{"id":3223,"date":"2012-09-25T10:56:06","date_gmt":"2012-09-25T15:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/?p=3223"},"modified":"2012-09-25T10:56:06","modified_gmt":"2012-09-25T15:56:06","slug":"treks-and-frustrations-through-a-secret-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/?p=3223","title":{"rendered":"Treks and frustrations through a secret garden"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles (Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden<\/span>)\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0Saturday was a day of treks, tribulations, and gorgeous fountains and gardens.\u00a0 This was the day that four of us went to the small city of Tivoli, an hour east of Rome by train. While I am tempted to write mainly about our frustrations, as they again have to do with the transportation system, I will spare all of you from another round of disguised venting, and focus on the beauty of the Villa d\u2019Este at Tivoli.\u00a0 I will preface the following by saying that it took us quite a bit longer than it should have to find Villa d\u2019Este, thanks to following a disjointed system of street signs, and that getting back to Rome was even more of an oh-so wonderful adventure thanks to the trains.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Our trip was estimated to take one hour, but after only half an hour, we saw a sign indicating a stop for Bagni di Tivoli.\u00a0 With the encouragement and assurance from an elderly Italian woman that this was our stop, we got off the train behind her.\u00a0 While slowly, slowly, slowly walking behind her, we had plenty of time to look around at our destination.\u00a0 Good thing, too, because one of my friends noticed a map of the train stops and decided to look at it.\u00a0 She let out a loud gasp and yelled, \u201cthis isn\u2019t our stop!\u201d and so we all rushed back onto the train, which was miraculously still waiting.\u00a0 The conductor must have secretly known that a group of American girls would be on board and to be prepared for their delirious behavior.\u00a0 Our actual stop, that was called strictly Tivoli, was another six stops so we were extremely lucky our<\/strong> faux pas was not a major one, otherwise we would have spent a day looking at cows. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Once at Tivoli, the real<\/span> Tivoli, we hopped off the train and wandered uphill to find the Villa d\u2019Este.\u00a0 After arriving at our destination, we paid the eleven-euro entrance fee and went to explore.\u00a0 The start of our journey led us in the actual home, where we saw paintings after paintings on the walls, on the ceilings, everywhere!\u00a0 While the home was historical and interesting to look at, we were mainly here for the fountains.\u00a0 We meandered our way out of the house and onto one of the balconies overlooking the entire grounds.\u00a0 Below us was a massive property where we could see fountains, trees, hedges, and many staircases.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Walking between the high hedges, among the trees and greenery, I felt like I was walking in Frances Hodgson Burnett\u2019s Secret Garden. \u00a0Though, of course, this one was unfortunately full of people and did not have a robin always sitting in the tree.\u00a0 Nevertheless, I tried to block everyone out of my mind and the four of us traipsed about in our secret garden.\u00a0 The fountains were spectacular: huge, intricate, and just plain breathtaking.\u00a0 At one point, we came across a whole wall full of fountains against a backdrop of veins.\u00a0 Though I am not sure, it seemed there must have been around hundred tiny fountains along this wall.\u00a0 Some of the staircases even had a small waterfall-like fountain embedded in the handrail.\u00a0 There were secret pathways everywhere, leading to more fountains and more stunning views.\u00a0 We saw statues of Poseidon, our founders Romulus and Remus, the Holy Mary, and Pegasus. \u00a0I could have stayed in that garden forever.\u00a0 All I wanted at that moment was a book and hours upon hours of free time to just sit, read, and relax.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Soon, however, we decided that we were starving at that it was time to find a place for lunch.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t have to walk too far before we found a quaint place right across from a cr\u00eape stand.\u00a0 Everything we ordered was marvelous.\u00a0 The best part being that they had pasta celiaca<\/em> for me and it was absolutely scrumptious.\u00a0 We paired that lunch with some cr\u00eape, and for me gelato, and our day seemed complete. We made our way back to the train station and from there had a \u201cgreat\u201d time getting back.\u00a0 I shall end here, simply because I do not want to ruin the mood of our day.\u00a0 The important thing was that we made it back to the JFRC in one piece and in time for mensa.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cIf you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett).\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles (Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden)\u2026\u201d \u00a0Saturday was a day of treks, tribulations, and gorgeous fountains and gardens.\u00a0 This was the day that four of us went to the small city of Tivoli, an hour east of Rome by train. While I … <\/p>\n

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