Teenagers in Rome
Sep 21st 2004, 6:27 pm
#16
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Teenagers in Rome
Sacha wrote:
> On 21/9/04 16:21, in article [email protected], "jenn"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>Sacha wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
>>>But I do
>>>sympathise, my son when 13 refused point blank to get out of the car and
>>>just *look* at the Eiffel Tower - the only effort asked of him!
>>and why would one organize an expensive and wonderful trip for such a
>>child? one of my children traveled with me in Europe at age 12 and age
>>14 -- another got his first trip at age 24. if they are not interested
>>-- why drag them along and spoil your own time? in another post I
>>suggested way to engage their interest -- nothing quite as fun as
>>traveling with a kid who loves to travel -- but if they are going to
>>pout [and you know who they are by how they travel at home] then why
>>subject yourself to it?
>
>
> Well, for a start I live in Britain, anyway, so the expense factor is
> probably not the same as for you - France is a very close neighbour.
> Jersey is about 2 hours from France by ferry and we were driving back to
> Jersey from skiing in Val Thorens and did a detour for our benefit before
> taking the car to St Malo and the ferry to Jersey.
> (In Jersey, 'travelling' usually involves 30 minutes in a car at most as the
> island is only 45 sq. miles)
> People do things for all sorts of reasons, don't they - perhaps there is
> nobody with whom to leave the child/ren or the child is not well and needs
> parental help, supervision, care at all times, etc?
> And in our case we'd ALL enjoyed the skiing and son was just being a normal
> teenager - he also refused to visit Ephesus when we were in Turkey but that
> was on a sailing trip along that coastline, the rest of which he'd
> absolutely loved! We weren't doing a sightseeing tour as such on either
> occasion because we tend not to do that kind of holiday.
ah the joys of vacationing with teens LOL --
> On 21/9/04 16:21, in article [email protected], "jenn"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>Sacha wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
>>>But I do
>>>sympathise, my son when 13 refused point blank to get out of the car and
>>>just *look* at the Eiffel Tower - the only effort asked of him!
>>and why would one organize an expensive and wonderful trip for such a
>>child? one of my children traveled with me in Europe at age 12 and age
>>14 -- another got his first trip at age 24. if they are not interested
>>-- why drag them along and spoil your own time? in another post I
>>suggested way to engage their interest -- nothing quite as fun as
>>traveling with a kid who loves to travel -- but if they are going to
>>pout [and you know who they are by how they travel at home] then why
>>subject yourself to it?
>
>
> Well, for a start I live in Britain, anyway, so the expense factor is
> probably not the same as for you - France is a very close neighbour.
> Jersey is about 2 hours from France by ferry and we were driving back to
> Jersey from skiing in Val Thorens and did a detour for our benefit before
> taking the car to St Malo and the ferry to Jersey.
> (In Jersey, 'travelling' usually involves 30 minutes in a car at most as the
> island is only 45 sq. miles)
> People do things for all sorts of reasons, don't they - perhaps there is
> nobody with whom to leave the child/ren or the child is not well and needs
> parental help, supervision, care at all times, etc?
> And in our case we'd ALL enjoyed the skiing and son was just being a normal
> teenager - he also refused to visit Ephesus when we were in Turkey but that
> was on a sailing trip along that coastline, the rest of which he'd
> absolutely loved! We weren't doing a sightseeing tour as such on either
> occasion because we tend not to do that kind of holiday.
ah the joys of vacationing with teens LOL --
Sep 21st 2004, 6:31 pm
#17
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Teenagers in Rome
On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 13:26:12 -0500, jenn <[email protected]> wrote:
>[email protected] wrote:
>> On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 11:26:39 -0500, jenn <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>and yet you seem strangely proud to have inflicted this boorish child on
>>>the world
>>
>>
>> Here we go again with you making strangely false assumptions.
>>
>> He grew out of it. I was not proud of him at the time.
>why did you take him on this trip dragging him through all this only to
>have him cast his sullen demeanor on one and all?
see Sacha's answer.
>[email protected] wrote:
>> On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 11:26:39 -0500, jenn <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>and yet you seem strangely proud to have inflicted this boorish child on
>>>the world
>>
>>
>> Here we go again with you making strangely false assumptions.
>>
>> He grew out of it. I was not proud of him at the time.
>why did you take him on this trip dragging him through all this only to
>have him cast his sullen demeanor on one and all?
see Sacha's answer.
Sep 21st 2004, 6:32 pm
#18
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Teenagers in Rome
Q wrote:
>
> I will be travelling to Rome in January with a 14 year old son. He hates
> museums, art galleries and the like. Can anyone suggest ideas of what might
> appeal to him when we get there so we both have a reasonable time?
>
> Thank you
>
> Q
Promise him a Hard Rock Cafe shirt if he comes along to the museums..
=8-)
knut
>
> I will be travelling to Rome in January with a 14 year old son. He hates
> museums, art galleries and the like. Can anyone suggest ideas of what might
> appeal to him when we get there so we both have a reasonable time?
>
> Thank you
>
> Q
Promise him a Hard Rock Cafe shirt if he comes along to the museums..
=8-)
knut
Sep 21st 2004, 7:38 pm
#19
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Teenagers in Rome
Hi,
actually you might be suprised what he finds he thinks is interesting. :-}
>>>I will be travelling to Rome in January with a 14 year old son. He hates
>>>museums, art galleries and the like. Can anyone suggest ideas of what might
>>>appeal to him when we get there so we both have a reasonable time?
in Rome I spent a day (at 14) just walking around with a map and a few
million lira (about 10$us).... I -did- make it back to the hotel unassisted.
> A visit to Anzio. Show him how many Yanks and Brit.s died liberating
> Rome.
a must
> A smack on the head using Frommer can be used to control a 14 year
> old. :-)
actually you might be suprised what he finds he thinks is interesting. :-}
>>>I will be travelling to Rome in January with a 14 year old son. He hates
>>>museums, art galleries and the like. Can anyone suggest ideas of what might
>>>appeal to him when we get there so we both have a reasonable time?
in Rome I spent a day (at 14) just walking around with a map and a few
million lira (about 10$us).... I -did- make it back to the hotel unassisted.
> A visit to Anzio. Show him how many Yanks and Brit.s died liberating
> Rome.
a must
> A smack on the head using Frommer can be used to control a 14 year
> old. :-)
Sep 21st 2004, 7:40 pm
#20
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Teenagers in Rome
>>A 14 year old boy is only going to be interested in death and other gruesome
>>things.
then the coloseum!
the catacombs!
>>things.
then the coloseum!
the catacombs!
Sep 21st 2004, 7:42 pm
#21
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Teenagers in Rome
On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 22:44:14 +1000, "Q" <[email protected]> wrote:
>I will be travelling to Rome in January with a 14 year old son. He hates
>museums, art galleries and the like. Can anyone suggest ideas of what might
>appeal to him when we get there so we both have a reasonable time?
I once travelled with a friend whose son, about the same age, was
intent the whole time on being "aggressively bored", as his father put
it. On the other hand, last year I travelled in Italy (including Rome
and Venice) with my sister and her son, about the same age, and he
really enjoyed himself, although he didn't have much to say at the
time. His favorite city was Rome, by the way.
I think the only reasonable thing to do in these situations is to
strike a deal beforehand. Get him a guidebook and let him plan one or
two of your days. (I don't think he gets to plan half of them unless
he's paying half the cost of the trip.) Then tell him that in
exchange, you expect him to be patient on the days when you're doing
things that may not interest him a whole lot. A good guidebook for
this purpose would be the Eyewitness guide, because it has lots of
pictures.
I really would not allow him to spend the entire time playing with his
Game Boy or whatever. He would regret it later. Maybe you can
establish limits beforehand for those sorts of activities, also.
The Colosseum and Roman Forum would probably be very interesting,
especially if you have a good guide. It might be worth while springing
for a good guided tour of these sites.
I imagine the Vatican would at the very least inspire some awe.
Ostia Antica is an ancient Roman seaport very near Rome, and reachable
by public transport, that I think would interest any 14-year-old. You
should get one of those guides to the site that has overlays to show
you what the buildings would have looked like 2000 years ago. You can
buy these in almost any book store or souvenir store in Rome.
The Church of Santa Maria della Concezione, near the Spanish Steps,
has a series of rooms almost completely covered with human bones, the
remains of long-dead monks. (There is even a chandelier made with
bones.) This should fascinate a 14-year-old, I would think. I can't
The Galleria Doria Pamphilj is a museum of sorts that might interest
your son. It's in a renaissance palazzo, and still privately owned by
descendants of the original owners. There is a great audio guide,
recorded by one of the owners, with reminiscences of his childhood in
the palace, for instance roller-skating in one of the long marble
corridors. There are lots of paintings on the walls, and if you see a
number on the wall next to one, you can punch it into your audio guide
and it will explain that painting. Otherwise the audio guide pretty
much leaves you to follow your own devices.
Just walking around the narrow streets in the historic center, every
now and then happening on some pieces of Roman buildings, was one of
the things that fascinated my nephew.
-----------
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup
>I will be travelling to Rome in January with a 14 year old son. He hates
>museums, art galleries and the like. Can anyone suggest ideas of what might
>appeal to him when we get there so we both have a reasonable time?
I once travelled with a friend whose son, about the same age, was
intent the whole time on being "aggressively bored", as his father put
it. On the other hand, last year I travelled in Italy (including Rome
and Venice) with my sister and her son, about the same age, and he
really enjoyed himself, although he didn't have much to say at the
time. His favorite city was Rome, by the way.
I think the only reasonable thing to do in these situations is to
strike a deal beforehand. Get him a guidebook and let him plan one or
two of your days. (I don't think he gets to plan half of them unless
he's paying half the cost of the trip.) Then tell him that in
exchange, you expect him to be patient on the days when you're doing
things that may not interest him a whole lot. A good guidebook for
this purpose would be the Eyewitness guide, because it has lots of
pictures.
I really would not allow him to spend the entire time playing with his
Game Boy or whatever. He would regret it later. Maybe you can
establish limits beforehand for those sorts of activities, also.
The Colosseum and Roman Forum would probably be very interesting,
especially if you have a good guide. It might be worth while springing
for a good guided tour of these sites.
I imagine the Vatican would at the very least inspire some awe.
Ostia Antica is an ancient Roman seaport very near Rome, and reachable
by public transport, that I think would interest any 14-year-old. You
should get one of those guides to the site that has overlays to show
you what the buildings would have looked like 2000 years ago. You can
buy these in almost any book store or souvenir store in Rome.
The Church of Santa Maria della Concezione, near the Spanish Steps,
has a series of rooms almost completely covered with human bones, the
remains of long-dead monks. (There is even a chandelier made with
bones.) This should fascinate a 14-year-old, I would think. I can't
The Galleria Doria Pamphilj is a museum of sorts that might interest
your son. It's in a renaissance palazzo, and still privately owned by
descendants of the original owners. There is a great audio guide,
recorded by one of the owners, with reminiscences of his childhood in
the palace, for instance roller-skating in one of the long marble
corridors. There are lots of paintings on the walls, and if you see a
number on the wall next to one, you can punch it into your audio guide
and it will explain that painting. Otherwise the audio guide pretty
much leaves you to follow your own devices.
Just walking around the narrow streets in the historic center, every
now and then happening on some pieces of Roman buildings, was one of
the things that fascinated my nephew.
-----------
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup
Sep 21st 2004, 7:44 pm
#22
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Teenagers in Rome
Q writes:
> I will be travelling to Rome in January with a 14 year old son. He hates
> museums, art galleries and the like. Can anyone suggest ideas of what might
> appeal to him when we get there so we both have a reasonable time?
Fourteen-year-old Italian girls.
--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.
> I will be travelling to Rome in January with a 14 year old son. He hates
> museums, art galleries and the like. Can anyone suggest ideas of what might
> appeal to him when we get there so we both have a reasonable time?
Fourteen-year-old Italian girls.
--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.
Sep 21st 2004, 7:46 pm
#23
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Teenagers in Rome
On 21/9/04 19:27, in article [email protected], "jenn"
<[email protected]> wrote:
> Sacha wrote:
>
<snip>
>> And in our case we'd ALL enjoyed the skiing and son was just being a normal
>> teenager - he also refused to visit Ephesus when we were in Turkey but that
>> was on a sailing trip along that coastline, the rest of which he'd
>> absolutely loved! We weren't doing a sightseeing tour as such on either
>> occasion because we tend not to do that kind of holiday.
>
>
> ah the joys of vacationing with teens LOL --
Precisely what the OP was getting at I'd say.
--
Sacha
<[email protected]> wrote:
> Sacha wrote:
>
<snip>
>> And in our case we'd ALL enjoyed the skiing and son was just being a normal
>> teenager - he also refused to visit Ephesus when we were in Turkey but that
>> was on a sailing trip along that coastline, the rest of which he'd
>> absolutely loved! We weren't doing a sightseeing tour as such on either
>> occasion because we tend not to do that kind of holiday.
>
>
> ah the joys of vacationing with teens LOL --
Precisely what the OP was getting at I'd say.
--
Sacha
Sep 21st 2004, 8:15 pm
#24
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Teenagers in Rome
Sacha wrote:
> On 21/9/04 19:27, in article [email protected], "jenn"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>Sacha wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
>>>And in our case we'd ALL enjoyed the skiing and son was just being a normal
>>>teenager - he also refused to visit Ephesus when we were in Turkey but that
>>>was on a sailing trip along that coastline, the rest of which he'd
>>>absolutely loved! We weren't doing a sightseeing tour as such on either
>>>occasion because we tend not to do that kind of holiday.
>>ah the joys of vacationing with teens LOL --
>
>
> Precisely what the OP was getting at I'd say.
well yeah and I gave him some good advice including not wasting pearls
on swine -- teens who are not pleasant to travel with should not be
taken wonderful places like say Paris -- and why should one have to put
up with ugliness on the way to same place he enjoys?
the world is full of jerks whose parents spent a lot of time struggling
to entertain them
> On 21/9/04 19:27, in article [email protected], "jenn"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>Sacha wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
>>>And in our case we'd ALL enjoyed the skiing and son was just being a normal
>>>teenager - he also refused to visit Ephesus when we were in Turkey but that
>>>was on a sailing trip along that coastline, the rest of which he'd
>>>absolutely loved! We weren't doing a sightseeing tour as such on either
>>>occasion because we tend not to do that kind of holiday.
>>ah the joys of vacationing with teens LOL --
>
>
> Precisely what the OP was getting at I'd say.
well yeah and I gave him some good advice including not wasting pearls
on swine -- teens who are not pleasant to travel with should not be
taken wonderful places like say Paris -- and why should one have to put
up with ugliness on the way to same place he enjoys?
the world is full of jerks whose parents spent a lot of time struggling
to entertain them
Sep 21st 2004, 8:16 pm
#25
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Teenagers in Rome
On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 21:44:38 +0200, Mxsmanic <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Q writes:
>> I will be travelling to Rome in January with a 14 year old son. He hates
>> museums, art galleries and the like. Can anyone suggest ideas of what might
>> appeal to him when we get there so we both have a reasonable time?
>Fourteen-year-old Italian girls.
eighteen year old girls might interest him more.
wrote:
>Q writes:
>> I will be travelling to Rome in January with a 14 year old son. He hates
>> museums, art galleries and the like. Can anyone suggest ideas of what might
>> appeal to him when we get there so we both have a reasonable time?
>Fourteen-year-old Italian girls.
eighteen year old girls might interest him more.
Sep 21st 2004, 8:32 pm
#26
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Teenagers in Rome
On 21/9/04 21:15, in article [email protected], "jenn"
<[email protected]> wrote:
> Sacha wrote:
>
>> On 21/9/04 19:27, in article [email protected], "jenn"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Sacha wrote:
>>>
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>>>> And in our case we'd ALL enjoyed the skiing and son was just being a normal
>>>> teenager - he also refused to visit Ephesus when we were in Turkey but that
>>>> was on a sailing trip along that coastline, the rest of which he'd
>>>> absolutely loved! We weren't doing a sightseeing tour as such on either
>>>> occasion because we tend not to do that kind of holiday.
>>>
>>>
>>> ah the joys of vacationing with teens LOL --
>>
>>
>> Precisely what the OP was getting at I'd say.
>
> well yeah and I gave him some good advice including not wasting pearls
> on swine -- teens who are not pleasant to travel with should not be
> taken wonderful places like say Paris -- and why should one have to put
> up with ugliness on the way to same place he enjoys?
>
> the world is full of jerks whose parents spent a lot of time struggling
> to entertain them
I don't know many parents, including myself, who think of their children as
swine.
But the world is indeed, full of jerks. Including apparently, this group.
--
Sacha
<[email protected]> wrote:
> Sacha wrote:
>
>> On 21/9/04 19:27, in article [email protected], "jenn"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Sacha wrote:
>>>
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>>>> And in our case we'd ALL enjoyed the skiing and son was just being a normal
>>>> teenager - he also refused to visit Ephesus when we were in Turkey but that
>>>> was on a sailing trip along that coastline, the rest of which he'd
>>>> absolutely loved! We weren't doing a sightseeing tour as such on either
>>>> occasion because we tend not to do that kind of holiday.
>>>
>>>
>>> ah the joys of vacationing with teens LOL --
>>
>>
>> Precisely what the OP was getting at I'd say.
>
> well yeah and I gave him some good advice including not wasting pearls
> on swine -- teens who are not pleasant to travel with should not be
> taken wonderful places like say Paris -- and why should one have to put
> up with ugliness on the way to same place he enjoys?
>
> the world is full of jerks whose parents spent a lot of time struggling
> to entertain them
I don't know many parents, including myself, who think of their children as
swine.
But the world is indeed, full of jerks. Including apparently, this group.
--
Sacha
Sep 21st 2004, 8:33 pm
#27
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Teenagers in Rome
On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 21:32:30 +0100, Sacha
<[email protected]> wrote:
>On 21/9/04 21:15, in article [email protected], "jenn"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>> the world is full of jerks whose parents spent a lot of time struggling
>> to entertain them
>I don't know many parents, including myself, who think of their children as
>swine.
>But the world is indeed, full of jerks. Including apparently, this group.
LOL!!!!
<[email protected]> wrote:
>On 21/9/04 21:15, in article [email protected], "jenn"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>> the world is full of jerks whose parents spent a lot of time struggling
>> to entertain them
>I don't know many parents, including myself, who think of their children as
>swine.
>But the world is indeed, full of jerks. Including apparently, this group.
LOL!!!!
Sep 21st 2004, 11:23 pm
#28
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Teenagers in Rome
Q wrote:
>I will be travelling to Rome in January
>with a 14 year old son. He hates
>museums, art galleries and the like. Can
>anyone suggest ideas of what might
>appeal to him when we get there so we
>both have a reasonable time?
I think a 14yr old boy would love Ostia Antica. It's a Pompeii-like
ghost town that was once the seaport of Rome.
Below is a tripreport that I have posted in the past. Regards, Walter
This trip requires 1 easy change of trains, from the metro to a commuter
train. You can get there and back (R/T) with either 2 Rome Metro/bus
tickets (1e each & valid for 75minutes), a 1 Metro/bus Daypass (4e), a
3-day pass (11e) or a Weekly pass (16e).
**So the *exact* same ticket you used to board the metro (or bus) is
also valid on the Ferrovia Rome-Lido commuter train to Ostia Antica.
It took me ~50min from the Termini metro stop to Ostia Antica's train
station and then a short walk to the site. **Take Metro Line "B"
towards "Laurentina" and get off at the "Piramide" stop (4 stops from
Termini). It's a small station, the Metro stop is outside and below
streetlevel and the Lido trains are unseen but parallel to the metro
tracks at street level. **Exit the metro car and turn left and you
will see escalator/stairs and a sign "Ferrovia Roma-Lido".
**Top of stairs, turn left (crossing over the metro tracks) and you
will see 6 platforms. *All* of these trains go Lido and stop at Ostia
Antica but not all are used during the off-peak non-rush hours. *An
electronic signboard at the head of the platform will show which train
is leaving next and at what time (If they are all blank don't worry, one
of them will light-up ~10min before departure. **Also it will be the
only train/platform that the locals are using. {There is a w.c. in the
station and on Platform 6.
If you have time step *right* outside the station and see the Pyramid
of Cestius c.18-12BC and the Ostia Gate & walls AD 271-5 with a small
museum or visit the Protestant Cemetery nearby (resting place of Keats &
Shelley-well his heart is buried there.
Also the snackbar in front of the station has some cheap decent food}.
*Board the train and to ease your mind look above the door at the
train station map. Ostia Antica is the 6th stop and takes ~25min. At the
Ostia Antica stop when you 1st get off the train, just across the tracks
will be the small station just to the left is a w.c & water faucet, and
~20M in front of the station is a blue pedestrian overpass that you want
to take.
**Exit the platform via the pedestrian tunnel and into the station.
Just walk over the highway on that ped walkway and just go *straight*,
after a couple of hundred meters or so you cross a 2 lane road and the
parking lot for the site is 50m in front of you. In the parking lot the
ticket booth `(w.c.) & entrance is 50m to the left. *
I suggest getting the audio guide (picture ID or CC for security). Also
have on hand (the Blue Guide Rome is good) or buy a guidebook/*Map* of
the site (available at ticket booth & museum). Don't forget to visit the
museum (w.c.) and the very historic Synagogue (alittle off the beaten
track) on the site. *Also* be sure to bring water or even better pack a
small picnic lunch and have a quiet picnic it any of the hundreds of
secluded out of the way spots. There is also a restaurant at the museum.
*
*After the audio guide tour is over be certain to visit the western
end of the site. You can walk around so alone among the maze-like
buildings and paths and make amazing discoveries on your own. **I
like the area in the V section of Decumanus Maximus and Via Della Foce.
Look for a 2 storey building that you can climb on top of in this area
(good view) but also that particular area has some excellent areas to
explore and find mosaics, frescos and some pretty cool rooms. *One
overlooked really cool site is under the Baths of Mithras where the
"Mithras and the Bull" statue was found, now in the museum but replaced
by a copy. On the main road thru the site (Decumaus Maximus) ~75m west
of the Capitolium/Forum area, you come upon a main intersection. There
is a road (90deg) to your left & right and the main road goes straight
but at a slight left angle, at a 45deg angle to your right there is a
road/path, take it. You will see on the right 2 red tile covered
protected sites followed by 5 trees in a row, take a right after the 5th
tree, you will come upon the Baths on your right (it's the last ruin, 2
columns and a taller lone column with a capital on top. Now see the
short (3 sections, 1m high) modern cast iron fence (NW corner of the
Baths) below that is the entrance to under the baths and statue. If you
walk past the statue there is a maze-like tunnel that takes you under
the baths, and you can see how they operated.
..And Paradise Was Lost...like teardrops in the rain...
>I will be travelling to Rome in January
>with a 14 year old son. He hates
>museums, art galleries and the like. Can
>anyone suggest ideas of what might
>appeal to him when we get there so we
>both have a reasonable time?
I think a 14yr old boy would love Ostia Antica. It's a Pompeii-like
ghost town that was once the seaport of Rome.
Below is a tripreport that I have posted in the past. Regards, Walter
This trip requires 1 easy change of trains, from the metro to a commuter
train. You can get there and back (R/T) with either 2 Rome Metro/bus
tickets (1e each & valid for 75minutes), a 1 Metro/bus Daypass (4e), a
3-day pass (11e) or a Weekly pass (16e).
**So the *exact* same ticket you used to board the metro (or bus) is
also valid on the Ferrovia Rome-Lido commuter train to Ostia Antica.
It took me ~50min from the Termini metro stop to Ostia Antica's train
station and then a short walk to the site. **Take Metro Line "B"
towards "Laurentina" and get off at the "Piramide" stop (4 stops from
Termini). It's a small station, the Metro stop is outside and below
streetlevel and the Lido trains are unseen but parallel to the metro
tracks at street level. **Exit the metro car and turn left and you
will see escalator/stairs and a sign "Ferrovia Roma-Lido".
**Top of stairs, turn left (crossing over the metro tracks) and you
will see 6 platforms. *All* of these trains go Lido and stop at Ostia
Antica but not all are used during the off-peak non-rush hours. *An
electronic signboard at the head of the platform will show which train
is leaving next and at what time (If they are all blank don't worry, one
of them will light-up ~10min before departure. **Also it will be the
only train/platform that the locals are using. {There is a w.c. in the
station and on Platform 6.
If you have time step *right* outside the station and see the Pyramid
of Cestius c.18-12BC and the Ostia Gate & walls AD 271-5 with a small
museum or visit the Protestant Cemetery nearby (resting place of Keats &
Shelley-well his heart is buried there.
Also the snackbar in front of the station has some cheap decent food}.
*Board the train and to ease your mind look above the door at the
train station map. Ostia Antica is the 6th stop and takes ~25min. At the
Ostia Antica stop when you 1st get off the train, just across the tracks
will be the small station just to the left is a w.c & water faucet, and
~20M in front of the station is a blue pedestrian overpass that you want
to take.
**Exit the platform via the pedestrian tunnel and into the station.
Just walk over the highway on that ped walkway and just go *straight*,
after a couple of hundred meters or so you cross a 2 lane road and the
parking lot for the site is 50m in front of you. In the parking lot the
ticket booth `(w.c.) & entrance is 50m to the left. *
I suggest getting the audio guide (picture ID or CC for security). Also
have on hand (the Blue Guide Rome is good) or buy a guidebook/*Map* of
the site (available at ticket booth & museum). Don't forget to visit the
museum (w.c.) and the very historic Synagogue (alittle off the beaten
track) on the site. *Also* be sure to bring water or even better pack a
small picnic lunch and have a quiet picnic it any of the hundreds of
secluded out of the way spots. There is also a restaurant at the museum.
*
*After the audio guide tour is over be certain to visit the western
end of the site. You can walk around so alone among the maze-like
buildings and paths and make amazing discoveries on your own. **I
like the area in the V section of Decumanus Maximus and Via Della Foce.
Look for a 2 storey building that you can climb on top of in this area
(good view) but also that particular area has some excellent areas to
explore and find mosaics, frescos and some pretty cool rooms. *One
overlooked really cool site is under the Baths of Mithras where the
"Mithras and the Bull" statue was found, now in the museum but replaced
by a copy. On the main road thru the site (Decumaus Maximus) ~75m west
of the Capitolium/Forum area, you come upon a main intersection. There
is a road (90deg) to your left & right and the main road goes straight
but at a slight left angle, at a 45deg angle to your right there is a
road/path, take it. You will see on the right 2 red tile covered
protected sites followed by 5 trees in a row, take a right after the 5th
tree, you will come upon the Baths on your right (it's the last ruin, 2
columns and a taller lone column with a capital on top. Now see the
short (3 sections, 1m high) modern cast iron fence (NW corner of the
Baths) below that is the entrance to under the baths and statue. If you
walk past the statue there is a maze-like tunnel that takes you under
the baths, and you can see how they operated.
..And Paradise Was Lost...like teardrops in the rain...
Sep 22nd 2004, 1:05 am
#29
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Teenagers in Rome
Q wrote:
> I will be travelling to Rome in January with a 14 year old son. He hates
> museums, art galleries and the like. Can anyone suggest ideas of what might
> appeal to him when we get there so we both have a reasonable time?
Climb and take views! You can climb to the top of the dome at St.
Peter's and Castello Sant'Angelo. There's another perch overlooking
Piazza del Popolo, but I can't remember the name.
A hunt for all the _______________________ in Rome. (e.g. obelisks)
Stand in the courtyard of the Vatican on the oval disks on either side
of the obelisk and look at the way the columns line up in the colonnade.
Arrange for a tour of the necropolis under the Vatican.
Contact Scala Reale, an excellent walking tour company, and tell them
you have a recalcitrant 14-year old. The could probably construct a
fabulous tour that would appeal to your son in spite of his best
intentions. (They have a web site)
Karen Selwyn
> I will be travelling to Rome in January with a 14 year old son. He hates
> museums, art galleries and the like. Can anyone suggest ideas of what might
> appeal to him when we get there so we both have a reasonable time?
Climb and take views! You can climb to the top of the dome at St.
Peter's and Castello Sant'Angelo. There's another perch overlooking
Piazza del Popolo, but I can't remember the name.
A hunt for all the _______________________ in Rome. (e.g. obelisks)
Stand in the courtyard of the Vatican on the oval disks on either side
of the obelisk and look at the way the columns line up in the colonnade.
Arrange for a tour of the necropolis under the Vatican.
Contact Scala Reale, an excellent walking tour company, and tell them
you have a recalcitrant 14-year old. The could probably construct a
fabulous tour that would appeal to your son in spite of his best
intentions. (They have a web site)
Karen Selwyn
Sep 22nd 2004, 1:19 am
#30
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Teenagers in Rome
B Vaughan wrote:
>
> Ostia Antica is an ancient Roman seaport very near Rome, and reachable
> by public transport, that I think would interest any 14-year-old.
At Ostia Antica, have him hunt for the building that contains the
communal commodes. Guaranteed to appeal to a 14-year old. Other
potential neat stuff at Ostia: the tavern and the market square behind
the theater. The market square was the mall of its day, and your son
could try to decode the mosaics to figure out the merchants who had
shops there. The tavern has a mosaic menu and a bar.
> You
> should get one of those guides to the site that has overlays to show
> you what the buildings would have looked like 2000 years ago. You can
> buy these in almost any book store or souvenir store in Rome.
A short time ago, someone posted an excellent web site for Ostia. It has
computer gnerated 3-D models of the buildings. Here's the site:
http://www.ostia-antica.org/index.html
Karen Selwyn
>
> Ostia Antica is an ancient Roman seaport very near Rome, and reachable
> by public transport, that I think would interest any 14-year-old.
At Ostia Antica, have him hunt for the building that contains the
communal commodes. Guaranteed to appeal to a 14-year old. Other
potential neat stuff at Ostia: the tavern and the market square behind
the theater. The market square was the mall of its day, and your son
could try to decode the mosaics to figure out the merchants who had
shops there. The tavern has a mosaic menu and a bar.
> You
> should get one of those guides to the site that has overlays to show
> you what the buildings would have looked like 2000 years ago. You can
> buy these in almost any book store or souvenir store in Rome.
A short time ago, someone posted an excellent web site for Ostia. It has
computer gnerated 3-D models of the buildings. Here's the site:
http://www.ostia-antica.org/index.html
Karen Selwyn