On April 28, our class ventured to Tivoli, the playground of the Romans where they could escape the heat of summer. We first stopped at Villa d'Este.
Villa d'Este's grounds are difficult to navigate because you often end up at a dead end in the path, even though you can see your intended destination.
The various fountains helped to cool the air with their gentle mists.
This is the Wall of 100 Fountains. We counted them and think they are a few short...or our 4 years of higher education has failed us.
The fountains were like geysers and made a great noise like a natural waterfall.
One side of the garden overlooked the suburbs of Rome. And no, you can't see the dome of St. Peter's from here.
Our next stop was to Hadrian's Villa, an architectural wonder of the world! It covers over 250 acres and only a fraction of that is open to public currently. The most impressive figure is that all of this was constructed in 20 years! The picture above is the Emperor Hadrian's private reading island.
What Roman ruin would be complete without its very own bath? The baths were really impressive. I can only imagine how immense they were when they were complete!
We were able to walk underneath the great ceilings of the baths and got to see how the high vaults and arches were constructed. I wonder how many bricks were put into this complex and who made them all?
This colonnaded pool is probably the most recognizable image from Hadrian's Villa. The water was filled with fish and turtles, some of them quite large. 
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