May 30, 2026

Dateline: Rome, Italy

Thomas and I made a decision this morning that this would be a day to get away from the crowds and the heat of a holiday weekend in Rome. We’ve seen most of what we were interested in seeing so, after breakfast, we explored the Rome Metro, and found our way to the Piramide stop on the south side of the city. There we were able to transfer to the Metromare light rail line and half an hour later we found ourselves in Ostia, Rome’s ancient seaport. We spent the morning making the budding archeologist happy exploring the ruins of Ostia Antica. Think a smaller version of Pompeii and without any crowds. The theater has been rebuilt and is still in use but most of the rest is as it was as the city declined and fell into ruin after the capital was moved from Rome to Constantinople in the late 4th century.

There are some lovely intact mosaic floors, and it’s easy to reconstruct the bustling city that was from the remains of brick with occasional columns and pieces of statuary. Pompeii was wiped out in an afternoon and frozen in time. Ostia survived for centuries and entered a much slower decline and ruin so there are fewer artifacts and no preserved body casts or the like. But it’s easy to get to, easy to explore, full of lovely wildflowers, and blessedly free from the hordes. I enjoyed our hours there very much. And, being close to the coast, the sea breeze kept things relatively cool.

We then hopped back on the Metromare and went a few more stops down the line to modern Ostia and the Mediterranean sea. We had a delicious seafood lunch on the beach at a restaurant named Mamaflo (recommended should you be in the Rome area) and then decided to spend the rest of the afternoon sur la plage. We hadn’t thought to bring swimsuits but a stop at a small resort wear shop solved that and we spent the next few hours relaxing in beach chairs and splashing in the Mediterranean. (Cool but not cold and will obviously warm more as the summer progresses).

Late afternoon, we packed up, got on the train with half of high school aged Rome who had spent the Saturday afternoon of the holiday weekend at the beach doing what the young do when traveling in packs, and made our way back into town. Nap time. Then this evening, pizza and tiramisu for dinner (washed down with a nice chianti) and a walk around the Vatican before bed.

Thomas leaves for his archeological dig at Hadrian’s Villa in Tivioli in the morning. I have one more day in Rome before I have to spend an endless travel day getting back to Birmingham. Haven’t figured out what to do with it yet. I’m sure something will occur to me.