We are on to day #2 of our Roman holiday.  Having spent the first day wandering around the city of Rome, Tim and I thought it would be a good idea to spend the second day seeing some more provincial sights.  Tim's dentist, of all people, recommended that we go to a place called Ostia Antica, which was a port town in the days of Ancient Rome.  There was some kind of natural disaster which made the river change it's course at some point during the time of the Roman Empire, and within a few years the river had changed shape so much that Ostia Antica was no longer a port town, and therefore soon became deserted.  But for several hundred years Ostia Antica was a thriving, bustling area, housing both wealthy merchants and poor workers. 
     So, because it was a port town, it had a very busy market square.  It was actually a huge square, lined with stalls which each represented some kind of trade or business.  The fascinating thing was that these stalls were made rather permanent because the floor around the square was decorated with mosaics which depicted the different trades.  So, if you needed a ship, you would go to the ship-makers stall, which you could recognize, among other things, by the floor mosaic which depicted ships:
    

    
     Here are a few more mosaics from the market square.  I believe one was for corn dealers, and one was for fisherman, and I'm not sure what the other one represented!  I found them absolutely fascinating.

 

     Right next to the market square was the amphitheater.  It was huge, and you could hear people speaking at the bottom when you were at the top.  Amazing!

 

 



     
    




     We then explored other parts of the town.  We went to a more residential part, which had the remains of houses and flats that were still at least three stories high.  In the middle of the residential area was a quite well preserved 'thermopolium', which was basically a small restaurant.  The countertops were still standing, and the layout of the place was still recognizable - where the fireplace was, where the eating area would have been.  Even some of the artwork on the walls had been preserved.

     The relentless sunshine, the unforgiving heat and being on her feet constantly finally got the better of Abigail, and she decided to rest on the ruins of the bakery of Ostia Antica.  She was wearing her Roman goddess dress, though, so somehow that makes lying on an ancient historical sight OK.

    Near the residential area was the forum, or the town center, I guess.  Here was an area lined with pillars on either side, with one end boasting a Roman temple, which would have been full of statues of the gods.

     Just off of the forum were the ruins of a very large building which they used for public assemblies and town meetings.  The advanced political practices of the Romans never ceases to amaze me.
     After we had explored the area around the forum, we headed off further into the town.  This seemed to be a mostly residential part of the town, but for wealthy people.  Instead of apartment buildings, there were more spacious houses.  Romans had shrines in their houses for different gods.  In these pictures Abigail and Imogen wandered around a room of one of the houses which was a shrine to the goddess Diana. 

 

 

     The room of another Roman house, with a very important ancient statue:

 

 

     Toward the end of the town there were some extensive baths, still with the floor mosaics and painting on the walls:

 

 

     In the mid-afternoon, we started to the trip back to our hotel.  Of course you can stay forever at these old places, so to be able to judge when to call it a day can be a challenge, especially for Tim.  But it was very, very hot, and we had to be on our feet ALL the time, which, combined with the fact that we had been on our feet for about 15 hours the day before, meant that we were all getting quite uncomfortable by mid-afternoon.  Plus, the kids had begged and begged and begged us to go swimming at the pool in the hotel.  Neither Tim or I had thought this was a particularly good idea, but through their constant begging it became clear to us that the kids had some kind of special vision of 'swimming in Rome' that was very important for them to achieve, so we gave in and spent part of our afternoon swimming. 

     After that, it was time to my special vision:  eating out at a proper Italian restaurant.  We decided to go to a place called 'The Fish Market'.  It was a different experience.  All the dishes were made with fish, and you had to fill out these very plain forms telling them what you wanted to order, much like a wholesale fishmarket, I guess.  We decided to just try a bit of everything, and share everything with each other.  I'm so glad we went.  We all had a great time, and the food was presented artfully and tasted fabulous.

     Here is the salmon which Tim ordered.  It hadn't been cooked, just marinated, and it was the most tender and delicious piece of fish I have ever tasted: 

 

    
     Here is my fried octopus:

 

      These were some special-battered giant prawns:

     We did have a fish-hater in our midst:  Imogen calls herself a 'pesciphobian'.  But at The Fish Market they were fab and agreed to do a gnocchi for her with just tomatoes, rather than with the octopus which is listed in the menu.

    Happy children, anxiously awaiting their gourmet food:

     The restaurant was a very original design.  It basically looked like the inside of a warehouse or even a garage.  All the furnishings were 'shabby chic', and no two chairs or tables were alike!  Everything was mismatched and recycled.  But the food was amazing - they held nothing back in terms of menu choices and presentation.  It was also quite the happening place.  We got there at 8pm, and we were the only ones there; but by the time we left at 10:30pm, the place was heaving.