From Italy to Greece

Tomorrow we leave Italy for Greece. We have an almost 6-hour train ride from Rome to Bari (on the coast of Italy), then about a 16-hour ferry ride from Bari to Patras (in Greece), then a 3- or 4-hour train ride from Patras to Athens. In short, we're getting on the train at 9 am on Friday and should be in Athens somewhere around 6 pm on Saturday (for those of you who are adding as you're reading, yes, there are some gaps between arrivals and departures :o). Woo-hoo!

Italy has been great and hot. While Rusty's complexion prefers the cloudy drizzly Swiss Alps, Amy's skin really enjoys the Italian sun. Nearly everyone in Italy has treated us very warmly, with the exception of the bus drivers. I don't know if it's us or if they're just generally unhappy, but they haven't gone out of their way to help us. Oh well...it's been kind of a fun game trying to get what we need from them.

Today we started by seeing the mosaics in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore--Rusty loves those mosaics. After buying a postcard since we couldn't take a picture (clever business move), we hopped on the metro and then a regional train to Ostia Antica, which looked like the boondocks upon arrival. Ostia Antica used to be the main port for Rome, but became neglected when the Tiber River shifted. We heard about it from a few guide books, one of which said that if we couldn't make it to Pompeii (we decided it was too far away), we should go to Ostia Antica. It was well worth it. We walked in, on, and around ruins dating back to around the time of Christ (the curious should check out http://www.ostia-antica.org/). We saw and trod lightly upon ancient mosaics (guess who got a big kick out of that!) and got an up-close-and-personal view of the old potties. Those guys were geniuses!

Having spent the morning and early afternoon in the blazing sun, we thought we'd head for the catacombs, so we caught a bus out there...well, most of the way out there. We stopped where there was a sign that said "entrance," but we soon discovered that the entrance was a 900m walk along a sunny road. We did make it to the catacombs, where we found relief from the heat in the cool, damp (98% humidity!) tunnels. Without a guide, it would have been extremely easy to get lost.

We strolled along Appia Antica (old Roman main road) for a bit and saw a few more ruins, but quickly decided we'd had enough walking in the sun when we saw a bus bound for our "home" approaching.

Even though we have spent five days here, it would be nice to have more time in Rome. There are more things we both want to see, but I guess we'll have to save them for next time! :o)

When you next hear from us, we'll be in Greece. Our trip is drawing to a close...we leave Greece on July 31!!