Will We Ever Find Villa d'Este?

We left the city of Bari in Puglia earlier today and drove several hours to the hills outside of Rome. Caren was really upset that we didn't stop to take pictures of Monte Cassino (site of the famous WW II battle). You can see it from the highway - it's obvious why the hill was such a strategic target - it overlooks everything for miles.

Driving on the autostrada takes a certain mentality. Stay in one of the right lanes unless you want to pass. If you dare hang out in a left lane, be prepared for impatient Italians or Germans flashing their lights and honking to pass. They come up on you in a flash - 200 km/hr (120 mph) is a typical cruising speed.

We are now in the town of Tivoli - famous for Hadrian's Villa and the Villa d'Este gardens. We're staying at the Hotel Sirene right in the center of town.

Driving here is not for the faint of heart - they haven't heard of two lane roads, stop lights, or parking lots. To drop off our luggage, we drove down a steep, one lane street, and then backed up the street to the main drag (Jordan's great with the manual transmission). No one pays any attention to parking signs - find an open spot anywhere and stick your car in it.

Our room looks out at the Temple of Vesta, a tiny, Corinthian-columned temple, and the Villa Gregoriana gardens. This hotel was originally built as a villa in 1865 - fortunately it has been updated quite a bit, including indoor plumbing and electricity. The view from our room is spectacular.

The last time we visited Tivoli was in 2001 when our son Bryan was spending a semester in Rome. Unfortunately, we didn't allocate enough time on our day trip to Tivoli and only visited Hadrian's Villa (we'll leave that excursion for another posting). We wandered around and couldn't find Villa d"Este. I doubt it exists. Maybe tomorrow we'll finally find it.