We packed up and headed to Hadrian's villa - these ruins had quite a few more years on them than the Villa d
'Este. "The villa was created at Tibur (modern-day Tivoli) as a retreat from Rome for Roman Emperor Hadrian in the early 2nd century. Hadrian was said to dislike the palace on the Palatine Hill in Rome, leading to the construction of the retreat. During the later years of his reign, he actually governed the empire from the villa. A large court lived there permanently. Hadrian’s villa was a complex of over 30 buildings, covering an area of at least 250 acres of which much is still unexcavated. The villa was the greatest Roman example of an Alexandrian garden, recreating a sacred landscape. The complex included palaces, theatre, temples, libraries, state rooms, and quarters for courtiers, praetorians, and slaves." Hot day - not awe inspiring like the Villa d'Este, but fun to contemplate it's history nonetheless. It's good to be Emperor - except for all those people who want to stab you in the back - et tu Brute.We got back on the A1 highway headed north to Florence, Manuel and I trading stories and catching up o
n people we knew from U.D. There were now nine of us in two vans. We decided to stop at the town of Ovieto, up in the hills about 1-1/2 hours out of Tivoli, to eat lunch. "Ovieto is an ancient city, populated since Etruscan times, sitting on an impregnable cliff controlling the road between Florence and Rome. The city was annexed by Ro
me in the third century BC. After the collapse of the Roman Empire its defensible site gained new importance: the city was held by Goths and by Lombards before its self-governing commune was established in the 10th century, in which consuls governed under a feudal oath of fealty to the bishop. Ovieto’s relationship to the papacy has been a close one; in the tenth century Pope Benedict VII visited the
city with his nephew, Filippo Alberici, who later settled there and became Consul of the city-state in 1016." That's cool stuff, but it's 2009 and we're hungry! Parked below the city - beautiful town, walking up winding narrow streets, uphill all the way. As with most of the towns we visited, there is an ornate cathedral in the center of the city. Found a small cafe with excellent food and wine. This was a welcome break from the long drive from Tivoli to Florence. Time to push on.I'm rejuvenated, back in the navigator seat with Manuel driving. I promptly fell asleep. Manuel managed without me and we arrived at our accommodations outside of Florence, the s
mall town of Barbarino, late in the afternoon. Waiting for us were three more friends form U.D. - Zac, Maxine, and Marilyn. They had flown into Milan the previous week. Our home for the next week is an old farmhouse converted into a six bedroom bed & breakfast called Il Castelluccio (the castle) in the hills about 15 minutes out of Florence. The young husband and wife who own this place have done a terrific job of remodeling - it exceeded my expectations by a long shot. It 
is still a work in progress - workmen were hard at work laying tile around an outdoor jacuzzi. Anne and I got situated in a very spacious room on the top floor - I don't think anyone else wanted to climb those stairs up to the third floor. The views out the windows on both sides of the room were incredible. We ch
anged and off to Florence for dinner - had our first battle with the parking garage at the train station. The van was too tall to fit into some of the entrances. We were scheduled for the second sitting at a little out-of-the-way restaurant in the middle of the city. White wine while we waited to be seated - Chianti, bread, olive oil, cheese with dinner - first dinner for the whole group of twelve. Got to hear Zac's story about the best day of his life. Lots of fun and a great ending to our first day in Florence. Back to Il Castelluccio for much needed sleep.
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