Close to fully recovered I headed out this morning for a day trip to Tivoli and the Villa d'Este. The estate was originally owned by a cardinal who had over ambitious plans for a ridiculous amount of fountains in his garden. The result? A gorgeous backyard that ended up being finished by those who owned the property after him. Much was done in his time, but originally planned fountains appeared after his death.
Transit was going well until I arrived at the Villa Adriana where I was informed I needed to take a bus to get into downtown Tivoli for the other villa. After an hour's wait I found out the bus stop I needed was 300m down the road, while two separate people had informed me the bus would come right to the villa. In the process I met two nice French people headed the same way and an Italian woman who made sure we all got off at the right place.
I wish I could say the grounds were up to par, but with about 40% of the fountains not even working and the rest on what appeared to be water conservation level, it was a bit of a downer. The gardens were lush and green for March. With my love of water, however, it would have been great to see the fountains in full array. Nevertheless I cannot knock the peace, quiet and relatively clean air I enjoyed for a couple hours. That made it worth the hassle of getting there.
Dinner was a rerun of my previous pasta dish, but it tasted ever so good after only eating sugared biscuits, bread and fruit for an entire day. Dessert was one of my two pastries acquired a few days ago--a fried dough with a creamy goo inside (perhaps with coconut?). All delicious and exciting my taste buds for my second mystery dessert.
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