Day 56 - Third time lucky

This was an important day for K, on our third trip to Italy and our second to Rome, this was the day to finally visit Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli. Last time we were in Rome the tour bus took us there when it was closed, this time we had a car and were getting ourselves there. It was an hour's drive from where we were staying, and we made it quite easily with good old Google Maps to help.  

Hadrian's Villa was more than just a villa, it was an estate covering a large area, quiet, well treed and huge. There has been quite a bit of restoration so it wasn't too difficult to imagine how it used to be, not like some other ancient sites we've visited. 

The site is still undergoing archaeological investigations, so they are still exploring and finding new parts. K was thrilled that she finally got to visit and M was pleased that now every time we are looking at flights K won't suggest that we go via Rome.

We had been keeping a vague eye on the protests and political situation in Lebanon but were disappointed to discover that it had worsened and some of the areas of the country we had planned to visit were now off limits. The more we looked into it the more concerned we became. We had booked an apartment in Beirut for a week and now the reports were that the airport road was closed so we could potentially be stuck in the airport or the apartment. The roads into and out of Beirut were also closed. Lebanon was on the verge of economic collapse and the government had angered everyone by introducing further hardship policies, and a proposed "WhatsApp tax" had pushed the people over the edge. Even though the government back pedalled on the tax the people had enough and taken to the streets. Banks, schools and shops were shut down, just when we were due to arrive in two days.

As a result we decided to change our plans, it meant cancelling some "no cancel" flights and accommodation. Our planned accommodation were very nice about it as they agreed to refund us due to the situation, the airlines were not so forthcoming. We also had to figure out how to adjust our plans. Originally we were to spend a few days in Rome, then head to Cyprus, Lebanon and then Israel, so there was a bit of juggling to do.