We started today bright and early at 6:45, and headed down for a lovely breakfast at the Hotel President. After meeting up with Linda, our guide, we hopped on a bus to the gorgeous countryside of Ostia. The drive was long and restive - most were KO'd in our seats and sleeping as teenagers do. Though it rained torrentially, we were safe and warm because we are both fashionable and smart dressers. Jaires wore a poncho as a cape. All were dry on the inside.
The ruins of Ostia are an incredible testament to the great cities of yesterday. It's wide and expands over acres. You can imagine daily life there, and we even went into an ancient restaurant-bar combo. There are still creatures living in the ruins - we met a dog, affectionately named Cinnamon, who limped slightly and was quite adorable. We've met several cats as well, among them Nona and Tiberius, and several others unnamed. We also saw ancient toilets - a trough of seats without dividers - great for socializing with neighbors!
After Ostia we went to lunch and split up to roam the streets of Rome for a tasty meal. Omlettes, Tofu Dumplings, Chicken, Potatoes, and Clam Fettucini awaited us. It was a tremendous lunch.
We hopped on the bus to go to the Catacombs, but stopped on the way at the ancient public baths, where Romans would exercise, soak, and detox. You've never seen ruins this large - it's incredible how huge the ancient world can be. They make you feel small, and imagining 1500 people there every day blows the mind. Even more people than that, however, are laid to rest in the catacombs.
The catacombs are a network of tombs, over twelve miles of them underground. Slots lined the walls where bodies once lay, most of which had been raided after the 9th century AD. It was the first official Christian buriel tomb, and it was both eerie and exciting to venture down. It was kind of like that one movie "As Above, So Below". Though a little claustrophic, everyone emerged amazed at what we'd seen.
We stopped at an ancient art museum before dinner, where we saw sculptures great and tall, male and female (and everything inbetween). The museum was located in what was once an abandoned WWII factory - the mix of stone sculpture and industrial metal was quite a contrast. Then, not far away, we went to the flagship restaurant "Eataly" which also exists in Chicago, but not nearly as astounding as the one we saw. Sorry you can't be here with us!
At Eataly we explored the true nature of the Italian diet, and got to see the bakery of 'Italy's perfect bread' in action. It was the Ikea of Foodstuffs, but less Swedish. Then we sat down for an incredibly gourmet dinner at a Michelin star restaurant, cooked by a world renouned Chef (who, underneath his apron, wore an FBI T-shirt. We were on to him). Though it was different from what we're used to, the experience of eating such well-prepared food was something to remember. Also, the antipasti were three-tiered prosciutto, cheese and bread. That was fancy. Dinner was polenta and dessert - tiramisu!
We arrived back at the hotel pleasantly tired and ready for Sorrento tomorrow. Ciao!
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