Rome-the Eternal City
Trip Start
Jan 10, 2008
1
31
38
Trip End
Apr 22, 2008
Rome,
Italy
Friday, April 11, 2008
Because I have been here more than once, I opted for a visit to Ostia Antica. This entailed a train ride to central Rome from the port of Civitavecchia, a metro ride & another train trip. Ostia Antica is 45 mins. from Rome. Thanks to Rick Steve's Rome Guidebook, it was a snap.
Ostia Antica was a working port town, located at the mouth of the Tiber & founded in 620 B.C. Ostia was a key warehousing center, busy with the business of keeping more than one million Romans fed & in sandals.
One of the most interesting sites I saw was a Grand Square where there were more than 60 offices of ship owners & traders. Along the sidewalk in front of their "stores", second century A.D. mosaics advertised the services offered by the various shops. Mosaic floors advertised in Latin & pictograms for illiterate or non-Latin speaking sailors. A lighthouse in mosaic was the sign of the port of Ostia. Mosaic grain containers advertised grain for sale, an elephant symbolized the sale of ivory, another showed exotic animals-great for parties.
Another interesting area was the 20 hole public latrine. Holes were cut out in marble for seats & there was a cut out below the seat to accommodate the washable sponge on a stick, which was used rather than toilet paper. Rushing water below each seat (brought in by aquaduct) did the flushing.
I was also interested in the tavern. You could see display shelves for food & drinks for sale, a small sink & remains of wall paintings.
I had packed a sandwich from the ship, fruit, cookies & a bottle of o.j. & sat on the Forum steps eating lunch. It is springtime here & the flowers were in full bloom. The entire site was covered in lush grass with small wildflowers popping out everywhere. As with Herculaneum yesterday, there were almost no tourists, just some groups of school kids on a field trip. Mint grew abundantly around the old buildings & I picked some to take back. Another couple onboard said my mint would make great mint juleps. I had several mini bottles of Canadian whiskey, invited them over for cocktails. Dick made the best mint juleps & we had cocktails & appetizers (some left over from my lunch at the yacht club in Athens). We were sitting on my balcony enjoying all this as we sailed away. I tell you, it's gonna be darn tough when this cruise ends.......
We are now cruising to Cannes, France where we will arrive tomorrow morning. The sea is very rough & it is difficult to walk around. Fortunately it is 10:30 pm so Ciao for now!
Linda
