Day Trips from Rome

Should we use Rome for a base and do some day trips?  Cathy remembered that Rick Steves' Rome listed some, so I used up my B&N gift card and bought it.  And, yes, it does:
1)  Ostia Antica is closest and a no brainer. Rick's writeup courtesy of the Smithsonian.

"The old Roman port is similar to Pompeii but a lot closer and, in some ways, more interesting.  Because Ostia was a working port town, it shows a more complete and gritty look at Roman life than weathier Pompeii."  Getting there is a snap - a 45-minute combination metro/train ride.  Since the train is part of the Metro system, it only cost one Metro ticket each wasy - 3 euros total.  Closed Mon.  8:30-4:30.  Here's
2)  Tivoli, a medieval hill town,  is at the edge of the Sabine Hills, 18 mi. east of Rome.  It's famous for two very different villas:  Hadrian's Villa, a Versailles-like seat of government, and the restored Villa d'Este, a lush 16th century residence (lots of fountains) of a cardinal in exile.  From Rome, take Metro line B to Ponte Mammolo (Rebibbia), than take the local Cotral bus to Tivoli.  That gets us to Villa d'Este, and Ricky give more complicated directions to continue to Hadrian's Villa.  Here's Rick on Tivoli.
3)  Rick Steves' last day trip is Naples and Pompeii (4 to 5 hours of train travel round trip).  He calls Naples (third largest city) Italy in the extreme - its best (pizza and Sophia Loren), and its worst (organized crime), and does a pretty good job of scaring one about pickpockets, etc.

He offers a good self-guided, 3 hour walk from the Archaeological Museum through the heart of town and back to the Centrale Station.  And recommends good pizza places. 
Naples and Pompeii are connected by a commuter train - the Ferrovia Circumvesuviana (2 trains per hour, take any train marked Sorrento and get off at Pompei Scavi-Villa Misteri (about 40 min).  For Pompeii, R.S. provides a self-guided tour, and a free audio tour, and a 12 euro public tour is given every hour.  Allow 2 to 3 hours to tour.  It would be a really long day!

I also found that About.com has "Top Ten Day Trips from Rome," listing the above 3 and others.  I particularly liked Orvieto - "Perched atop tufa cliffs, the Umbrian hill town of Orvieto makes an impressive sight. Inhabited since Etruscan times, Orvieto's monuments and museums cover milleniums of history. Orvieto's stunning duomo (cathedral) with its mosaic facade is one of the best medieval monuments in Italy. Click to read more.

There are plenty of shops and restaurants where you can try specialties of the Umbria region. Orvieto is a little over an hour from Rome"  And I just checked Cathy's blog drafts and she links to this crosspollinate blog on Orvieto as the perfect day trip.

Wow....how are we going to fit in the Rome exploration?