The Secret Garden: Tivoli and Villa Deste

So to escape the amazingly busy city center of Rome we decided to go to the train station and pick a random destination to travel to for the day. My aunt Noreen and I decided to head to Tivoli (the ancient holiday city of the Roman emperors) where my uncle Gary said there were really beautiful Roman fountains. When we got off the train at the run down little train station, I have to admit I wasn't that impressed, but after we crossed the river and made our way to the city center I was shocked by the charm and beauty of the community gardens. Tivoli sits on the side of a mountain face and looks down onto the expansive Italian countryside- providing amazing panoramic views!
We found our way to Villa Deste- a summer holiday house of a 15th century Cardinal from Rome. Every single wall in the home was painted with frescos depicting scenes of rural Italian life (hunting, fishing, farming etc). But the most spectacular part of the house was the gardens! The gardens were full of magnificent fountains depicting the stories of Roman gods and various other mythical creatures. The sound of trickling water was ever present and created a very serene environment.
Again, the garden had the breath taking back drop of the Italian countryside. After exploring the gardens for the afternoon we headed into town and had a lovely traditional Italian dinner at a local restaurant. We ate very early for Italians (6:30) so we were the only ones in the restaurant the entire time were were there!

All in all- Tivoli was spectacular and I would highly recommend it as a day trip to anyone who is visiting Rome!