When I saw the itinerary for the trip to Rome, I thought I had the whole trip planned out. I knew about almost all the locations on the schedule from previous classes, and I had a good idea of what I was going to see at the sites. There was one, however, I had never heard of and knew nothing about, the Villa de Este in Tivoli. This is a villa that was made just for the purpose of impressing visiting guests, and it does not disappoint. It is stunning! The villa is built to benefit from the natural flow of water to make fountains throughout the garden. You start the tour of the ground at the top terrace and work your way down to the pools at the bottom. With the rush of wind and the constant flow of water, it is as if you are “carried” through the gardens. It is easy to fall in love with locations like this. This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip and even more so because it was a total surprise! I highly recommend the short trip there from Rome if anyone has a chance.
