For our last day trip with "Lectures and Tours," we traveled through three different time periods: the Roman Empire, the Renaissance, and the Early Roman Republic. We spent the morning strolling through the remnants of Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli. While it's called a villa, it should somewhat be considered a city because it was big enough to hold over 1,000 people! In its heyday, the villa was full of temples, gardens, baths, residences, and various other buildings whose use is still unknown to us. Our favorite area of the villa was a pond surrounded by statues where at one end was a spot for sunbathing and dining. Hadrian and the rest of the emperors sure knew how to live a life of luxury!
We then visited Villa D'Este, a Renaissance estate terraced on a hill which was owned by one of the local bishops. While we didn't really see the house itself, we walked its gardens that lined the hillside and were absolutely astonishing and beautiful. Every terrace had at least a couple of fountains and scenic gardens that look like they could be from a movie (and we actually think they have been!) We decided we wouldn't mind living there and getting to meander through the gardens everyday!
Our last stop of a very long day was at Palestrina, where we toured an old sanctuary dating back to the 2nd century BC. A great last stop with wonderful views, but unfortunately the fog came in quickly so we didn't have much time to take pictures!
When we got back from a long day of visits we went straight to bed to prepare for an early morning visit to the Vatican Museums because it was another free entrance Sunday. We were able to see some of the exhibits we didn't have a chance to visit before, such as Raphael's frescoes, including one of his most famous works "School of Athens." Again, we never failed to be entertained by the amount of people who try to take pictures of the Sistene Chapel's ceiling. This time we even saw a family whose young son was holding their iPad low and facing downwards (so as to take a picture) while the rest of the family was trying to hide him from the guards (They of course were caught).
We rewarded ourselves from having a productive morning with some pizza from a place called Alice Pizza, which is by the Vatican and was recommended to us by a friend (Thanks, Cindy!). The pizza was cheap and delicious; everything you could want! We will definitely be eating there again!
We rewarded ourselves from having a productive morning with some pizza from a place called Alice Pizza, which is by the Vatican and was recommended to us by a friend (Thanks, Cindy!). The pizza was cheap and delicious; everything you could want! We will definitely be eating there again!
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