TUESDAY 
OSTIA ANTICA

I spent two hours at St. Peter's so my planned activities got pushed back a good bit, which did kind of screw some things up later in the day. But now it's on the train to go out to Ostia Antica.
Ostia Antica is about fifteen miles southwest of Rome near the Mediterranean coast.
If I knew the exact location of this gas station I would know the IP address. Ha! Nerd humor.
Are you getting tired of Roman ruins? No? Well you are in luck then.
First is the necropolis where they buried their dead.
Damn kids throwing rocks at the sign! This was at the gate of the city. The sign read "The Senate and the people of the colony of Ostia constructed the walls".
Ostia was a port town and the goods from other lands that were brought into the town were stored in these warehouses before being sent on to Rome.
The main drag of the ancient city.
Some of the tiled floors in the Baths of Neptune.
Can't you imagine this square full of (possibly naked) Ostians wrestling, getting rubdowns and other weirdly homoerotic activities?
That row of umbrella pines mark where the Tiber River used to flow before it changed course.
A side street.
An entrance to the theatre.
It was a fancy place once, you know before everything went to hell.
You see, what happened was the river changed course, the town was abandoned and became buried in mud and silt.
Another town, another theatre.
These marble steps are where the big shots used to sit.
It's Mannicus, Modrian and Jaximus.
Behind the theatre is the Square of the Guilds.
Around the square were offices of ship owners and traders. They had mosaics that kind of acted as advertisements. On this one I can see two ships and what looks like some stuff in a big pot.
I'd say this had something to do with a fisherman.
This guy might have dealt in exotic animals.
Yeah, I don't know about this one. Maybe an oven?
Remember the mill and bakery at Pompeii? Well this one is a lot like that one.
Another thermopolium. Anyone remember what that was? Yes, you in the back. That's right, it was a kind of restaurant.
There's the bar right in the front of the establishment.
You know, these places might have been like our pubs today, a place to gather and socialize over some food and adult beverages.
The sign looks like it is advertising food, wine and music.

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