotel names... and briefly described HOW he would call the hotels. He did not look happy. Then I reminded him that I would be emailing regularly and he could email my hotmail account. I sure hope that account works in Italy? He still looked worried, but it will just have to be enough, I sympathize, but at the same time, people travel all the time, and yes things can go bad, but not all that often.... imagine even 50 years ago, a trip like this would be an epic journey not a 2 week get-away!

I have a list of email addresses and postcard addresses packed too, I LOVE getting postcards from far away, I think everyone does.

I am so giddy!