Traveling to the Town of Waterfalls, Tivoli

So it turns out that my plan to post consistently isn't quite working out. Between all of the traveling, meeting new people, seeing Rome, and all of the other amazing things that happen with study abroad, sometimes I forget to take a step back and reflect on everything that’s been going on. Which is why I’ve fallen back a little bit on getting new blog posts out recently. However, I’m quickly realizing the need to take a step back every now and then and reflect and rest. Traveling and studying abroad is actually exhausting sometimes and, just like at school back home, sometimes I really just need to take some time to rest.

That being said, last weekend I took a day trip to Tivoli with my roommate and another friend. Tivoli is a small town about an hour outside of Rome that is filled with fountains and waterfalls. We were able to simply take an hour long train ride for about 6 euro round trip to get there. This was just another example of how easy it is to travel from Rome to many different amazing towns and countries. When we arrived in Tivoli we could immediately tell a difference between the atmosphere of the large city of Rome and a small town like Tivoli. We went to eat at an incredible restaurant called Alfredo. When we entered, we could tell that it was owned and run by a family, or at the very least close family friends. There was one woman in the kitchen who was cooking the pasta and she seemed so happy to be doing something she loved so much. There was also a family sitting next to us who definitely knew everyone who was working there. The waiters would play with their child and talk to them as if they were family. It’s incredible to see this kind of culture in Italy where many of the businesses are family owned and run. While this is certainly something that happens in the United States, it seems to be much more common in Italy.

After dinner, we had the opportunity to visit Villa d’Este. A beautiful villa filled with fountains, trees, and an amazing view over the town and country side. The villa was also an archaeological site. There were areas of the floors that had been replaced so that one could see through to the old stone floors. After looking around inside, we ventured out into the villa gardens where there were more fountains than I could imagine. The main attraction was a very large water pool with multiple water fountains pouring into it. In front of this water pool was a row of hedges and trees leading up to an overlook of the entire countryside.

As someone who had never traveled to a country outside of the United States, until coming to Rome, seeing all of these amazing places in and around Rome has been life changing. The ability to walk outside my apartment and see ancient and beautiful buildings, or to take a quick train ride and see one of the most beautiful towns I’ve ever seen, is something that few get to experience and I am so thankful for this opportunity.