Landed close to the scheduled arrival time although we left Toronto late. The airport is set up for the EU new entry system but is not yet working so I did not need to apply in advance like we did for London in May. The queue to get through the passport control was long but relatively quick. Sad that there will be no more stamps in my passport.

I had arranged for a driver to pick us up to take us to Tivoli and he met me just outside the gate. I can’t recall how long the drive was—less than an hour but more than 30 minutes.

The Residenze Gregoriane is in a 15th century palazzo.

The inner courtyard is decorated like an ancient Roman “grotto”

with mosaics

and frescoes in the entry

To fight jetlag and generally sleepiness, I walked around Tivoli for about 2 and 1/2 hours. The historic centre is not large but quite hilly.

Lots of picturesque streets

Looked into a couple of churches

The Villa Gregoriana is one of the tourist attractions here but I don’t think I will get into exploring the park. It has a lot of steep-looking pathways.

I had my first gelato, which was okay but not great. Okay in Italy, however, is still pretty good by any other standard.

I did not eat much the day before in Toronto and only had breakfast on the airplane. Since arriving in Tivoli, I have had fluids and gelato, so dinner was fairly substantial.

Ravioli with three tomato sauce — delicious

Tagliata (beef sirloin) and some green that was very mild but I couldn’t identify

There was a dog on my flight to Rome and one at dinner in Tivoli

This place is very quiet in the late afternoon and evening when all the day trippers have left. The mild weather also meant a pleasant evening walk. I’m told the distant lights are Rome.