We joined the unbelievably long queue to see St Paul's Basilica, which fortunately moved pretty quickly. Once inside we joined another long queue to go the cupola. It was a steep walk up very narrow winding staircases - we're pretty sure the Pope hasn't been up here for a long time. After the cupola it was back into the basilica at ground level, and once we'd had our fill of dead popes and more artwork, we headed into town to visit the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps.
For the afternoon we had booked a tour to Tivoli to visit Hadrian's Villa, something K has wanted to see for a long time. We had decided on a tour as it isn't easy to get to using public transport, and the temperature in Rome had been very hot. First stop in Tivoli was Villa Este, which had lovely terraced gardens on the side of the mountain, with many huge fountains including one that played an organ.We finally arrived at Hadrians Villa to K's excitement only to be told it was closed!!! Unbelievable, "on strike" was the explanation given, apparently it's very common in Italy! We had heard that there were riots the night before outside parliament so we're not sure if this was part of the reason. Very disappointing, a waste of money and time. There was no offer of compensation from the company but a group of us did go back to the office and we were given €10 back per person, the company was happy to keep the entry fee for the site from everyone else on the tour!
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