Ostia

Ostia was one of the highlights of the trip. It's an ancient seaport that was abandonned around the first century CE. Mom brought me there was a consolation because we didn't go to Pompeii (one of my childhood obsessions). In some ways, Ostia is better as it's completely preserved, free for the exploration and nearby. Also, it was a living and working town, not a resort for wealthy Romans.

So of course, I reverted back to being a child and climbed over everything. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain, so Mom and I were both soaked to the bone.

We were approached by a local historian who asked if we'd like a tour. Ten minutes into it, it was clear that she was telling us things we already knew. Mom and I are both pretty well-versed in ancient history, so we didn't need someone telling us the difference between a tepidarium and a frigidarium. It was raining, I was bored, so I made an exagerated show of shivering and coughing, and Mom asked the lady if we could only pay her for half her time. She protested, but I made myself look extra miserable, so Mom and I escaped to the cafeteria for some tea.

The rain finally started to let up, so we went back up. I wanted to find the ancient toilets, and we finally found them right before closing. I climbed over the chain blocking the entry and got a picture of myself sitting on one. I have pictures of me sitting on various ancient toilets in my bathroom back home, so I needed another one for my collection. Unfortunately, this one will have me wearing a dorky plastic rain poncho, but the memory will be good!

It's a good thing I'm 23 and not 13, because I would have gotten promptly lost were I younger. I imagined what wouldhave happened had I been there with my childhood best friend, Ryan. We were always getting into mischief, and this was like a city-sized funhouse/maze.

I did see some more mosaics and a fantastically well-preserved Roman bath. I was sad that we didn't get more time there, but I still had so much fun being there.