We are just returning from the airport after saying goodbye to Nicole’s sisters, brother-in-laws and nephew. They have been with us for a week and it is the first time that we have had people stay for so long and also using both spare room and living room as bedrooms.
In all it has worked well-even when Nicole’s nephew Luca has taken-over the living room whilst sleeping the large terrace has made this not a problem. I have been able to work during the day fairly normally and they have even taken care of most of the cooking so it has in some ways been better than normal.
It took a bit of work to persuade them to hire bikes as it cost €40 each for the week and they were not sure they would use them. In the end it turned out that we went out on the bikes everyday and most of the days more than once. I had hoped that the bikes would also help them feel independent-and that seemed to be the case.
All in all a good week but it has made us grateful we have such a large flat (and terrace). It has also made us realise a few things we would change when looking for a new flat.