John and Blake and Sarah Oh My

Just thought I'd make a quick post to report on our latest visitors before we head down to Sicily tomorrow. We started February with a visit from my brother John. He was with us on and off for three weeks while he toured central and northern Italy. He was an enthusiastic tourist and therefore a great guest. Among other things he took us to the Villa Farnese. It's only 20 minutes away from us and a sight we hadn't seen. It is a beautiful building, but unfortunately they didn't allow pictures so we couldn't document the trip.

Sarah and Blake arrived the day before John left so we all met up in Rome for the night. Sam and Eli stayed behind in Viterbo and met up with us the next day. It was my first night away from Eli, which seems hard to believe as I'm writing it now but I'm pretty sure it's true. Anyway, we had a great time. John was exited for a last hurrah in Rome, and Sarah and Blake were very good sports considering they'd been up for 30 hours and lost their luggage in route.

Sarah and Blake spent a week with us all told. The weather was great and we saw some new sights with them as well. We went to Sutri, Bracciano, and Perugia (all new) along with some favorite haunts of Sam and mine. We had a great time catching up. It was like we picked up right where we left off (almost 15 years ago - yikes!). Anyway, we had a fantastic time. Here are a few pics from both trips. (By the way, John, you need to send me your pictures. I don't have many from your trip).