We decided to brave the transport system and see if we could get ourselves out of Rome to Ostia. They say that if you don’t have time to go to Pompei you should at least go to Ostia Antica – so we did!
As it turned out it was very simple, a change of trains and 45 minutes later we were there. All for the large sum of €2! Children 10 and under travel free in Rome and it is €1 for each train fare, but as long as you don’t leave the station you can do many transfers.
The weather was beautiful, probably 28 degrees and no wind. Off we strolled form the station, we just followed everyone else as they looked like tourists and would probably be going to the same place – big assumption eh? Amazingly it worked!!!
As it turned out it was very simple, a change of trains and 45 minutes later we were there. All for the large sum of €2! Children 10 and under travel free in Rome and it is €1 for each train fare, but as long as you don’t leave the station you can do many transfers.
The weather was beautiful, probably 28 degrees and no wind. Off we strolled form the station, we just followed everyone else as they looked like tourists and would probably be going to the same place – big assumption eh? Amazingly it worked!!!
A gorgeous lizard we spotted!
Ostia was a small town that was the main port for ancient Rome however after the decline of the Roman Empire it became deserted. The ruins were really interesting and you walked along the streets and found amazing buildings and relics.
We did splash out on a map - €2.00 so we knew what we were doing.
Lovely mosaic floors.
Frescoes on the wall and mosaic floor - would have been beautiful in its day!Every turn you found something new and it was like discovering it all for ourselves. The place was quite big and we ended up spending a long time here. 
We headed back into Rome to find information about day trips to Pompei, we found at Termini the main train station a person who gives free advice and then can book tours for you. A bit like a representative really – great! She said she would take us to the office to fill in paper work – turned out we had to go about 5 blocks to the actual tour company’s office! She then had a big argument about price – she had quoted us prices earlier! In the end we got the quoted price and we were booked to go on Monday!
Finally had lunch at 4:30!
We stopped into this bar - NZ flag above us and some All Black paraphenalia too. Didn't realise we were sitting underneath it till after we sat!
One thing that was very annoying and doesn’t give a good impression of Rome is that a lot of places are unkempt – the gardening in the piazzas is not done, lawns are about a foot high and full of weeds, all the hedges and edgings are not trimmed. Weeds along all the steps and breaking through the concrete and tiles is unattractive. It is such a shame, it really detracted form the place. We didn’t see any gardeners working and we were in heaps of piazzas and public places.
We headed back into Rome to find information about day trips to Pompei, we found at Termini the main train station a person who gives free advice and then can book tours for you. A bit like a representative really – great! She said she would take us to the office to fill in paper work – turned out we had to go about 5 blocks to the actual tour company’s office! She then had a big argument about price – she had quoted us prices earlier! In the end we got the quoted price and we were booked to go on Monday!
Finally had lunch at 4:30!
We stopped into this bar - NZ flag above us and some All Black paraphenalia too. Didn't realise we were sitting underneath it till after we sat!One thing that was very annoying and doesn’t give a good impression of Rome is that a lot of places are unkempt – the gardening in the piazzas is not done, lawns are about a foot high and full of weeds, all the hedges and edgings are not trimmed. Weeds along all the steps and breaking through the concrete and tiles is unattractive. It is such a shame, it really detracted form the place. We didn’t see any gardeners working and we were in heaps of piazzas and public places.
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