A serene train ride through Italy's countryside brought us to Villa d'Este, the perfect place to spend our last morning in Rome. Located in Tivoli, the villa was built in 1560 and is a true water garden.
The architects used natural gravity created by the natural descending levels in the gardens. Inside we found 'Neptune's Fountain,' ran past 'One hundred fountains,' and posed by the 'Oval Fountain.' Altogether, the garden contains fifty-one fountains, 398 spouts, 364 water jets, 64 waterfalls, and 220 basins, and these are fed by 875 meters of canals, channels and cascades. We couldn't have asked for anything better while experiencing our hottest day in Italy at 96 degrees!
We held our closing dinner with a view of the Vatican and a perfect view of St. Peter's dome. We could hardly believe that only 1 week before we had climbed to the top!
Over the course of these 2 weeks in Rome we have seen architecture and engineering that changed the way we live, witnessed incredible works of art, were immersed in a new culture, ate more pasta and gelato than we care to admit, and had a truly extraordinary experience.
Ciao!