Confetti and Silly String

On Saturday two other girls and I went on a day trip to Tivoli. It took us just about 2 hours to get there taking various forms of public transportation, and it was definitely worth it.

There are three Villas in Tivoli, but we only ended up seeing one. We went to Villa d'Este and it was amazing. It was built in the mid to late 1500s and has gorgeously decorated rooms and huge gardens that with numerous fountains. Everything was so pretty, and I can't even imagine what it will look like in the spring time when everything blooms. Also, since Tivoli is built on the Sabine Hills there were amazing views out over greater Rome.

After we left Villa d'Este we had planned on going to Villa Adriana which is the most famous villa in Tivoli. We had to take a bus a little ways and then we started following the signs. It was not as close as we had anticipated and we were wondering around interesting roads that did not look like someplace many tourists ventured. But we were going to the biggest tourist attraction in the area so it didn't make sense. Then somehow we stumbled upon a mass of people. There was some sort of parade going on. There were children dressed up in all sorts of costumes like it was Halloween. Kids and adults alike were throwing confetti at people. I myself got hit a few times. And there was silly string. It was honestly one of the most interesting things I have seen so far. It was definitely a very local thing and the energy was incredible.

It took about 30 minutes to finally get to Villa Adriana because it was slow going with the parade. And when we got there they had already been closed for an hour. So we headed back to the bus stop to go back to Rome. On the way we caught another glimpse of the parade that was going down the road it had already gone down, maybe they were circling, who knows. But the parade definitely made the failed attempt at Villa Adriana worthwhile.

This parade was not the only place that I have seen confetti and silly string. Right now it is also Canivale Romano and there is confetti and silly string as well as kids in costumes all over Piazza del Popolo where the festivities of that are going on. Also, you can see reminants of confetti on almost any road. Even right by my apartment. This place is covered in confetti.

I was going to add pictures but that takes too long. So check out the Facebook Album.