ROMA - Un Dia Paradiso

I arrived yesterday (Monday)!

I got here in the afternoon and was picked up by Samira and my dad. We went immediately to take a tour of the catacombs. They were fascinating! 1 million people are estimated to have lived in ancient Rome, before christianity. Christians during persecution burned their dead mostly, but after that they buried them in the catacombs. There were endless tunnels. It was mind boggling. 7 km under the city consisting of 7 different catacombs.

We drove along the Apian Way too! Then I got dropped off and visited with some family friends in Rome.


Today,

I visited Tivoli.

I went first to Hadrian's Villa. I got to see the Maritime Theater. The ruins were spectacular. I was impressed by the brick patterns. Dad and I had fun posing as various statues on old pillar ruins. There were buildings built on top of buildings. You could see many of the original mosaics on the floors.

Then I went to Villa d'Este after a lovely lunch next to some ruins. It was a magical spot for lunch.

The highlight was definitely Villa d'Este. The avenue of 1000 fountains ... yes ONE THOUSAND fountains) was simply breathtaking! The amazing part was those were the minor fountains! The stairs were lined with water runnels, making their way down the side of the hill. Everywhere you looked, there was a hidden fountain and many of them were spectacular displays of water. It was truly breath-taking with the flowers just coming into bloom, particularly the wisteria. Best of all, the weather was absolutely PERFECT!!!!

The day was concluded at the Lago Tigo... a crater lake above Rome. We watched the sun set and had a delicious dinner overlooking the lake and close to the pope's summer residence. I had a truffle pasta. The scenery, though, could not be matched.

Overall, it was a day in paradise for a perfect day in Italy!