Tivoli: Villa d'Este

Ciao!
Three words for the Villa d'Este--Oh. My. God.
It is possible to visit both Hadrian's Villa and the Villa d'Este in Tivoli in one go, and in my younger days I would have, and tours are offered from Rome that cover both sites.  Maybe you don't share my taste for ruins, but Tivoli is a great day trip and the Villa d'Este easy to visit (no shuttle busses are involved) and well worth seeing.
Having obtained my bus tickets and metroed out to Ponte Mammalo, I boarded the bus with much more confidence.  I knew where to get off and where to get the bus back. I knew where Tourist Information was should I need any.  I didn't.  The Villa is well sign posted and about five minutes walk from the bus stop.  They are doing some restoration work, I guess, because the entrance was awfully discreet for such a well known site.
The place used to be a monastery then a cardinal got a hold of it and turned it into a summer retreat.  Eventually the place was acquired and embellished by another cardinal of the Este Family of Ferrara.  This bunch is good at luxurious buildings.  The palazzo part seems nicely liveable. There were no period rooms, but the ceilings and walls are richly and beautifully frescoed in Renaissance Fashion, so a lot of allegories and classical references.
The Real Deal are the gardens!  They slope down the hill in a series of terraces.  The gardens are in the Italian Style so they are rather formal and short on flowers, but oh my. The Fountains!  These are the most spectacular fountains I have ever seen--and yes, I have been to Versailles.  A fountain sprouts on nearly every corner of every path.  The garden is adorned with statues and grottos as well.  It was a very refreshing experience on a hot, humid day.
I had enough time and energy left to walk around Tivoli's historic center.  Remember Trastevere?  Well, Tivoli is the same.  It's a delightful place to wander with narrow, cobbled, pedestrianized streets and also very very touristy. On the other hand plenty of locals were around walking and greeting their friends and chatting, so it seemed like a real life place, too.
I had a smooth trip back and stopped at Cipro Metro for pizza, which I am now enjoying with beer.  I tried a supplizi which is the Roman version of aranicini from Sicily.  One makes risotto and then rice balls stuffed with something tasty and then deep fries them.  One is just a bit smaller than my fist, but then I have small hands.  Very good!
One of the cooks brought out a fresh Margharita as I was ordering, so I couldn't resist that, but I got a different kind that has faba beans (I guess) and some very salty bacon-like substance.  It's divine.  Likewise the Margherita.  I got a different kind of beer this time, and I like it lots better than the one I had last time.  It's the perfect way to spend a late Friday afternoon.
I want to be a cardinal.  I look great in red and deserve to be addressed as "Your Eminence."  I would do really well living in a luxury villa with fabulous gardens. Maybe Pope Francis will waive the current gender requirement, but the fact that I'm a Protestant is not going to be got over is it.  Bummer.  I'll eat more pizza to cheer myself up.