Sat, May 19, 2012 -- The time must really be catching up with us as Karen really slept late almost missing breakfast. When Daniel finally knocked on her door near 9:00 am he heard a groggy voice saying saying somethin about being up and almost ready to go. Yea, right. I think he actually woke her from a sound sleep. We wanted to get an early start on a day trip to Ostia Antica, an ancient Roman port city that was abanded as the Tevere River (we call it Tiber) changed course and silted up, leaving the port high and dry. We took the Metro, transferring twice to get there, a total trip time of nearly an hour and a total cost of 1 Euro each.

Waiting for train

Grafittied Train Car

Ostia Antica was a town that at its peak nearly two thousand years ago held 60,000 inhabitants, much larger and of far more importance than Pompei.  Even today the scale of the city is large and we could not see other than a few highlights as we meandered around.  The port offices were marked with mosaics that told the public what went on inside and are remarkable that they ae still there, as much of the city has been used as a source of building materials for hundreds of years until the ninetenth century when conservation efforts were undertaken.  I'll let the accompanying photos do much of the talking.

Roman Amphatheater

Daniel entering Amphatheater

"Muses?" Outside Amphetheater

Sharona "Resting"

Market Area

On Roof Patio before leaving for dinner

For dinner we chose a nearby restaurant, Little Tomato (Pommo Dorino), a local favorite. We had dinner reservations for 7:00 pm and were nearly the first in the restaurant. By the time we left after 9:00pm it was packed with perhaps 250 people.  We had two different pizzas, pasta and main dishes, mine the veal scallopini and Donna a whole small chicken under a brick on the grill. Everything was excellent -- again. So far, not a bad meal to complain about. Daniael and I had a field day taking pictures of the food, the staff and the ambiance. Again, I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking. We called it an early evening as we have to catch an early train tomorrow for Lecce.

Pizzas

Wine for dinner

Restaurant Indoor Patio Seating

Burrata Cheese

Pizzas waiting for pickup