Just a walk from the train station towards the center of the village and you will be surprised by an unexpected itinerary in the gardens of the Villa Gregoriana from where you can have a beautiful view of the Temple of Vesta and the village. 
The walk in the Villa Gregoriana park is mainly in the refreshing shadow of a pine forest with several points of interest like the Neptune grotto or the waterfalls. It's an hour of easy hiking route.

The grand waterfall as seen from a close access within the hiking circuit will impress you by its height and consequent loud noise or sound if you prefer:

The Villa Gregoriana site of Tivoli includes two waterfalls, the largest being the most impressive (pictured here from a lower access point) while the smaller offers a quiet journey in mother nature.

Tivoli's hill offers nice views to the Roman plateau each time a gap between its colorful buildings and picturesque houses allows you to throw your eyes as far as it is physically possible. The walk in its tiny streets is of great interest with many architectural details to discover.

Suddenly, you reach the grand square where the market takes place. 
The contrast with the almost desert streets is there: street meetings, gatherings, grocery bags in each and every hand...life!

And indeed, one cannot pass through Tivoli without noticing the unique South-Italian Christian ornaments, enough to feel blessed at almost each and every building's corner. 

A touch of Italian leather to put some colors in this relaxing Tivoli environment.
Yet, we did not visit the magnificent Villa d'Este!

If you plan to rent a car and visit Rome's surroundings in a day or less, this could be a good trip rich in sightseeing, history, relaxation and fun.
The three villages of Castel Gandolfo, Nemi and Frascati are near each other at about 30 minutes drive from Rome then some 15 to 20 minutes to go from one location to the other.
They let you pull away from the crowds and enjoy tourist attractions at a reasonable frequenting, with no queues or excessive numbers of people.

This picturesque village offers many sightseeing points to the lake Albano.
The superb blue lake formed in a ancient volcano crater.
Once you cross the main gate, you can visit both the castle and the village which large square invites you to savor an espresso or cappuccino during a break.

The Pope's summer residence includes the portraits of previous Popes and an audio guide system allows you to listen to the individual story of each of them. The old Pope's vehicles, limousines or papamobile are exposed at the castle's entrance.
The castle's windows all offer a superb view to the azure lake.

The Pope's residence rooms are each a piece of art on its own, walls and ceilings being completely covered with paintings and ornaments while the marble floor's luster completes the picture reminding you you're no doubt living the magnificent  and surreal period of the Renaissance. 

That's a smaller lake than the lake Albano with the same azure blue color however and again another picturesque village at the ancient volcano crater, Nemi.
Nemi is at a 10-minutes drive from Castel Gandolfo, the ideal place to have lunch after having visited the latter. The view is breathtaking every time the lake appears in between Nemi's  colorful houses.

Nemi's main street is so colorful, the roof tiles so old and the south Italian details like satellite dishes, antennas and hanging clothes bring the picture to a complete charm.

Don't forget to taste the delicious berries to which the area is famous and that will help you digest the overwhelmingly appetizing mixed grill served at one the local restaurants.

Frascati is reputed for its berries and wine but you can also enjoy its main church in a quite large and beautiful square from where you can walk the tiny streets all around and have a cappuccino in one of the numerous trattorias. 

Frascati's visit should be extended to the Byzantine-Greek abbey at the edge of the village which hides a beautiful Eastern style church. 

Lego and Meccano are amongst the most reknown model construction systems for children of ages 6 to 14 and up to 16 years old. They drastically differ however since Lego bricks require no tools to be assembled while Meccano relies on the use of a screwdriver and a wrench to fix together the various parts with bolts and nuts.
If you're hesitating between them for your kid's birthday especially they both sell at incredibly high prices, here's how they compare:

​The below creature was made out of a 13 year old boy's imagination out of various Lego parts. many being from the model pictured to the right. The relative easiness of dismantling and re-assembling models encourages kids to create their own robots, superheroes, vehicles, etc.

The various Lego parts and bricks of several models can end-up being mixed all together in compartment boxes and sorted by type, size, color, etc. before being re-assembled into any shape and model. The educational level of Lego is obviously increased in this case compared to the construction of the exact given model and its step-by-step instruction manual.

This miniature Eiffel tower requires a higher dexterity to be assembled compared to bricks construction as it involves holding a tool with each hand, handling small nuts, working on both sides of a model, making adjustments to the metal parts prior to tightening the bolts, etc.

Dismantling it for building another model out of free imagination could not be as obvious as in the case of bricks, but requires higher skills and a lot of willingness which is of a higher educational value. The method of assembly is similar or identical to real life construction activities.