Ostia Antica

In theory, every experience you have while on study abroad is supposed to be a magical, life-changing thing. In reality, sometimes you are walking through pouring rain for five hours in 25 degree weather. That day was yesterday.

We headed out at 8:30am for Ostia Antica, an ancient ruin site about an hour away from Rome. It's a huge archaeological site, a port city that was active from 4th century BC to the time of Hadrian. If I can throw in a little nerdiness here, in Lord of the Rings it's like the Osgiliath to Minas Tirith. It's exquisitely preserved - full of mosaics, sculptures, and frescoes. Beautiful beautiful beautiful, on a sunny day, however...I'm just going to let this picture speak for itself:

Relying on our RISD determination, the 24 of us plus Ezio valiantly fought against the rain, but just as we were leaving, it started to snow. Now, Rome is specifically known for its lack of snow. Ezio told us the last time it snowed was about 3 or 4 years ago, and before that, maybe 10 years. So of course it would decide to snow on our Ostia Antica day, and also cancel Jamie, Susie, Thien, Astrid, and my trip to Assisi and Perugia this weekend. (It's ok though - we'll go back when it's sunny and warm!) A metro, bus ride, and slushy walk later, we all arrived back at the Cenci ready to defrost, excited to go back to Ostia Antica when we can actually appreciate it. And now, since Rome never gets snow, the city is completely unprepared, and most train rides and public transportation are canceled today. For this much snow:

How 'bout that, Connecticut ;)