on Sunday, October 7, we took a day trip out to Ostia Antica. observant readers will remember that the four of us explored Ostia in August, and it scratches the walking-around-in-an-ancient-town itch without having to make the journey to Pompeii.
here's my original post about this ancient seaport town. we got off to a somewhat tumultuous start, as Sabrina joined the girls and me for mass in the morning, and Rebecca was to meet us at the bus stop afterwards. (Nick had an obligation in the afternoon and wasn't able to join us for this adventure!)
i had told Rebecca to meet us at the Piazza della Rovere stop, which is just at the bottom of our hill, and it would be convenient because she could get on the 64 bus by their hotel and just get off at the next stop. after mass, i gave her our ETA and she said she was already at the stop, but that she didn't see the correct bus numbers on the sign (we could take either the 23 or the 280). i didn't think much of it, because there are a few different signs at the Piazza della Rovere stop, and so maybe she just didn't see the one that listed those buses. so i threw some more snacks into the diaper bag backpack, Sabrina helped load Cece into the Ergo and Greta into the stroller, and we were on our way! we walked five minutes down the hill to the Piazza della Rovere stop and ... no sign of Rebecca. which was very strange.
thanks to their international data plan, Sabrina and Rebecca were able to text each other and determine that Rebecca was, in fact, at
a Piazza della Rovere stop ... around the corner. i had no idea there were two of them! so she walked over to meet us. such craziness. suddenly our bus pulled up, and we hustled everybody aboard. it's about a twenty-minute ride to the commuter train station at Piramide. of course the marquee on the bus to display the stops wasn't working, but at least in this instance, there's a huge landmark to let you know when you've reached your destination: the Pyramid of Cestius. we piled out onto the median of the road (where the bus stop is) and then crossed the street to the station.
we decided to get a little lunch here at the station -- ham-and-cheese and prosciutto-and-cheese sandwiches, plus a croissant for Greta ("just plain"). i told the girls they could get a treat afterwards, and they were both overjoyed to pick a popsicle.
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| ** (photo credit: Sabrina) |
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then it was off to the train! you really can't beat it for economy - the same €1.50 bus ticket lets you ride the commuter train the entirety of the route. our journey took about 30 minutes and the girls had a great time, eating their popsicles, looking out the window, and playing with their toys.
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against all odds, Cecilia did not make a giant mess with her popsicle - one little piece broke off in her lap,
easily cleaned up with a wipe (**) |
we arrived at the little station without any trouble. i still maintain that the Ostia Antica station is one of the cutest stations ever. as soon as we emerged from the station and Greta spotted the bright blue stairs that traverse the road to get to the archaeological site, she let out an ear-splitting wail. "
no!!!!! we aren't going to
this place, are we?! this is my yuckiest, worst place of all!!!"
i had to inform her that unfortunately, yes, we were going to Ostia. she voiced her strong dislike of Ostia again -- because you're not allowed to climb on the ruins here and because "it's so hot!". it
was very hot in August, when we first came. i told her it wouldn't be quite so hot today, and she could just nap in the stroller if she wanted, and she had come to a resigned equilibrium when suddenly she burst out crying afresh. the poor thing got stung by a wasp! thankfully, the mark didn't get too swollen. Sabrina filled up her water bottle with ice cold water from a nearby fontanella so we could put that on the area. i almost had a heart attack about ten minutes later when i looked down at her and it appeared that her lips were swollen. she's been stung by a bee before and never had a reaction, but i thought "God help us if she goes into anaphylactic shock and we're all the way out here in the country and i don't have a cell phone or even her passport". but then i looked a little closer and she was just making a duck lips face. she must have thought Nana and i were crazy because we kept saying "stick out your tongue! swallow for us! let us see your lips!" thank goodness, she was completely fine.
as we walked into the park, i remarked that it was much more crowded than the time we came in August. when we went in to buy our tickets, we found out why: entrance is free on the first Sunday of the month! thankfully, the park is so huge that the crowds spread out and we only had to navigate around a few large tour groups. this old dog looked like he felt equally displeased with Ostia.
Greta perked up when we went into the ancient theater. she and Cecilia were happily climbing all over the seats and Greta repeatedly asked Sabrina to "do a play" on the stage for her (to no avail).
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we walked around the merchants' courtyard, admiring the mosaics, while the girls played in the grass and picked flowers.
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| ancient altar |
walking along the main thoroughfare, the Decamanus Romanus, we encountered the largest earthworm i've ever seen. it's in the foreground of the photo below (looking like a long brown stick), and no, it was not a snake. Greta was equally repulsed and enthralled -- we've been reading the
Creepy Crawlies Usborne book (circa 1990!) and so she was fascinated to see that the worm moved just as described in the book.
next, we explored the Thermopolium, which originally was a restaurant complete with a bar. Greta pretended to be a waitress (and i held my tongue about whether or not she still thought Ostia was the yuckiest worst place of all).
we walked over to the forum area, where the girls again ran around, picking flowers and presenting me with little bouquets. the weather was absolutely beautiful.
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the girls stayed here with Sabrina while Rebecca and i headed off in search of the baths. the entrance had been gated off when Nick and i were here in August, so i was very excited to explore the area. it wasn't nearly as grand or impressive as the Baths of Caracalla, but still incredible to walk around.
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| one of the drains for the largest pool |
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| marble steps |
we skipped the museum this time, and just walked back along the road. Cecilia and Greta kept a pretty steady pace, and made friends with a little girl named Carmen whose family was also walking back. we passed huge fields with horses and then another field with sheep and goats, the bells on around their necks clanging a bucolic song.
the peacefulness was shattered, however, by our journey back. the train back to Piramide was uneventful, but rather than waiting thirty minutes for a 23 bus back, we decided to take the metro two stops to Termini and then catch a 64 from there. since the 64 departs so frequently, and since Termini is the beginning/end of the line, we figured we could be some of the first people on the bus, thus guaranteeing a seat. well, chalk it up to one of the great mysteries of life (or maybe it's just because it was a Sunday afternoon), but it was at least thirty minutes before a 64 bus pulled into the station. by this point, the platform was crowded with people, and we didn't even come close to making it on that bus. nor would we have wanted to be on it -- people were squishing themselves in to the point that the doors couldn't even close properly.
so when we saw the next 64 approaching, we staked our claim by the middle door while the passengers disembarked, and then scrambled aboard. Rebecca snagged a seat, but the rest of the seats filled within seconds as the hordes piled on. a kind man gave up his seat for Greta, who fell asleep about ten minutes into the ride, and then when the other man sitting next to her got off the bus, Sabrina took his seat and pulled Greta onto her lap so she could continue her nap. meanwhile, Cecilia entertained the passengers standing around us by singing nursery rhymes at the top of her lungs and pointing out the colors of all the cars passing by.
by the time we arrived back at the hotel, it was just past 7 p.m. we had initially planned to go out for dinner to celebrate Sabrina's birthday that night, but we were all pretty much ready to be done, so i took the girls home to feed them leftovers and get to bed. plus, Rebecca and i had to rest up for our three-and-a-half hour tour of the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill the next day!
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