Rome: Day Five

Our last day in Rome wasn't actually spent in Rome but in the historical port of Rome called Ostia Antica. Wanting to see the excavated ruins of a large Roman town but not wanting to travel the several hours to Pompeii, we had arranged with Dark Rome for a morning tour of Osia Antica instead. It turned out to be a great choice. As we got off the train in Ostia we entered a blissfully calm and peaceful world free of the noise and congestion of Rome. As we walked the ruins and heard birds chirping, felt the gentle sea breeze, and smelled the blossoming jasmine, we all felt renewed. The tour guide, Daniella, was personable and knowledgeable and answered the questions we still had from our visit to San Clementine's. The boys especially loved the tour as they were free to tour on their own as long as they kept the group in their sight. Since everyone had headsets and could hear Daniella, it was easy for them to do some semi-independent exploration and for us adults do stop to take photos when we wanted.

Instead of returning to Rome with the tour group we took the train for a couple of stops to the beach. The Tyrrhenian Sea is only thirty minutes from Rome and is one of the places Romans go to get away from the city during the hot summer months. It was still early June, not too hot, and definitely windy when we visited. The red warning flags didn't keep our boys from dipping their toes in the water but the water was too cold to swim in, so we went off to find lunch. Ben seems to know how to pick a good restaurant and we had a great meal next to the water.

That night (Wednesday; I'm writing this on Friday) was our last in Rome. After a drink at the rooftop restaurant above the Spanish Steps, Ben and I met Jean and the boys and taxied over to Campo dei Fiori to check out that popular piazza. We had pizza and pasta in an outdoor pizzeria, thoroughly enjoying our last night of Rome's outdoor sociability.