Serendipity Strikes Again!

Saturday, August 7th

Today was the day we were supposed to take a day trip to Pompeii. When I was homeschooling Matthew, we had gone to an exhibit in San Diego about Pompeii and were so fascinated by it, we couldn't wait to get there in person. One stumbling block was booking train tickets in advance. The Italian train site is known for not accepting American credit cards, so I had no choice but to book when we arrived. Imagine our disappointment when we found out the morning trains were all booked.

I looked in my Rick Steves' guidebook (on my Kindle) for alternatives and found information on Ostia Antica. I then posted on RS to see if it was a good alternative and if I might run into the same issue (booked trains). I got a good response, so decided to change our plans and go to Ostia Antica.

Boy, was that a great choice. Ostia Antica was a Roman port that ended up abandoned and covered in mud after Rome fell and flooding caused the river to change course. It is a huge area of excavated ruins that you are able to walk through, climb upon, follow mazes of walls...it was incredible.

There were hardly any people there, so it felt like we had the place to ourselves. Matthew was in heaven...running around...climbing all over the place...taking hundreds of pictures. He said it was the best day yet! Mike and I agreed. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

After an amazing day, we went back to the room and showered and relaxed. Then headed to a restaurant recommended by our hosts...which was wonderful. Mike had pasta with mussels, clams, shrimp...it was delicious.

After dinner, we took a walk through Rome, seeing the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon...we even got a little lost. That part wasn't fun...but we ended up where we belonged...in our cozy room at the end of the night.