Exploring the ancient city of Tivoli

Saturday our group had the  opportunity to spend the entire day exploring a city that is nearly 500 years older than Rome itself: Tivoli! 

We began the day by meeting up at the CIEE center and walking over to Via Luigi Petroselli where our Pullman (Mercedes-Benz fully-loaded private tour bus) awaited. We headed north-east for 45 minutes into the hills overlooking Rome. We then made our way off the bus and into the town square with three large fountains, public underground bathrooms and a tree-lined walkway overlooking the countryside below and Rome in the distance. The weather was perfect; it was still hot but at least five degrees cooler than Rome and with a wonderfully cool wind blowing. The air and life in general seemed lighter and slower than what we had gotten used to in the busy city center of the world below.  

Just before lunch, we gathered in a more modern-looking square with a giant bronze arch structure. The Program Leaders explained the game that the students would play: DJ! Students were to form small teams, listen for a theme word and think of a song that connected to the theme. They would have only two minutes to practice singing a part of the song in unison and come up with some sort of dance. The students started slow, being quite shy at first and then really got into it, working to be the most creative and entertaining in order to be picked by the judges (the PLs and then the winning teams from each round). They did a great job and we got some very cute videos you can check out here and on the CIEE Rome and CIEE Global Navigator Instagram pages. 

We then had a very long lunch at a restaurant up one of the winding streets. Up ahead in the distance, we saw the castello or castle. We ate pizza margherita; most of their eyes grew wide as the waiter or waitress approached, set the pizza in front of them and they realized that it was an entire pizza person! Many students were sleepy and were nodding off, when the restaurant staff came by with dolce, the dessert, which was panna cotta with a drizzle of chocolate.

After our pranzo (lunch), we headed back down the hill, back through the modern square, and down another sloped street with vendors at different points along the way. We then walked into the main attraction that we had gone to see: Villa d'Este. This now tourist attraction was once a 16th century villa that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an Italian state museum. It is famous for its magnificently-painted Renaissance era walls, ceilings and its terraced gardens which feature over 500 fountains. We could not help but wish we could travel back in time to see what it must have looked like in its heyday with all the fountains functioning at once. Students immediately fell in love with the landscape and the many statues that they encountered. And to help them explore a little more, the PLs challenged them to come up with the best pose that most closely resembled a statue on the grounds. The person or group with the best picture will receive a prize during week 2! The students went around and took iconic pictures and we finished up with some group photos as well. We could have spent so much more time on the grounds but sadly, it was time to head back to Rome. So we headed back up to the modern square, took a very brief gelato, icy and shopping break, and finally, headed to the bus that awaited us where it had dropped us off in the enchanting little city. 

We arrived back in Rome a little earlier than expected and we all headed home to start much-needed rest and recover and for some of the students, long-awaited trips and adventures with their host families! Come back and check out what the next three weeks will bring!