Ostia Antica and the Via Appia Antica

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we slept in. ugh. we had to. i think we got up about 10 actually, that's what time i set the alarm for and it was only a few minutes before that when i actually got out of bed. johnny stayed in a few more minutes and i ran and took a shower and did all that great stuff. we made breakfast - coffee and croissants, maybe some cereal, and a yoghurt... then grabbed our stuff for the day and ran to the metro station.

we had gotten the directions from the woman in the tourist booth the day before and i wrote them down in my notebook. metro line b to piramide and then the train to ostiense, getting off at ostia antica. it took about an hour or so to get out of the city and to the ostia antica stop. we hadn't realized how far out of the city it was until we looked at the map and saw it. on the train we kept seeing all these people with big bags and bathing suits and i didn't put two and two together - ostia was the link between the tiber and the sea when it was a thriving port. everyone else was going to the beach!

as we got off the train and headed out of the station i thought about the beach in athens and how it would have been nice to go again. oh well - antiquities to see! we headed onto the pedestrian overpass over the main road and then down into the village area. shortly thereafter, the via ostiense (ostian way) was visible and the ticket booth loomed. but ta-da! we had the roma pass and it was half off - we only paid for one of us. :o) we got a map, although we barely used it, and went on our way. immediately past the ticket booth to the left were a series of half-walls and grassy areas with what looked like stone coffins.... sure enough - this was the ancient necropolis outside the original city walls. apparently this was where the upper classes were buried with monuments and large mausoleums crowding the area. what was left of it was a series of half walls and incomplete staircases overlooking the via ostiense. we wandered around the area were totally allowed to walk through the former walkways and streets of between the ruins. this was cool - the roman forum and all the other places we had been to had everything roped off so you could only see them from afar. this dead city was really accessible to the visitors. wow.

there were various couples and families picnicking here and there in the shade of trees growing in this area outside the city walls - to think that all these people were socializing and having lunch, relaxing, etc in a graveyard - i kind of giggled to myself.

we snapped a few pictures and walked on into the city limits. as we walked i could feel myself baking in the sun- i wore a tank top. :o( eh - a bit of sun never hurt anyone, and besides - i was trying to even out my farmer's tan... we'll see how that turned out.

as we entered the city it was clear that this was not the typical set of building demolished to a floor plan with only a picture to represent what it would have looked like- much cooler. there were almost completely intact buildings with roads, plazas, walkways, alleys, courtyards - everything. and just like the necropolis, you could walk through 90-95 percent of it! some areas were roped off - mainly those with large delicate mosaics on the floors, but they were usually accompanied by buildings that were 1 or 2 stories high which you could climb on top of, either using the original stairs or a platform with stairs built up to it. we wandered through alleys, in between houses and into baths. the city was arranged around squares and in roman fashion, in a grid pattern. in the outer city limits were some roman baths that were said to be owned by the various guilds of the city. the mosaics on the floor gave it away apparently.

as we walked by one of the buildings of the baths we could see into what a cold room (or a hot room, i don't know which it was) would have looked like. basically it looked like a modern sauna with the benches on different levels and an under area where the steam would have been. the romans were so clever with their modern drainage/sewage systems - everything was still in tact and we could see how it wall worked.

we wandered through some more side streets and into a main street on which was one of these large mosaics. we turned the corner and found the stairs which led to a platform on top of the building next to it and were able to see the whole thing. very impressive -- especially when you consider that it's made totally of little bitty pieces of marble no bigger than your pinky.

as we wandered through more of the city taking random pictures of anything and everything we could, trying to document the trip for ourselves and everyone else, we noticed that on the other side of the main road it was a little more overgrown and looked more interesting so we wandered over that way. we walked through pillars covered in ivy and overgrown bushes next to walls - at one point passing what was once a grain storage warehouse with huge cisterns sunken into the ground. walking past the warehouse we came into a field of pillars and tall grass and walked around to the other side to get a better view of the city through the field. we walked back to the main road and as we got there we came up to the old amphitheater. again - we could walk up into it!! not only could we walk into it, we walked up to the top of it and when we got inside we realized that the amphitheater was actually still in use - they were setting the stage up for the international music festival of ostia. weird - a concert in the middle of a dead city thousands of years old! i liked the idea of being able to walk through the ruins, but i don't know about the use of the place as a concert venue.... i dunno....

the funny thing was that you could completely see where the modern structure/layout of stadiums came from - they were designed exactly like this one, only this one was made out of tons and tons of huge blocks of rock and probably constructed by slaves :o)

we came upon another water spigot and took advantage of the free refreshment before moving on into the heart of the city. afterwards, we crossed the main road again and walked around to where there were fewer tourists around. we soon found a complex that when we walked in, had a huge mosaic floor and fireplace along with marble tabletops and vaulted ceilings. some of the original frescoes still decorated the walls and a courtyard outback had olive trees in it. the description said that it was actually a type of restaurant where patrons could order their food and eat it at the counter or take it out back to the courtyard when the weather was nice. really cool.

by this time johnny had gotten tired of me taking sooo many pictures so he had run off up some stairs across the street. i followed and as i walked up the stairs i started calling him cause i didn't know where he had gone and then he popped up and scared the crap out of me! little shit ass. :op

the panoramic views were great and pictures taking commenced, as usual, but we didn't stay up there long. gawd i was burning up. eak!

a few more pictures here and there and then we walked up another main street that intersected with the ostian way. as we walked up to where there was supposed to be a food shop we passed a courtyard with another huge mosaic on the wall. we saw it through a passageway, but it was gated off and as we walked a little further we found the entrance. two other people had apparently found this hidden grotto with fruit trees and manicured grass and were just exiting as we walked in. there was also another statue of of a male figure recessed into the wall near the entrance and the whole thing was like some dream of a warped roman courtyard.

the main building, with offices and the cafe and souvenir shop, etc. was right ahead and was surrounded by broken statues of all sorts here and there. we turned the corner looking for the entrance of the building and as we approached there were several dogs. johnny walked up to one making kissing noises and started to pet it and then i walked by and into the courtyard. as i turned the corner with another two people we all read aloud - DO NOT TOUCH THE DOGS - ha ha ha ha.... i had been telling johnny not to wander up to foreign dogs and mess with them, no matter how friendly he thought they were. i just thought it funny that someone actually put it in writing and posted it. :op

we went in and got lunch - a bottle of water for each of us and some pasta with veggies. same pasta, but johnny got green beans and i got zucchini. after paying the exorbitant price for each of our meals we went to sit down in the shade of the building outside to enjoy the weather. the food wasn't bed, but certainly not worth the 12 euros we paid for it. when i went to drink my water i very quickly realized that i was stupid enough to get the frizzante bottle. it's basically soda water and doesn't taste like anything edible but it was water nonetheless and i was thirsty. ick!


we got done with lunch and were walking off when we got a little ways away from the cafe before johnny noticed that his leg was all wet - his water bottle leaked! oh no!! we ran back to the cafe area and pulled everything out of the bag before he dumped it out and got some towels. it wasn't bad in the end really, just a few things wet but nothing broken and we soon had everything back in the bag and ready to hit the road again. passport kind of warped and his new notebook was damp, but not terribly so. all the electronics weren't affected. :o)
we wandered back to the entrance of the city and on our way back to the train station we passed a huge group or german tourists just getting off the bus. yeesssss! we missed the tour groups! ha ha.

so we get back to the train station and there are various people sitting about here and there up and down the platform, all of us nearly melting by this point, and johnny decides to sit. so he does, right in the middle of the platform. LOL -- everyone is sitting around the walls by the station and here is johnny. sprawled out in the middle of the platform right by the door. i laughed at him and told him to scoot over a bit as a transit police officer walked by and gave me the eye...

as we waited the first train that came through the station just rolled on through and johnny looked like "what the?!" but it was only an intercity train or something -- express. it didn't stop everywhere. the next one stopped and we got on for a about 4 stops then got off to switch to another train that would take us to linea A on the metro (red line - there are only two metro lines in rome, the red and the blue) we needed to get to a station with a red line switch because we had to get to the san giovanni stop to catch the bus 218 to the appian way.

we made it to the stop and when we exited the metro station we had no idea where we were. the station was at an intersection of two major roads and as we searched the four corners for bus stops for the 218 we quickly realized that it was not happening. armed with my excellent spanigese skills i popped into the nearest tabacci (tobacco) shop and before i got out the 18 in where is the stop for the bus 218? the woman knew exactly what i was looking for and explained it was through the arches of the giant stone wall to the left of the shop. we couldn't find an explanatory plaque anywhere, but we thought maybe it was one of the original city walls...

as we walked through the arches and were at the cross walk waiting for the pedestrian light to change we hear a CRRRAACCKK, EEEEEEARRRRRRR, SMASH and see this guy on a scooter coming up to the light lose control of the scooter and he laid it down and it went screetching down the street for about 50 feet or so and and jumped off at the last minute and luckily didn't get stuck under it. another wow - our fist european scooter accident! we actually did see another car accident in greece, but only the aftermath, we didn't see it all happen. when we were walking to the ferry shop to catch the bus to patras we saw two cars that had collided and were all smashed up, the drivers exchanging details.

so after all that we crossed the big intersection and hopped on the bus just in time. it wasn't very many stops before we came to where we were going and johnny and i, along with another tourist, jumped off and headed up the road. we walked and walked through fields and orchards until we got through to the estate where the catacombes of s sebastiano were. unfortunately, we got there after 5 and they closed at 5 pm. so no catacombes. :o(

we talked to a representative and he directed us to the appian way which was just a short distance down another street off of the estate. we actually didn't know we were on it until we saw a street sign because they still let automobile traffic up and down it! can you believe it, a road that's that old and they let automobiles drive on it... crazy. well, you'd have to be crazy to drive your ca on it .. the pot holes could swallow a small car whole. not to mention the fact that it's paved with big river stones and not a continuous surface. the potholes aren't really potholes - they're just where the rocks have been worn down so very much from use. i guess it's more like ruts that anything.

the road was long and cobbled with houses and fields all along it. a wall on either side lined it with fields of grass or red poppies everywhere. after spartacus' revolt they apparently lined it with 6000 crucified slaves to serve as a bloody reminder to all who would oppose the roman army. wow. you could just imagine all the crucifixes everywhere and it makes you shudder....

due to the time we got there the sun was going down through the trees and over the hills as we walked along the golden light bathing everything visible. it was so nice to be out of the city for the day, away from the hustle and the bustle and crowds. i enjoy the italian countryside and can see why so many others fall in love with it and never want to move away.

so we walked what seemed forever before i finally said enough- "when we get to that street sign we should turn around" johnny was like - "well, doesn't it stop somewhere?" nooooo -- it goes all the way to naples! lol. i certainly wasn't walking all the way to naples.... so we turned around and were walking slowly back enjoying the countryside, the evening sunlight, and the company when we eventually walked through the second gate of the estate. now, the estate is owned by the vatican and it's a large one -- it probably took us 15 minutes to walk across it. when we got to the first gate (we're going in reverse remember) it was closed! we walked up to it ... didn't open ... we knocked on the door where the person was sitting before.. no answer... we walked over to the stone wall to look over at how far down we would have to drop to get out .. too far down ... omg! we were trapped in a vatican property! wtf?!? get me out! so i start looking around some more, johnny's saying "oh, i'm gonna jump the fence, i'm gonna jump the fence" and told him like hell he was - i wasn't getting in trouble from the freakin vatican for trespassing or anything. anyway, he wound up hitting some button on the gate and when he did it opened the gate and we ran out as fast as we could before it closed again!

we walked to the bus stop where we got dropped off and then realized we needed to be on the other side, no biggie. we crossed - and sat - and sat - and sat.... one bus came but it wasn't the one we wanted so we skipped it. we sat some more.... omfg! we waited for at least and hour and 20 minutes, no joke. so when the bus came we both jumped up and waved our arms in the air and made sure they saw us and stopped before going by.

we get on and there is one seat at the back of the bus next to a "woman" and then one facing that seat in front of it. i get in and sit next to the woman... johnny sits facing me and the woman... we go back to where we got on the bus and when we're getting off johnny goes - omg! was that a woman or what?!!? that was the ugliest freakin "woman" i've ever seen!! i think it was a man! apparently she had a beard and needed to shave and had "man feet" according to johnny. i was apparently too sun baked to notice there was a tranny sitting next to me. ha ha.

the metro ride back to termini wasn't very eventful and when we got there we decided to split up our tasks - johnny went for groceries and dinner and i went to stand in line at the ticket counter for tickets to venice the next day. they started with four or five tellers open and by the time i got up there only two were still in operation. i went to talk to the woman and she was NOT happy to be alive, i can assure you. i went up with the biggest mile i could muster, said hello and good evening in italian, and explained that i wanted the earliest train to venice i could get. her reply, without looking at me, was "30 euros" and i said thank you, and asked if i could make reservation for france as well, "same pass, prego, prego - next please!" and all but shoved me out the way for the next person to come and speak to her! wow. rudeness. no home training. makes you want to slap somebody, i swear.

perfect timing though - as i was exiting the ticket line johnny got back with groceries and we headed back tot he room to eat dinner in peace, just some simple pizza from the grocery store.

we packed the rest of our stuff and set and alarm for the next morning at 5:45 then put the groceries up and stole some croissants from the b&b to go with our fruit we got at the store.

in bed. passed out. ugh. do it all over the next day! :o)

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