02 Jan 2024
Guide was relatively knowledgeable, though very causal. Bus trip was about 45 min and was fine. Hadrian's Villa was the first stop. We bypassed the ticket kiosk and the orientation maps, which would have been helpful. I picked one up at the end. The Villa is expansive and we walked all around. All of the important sites - the Maritime Theater and the Canopus were spectacular. The ancient ruins reminded me of our tours at Mesa Verde in southern Colorado. Second stop was lunch in Tivoli. The restaurant was a local place. Food was fine and there was plenty of it. We filled up on the first course before the pasta came. Good thing we had walked a lot! The third stop was the Villa D'Este. The villa itself is a wonderful example of the architecture of the time. The real star is the gardens. We spent plenty of time there and could have happily stayed longer. Ride back to Rome was uneventful. Arrived a little later than anticipated, but worth the time.