Our first visitors!

Dad, Mom and Hannah at Lake Como - walking to Villa Olmo.

Today we said goodbye to our first group of visitors and parting ways was tough! I don't think saying good-bye will ever get any easier... It's hard to believe their trip is already over - it was wonderful to see my parents, sister Hannah and our friend Tonja, who joined us from Norway. The visit was a whirlwind, with trips to Venice and Rome and lots of exploring around Como, too.

Tonja and Hannah at dinner our last night in Rome.

We've only been living in Italy for a little over a month, so we feel like we weren't totally prepared to do a good job as tour guides quite yet, but we fumbled our way through. This group got to be our guinea pigs - we hope they forgive us for being tense at times and stressed out as we learned the ropes during their stay!  We're so thankful we had them to help us along... lugging a baby stroller on and off of trains is a challenge for sure. Fortunately for our future guests, we are already more comfortable with the trains and we're feeling  increasingly confident about travel in general. With every new adventure there is so much to learn!

Buon Compleanno! Mom, Dad and Hannah arrived the morning of August 2nd - Dad's birthday! We spent the day walking around Como and celebrated that evening with dinner out at a flower-shop-turned-restaurant called Pane e Tulipani in Como. The atmosphere was fantastic! All of their outside tables were full, so we were seated in this gorgeous, rustic room inside... Can you say, vino?!

Eva got LOTS of attention, of course. She enjoyed chattering with everyone, playing with Grandpa on the balcony and snuggling with Grandma and Auntie Hannah. That is, snuggling when she would actually hold still. Our little girl is becoming very active! One of the hardest parts about being away from home has been the fact that Eva is growing so quickly and she is missed by so many people!

Grandma's first train ride! Eva was showing her how it's done. :)

More fun on the train...