Easter visitors

 This year for the Easter holiday, Oskar and José decided to come for a visit.  Wonderful.  They told Yael Friedman they were coming and we had her and Nir join us as well.  Somewhere along the way Peter and Friedi Knoppers decided to join us for the weekend. We had a nice full house.  

Yael and Nir arrived first and we set them up in the apartment. We had a nice afternoon of chat and a good dinner.  Yael had been on the move for over a day as she came from California so we made an early night of it.  The next day we headed to Chiusi to buy food for the week.  They explored the stores while I did the shop.  I also bought a few flowers for the outside of the castle. 

We returned home, put the food away and Oskar and Josè arrived shortly after.  Peter and Freidi were there as well. And then the fun began.  Yael gifted us with a beautiful puzzle ring, Oskar gave us a print puzzle of Panicale, and Peter gave a unique tangram puzzle that we didn't have in the collection. 

We then took a tour of the grounds (estate, property? Which collective word should I use to describe this place?)  Believe it or not, it takes 4 hours of just touring and no puzzles are out.  I can't wait to see the length of a guided tour when we are fully unpacked. 

As silly as it sounds, I get a bit overwhelmed with so many people in the house. Nothing to do with the company we had, I just want everyone to enjoy themselves and "work" so that happens.  Most of my time was spent in the kitchen. 8 people is a lot to cook for :)  For me this is a great joy.  I love to cook and with just George and I, I don't do it as much as I'd like.  We eat simple meals so it's a treat when I get to go all out.

All the puzzlers set to work designing puzzles, while Josè and Freidi talked.  It was a weekend spent listening to Oskar, Yael, Peter, Nir and George discuss the new puzzles they were working on.  Running back and forth to the Palace to get the newest print, learning how to change filament colors....Really it was adults playing like children.  

We have a rainbow copy of Oskar's Castle maze now that has a slight shift in it when Josè tried to take a photo.  A dozen or so copies of a puzzle they were working on and quite a few botched rings that Yael designed.  The print head wasn't small enough I think.  

We had a lovely dinner at Simone's as is our usual.  

Peter and Friedi took a hike up the mountain one morning and the next day Oskar,  José, and George did the same.  George had sore muscles then next day and was a bit lazy after.  I spent that down time studying for my driving license.  

Most of the time was just spent designing puzzles. It was funny to watch Oskar jump up, grab the keys and take the hike to the 3d printer workshop on an almost hourly basis.  I have lost count of the number of prototypes that were produced.  He had great fun with the printer and I believe he may purchase his own in the future.  Yael produced a number of different puzzle rings that she had been working on, but sadly, none of them worked well.  I believe they said it was either the filament type or the nozzle size. 

Peter and Friedi left us on Saturday for a few days in Florence before returning home.  Yael and Nir headed off for Orvieto for the day, and the rest of us puzzled on. Poor José was stuck fending for herself much of the day as the guys prototyped and I continued to be a dull hostess.  I had work in the kitchen that couldn't wait.

Sunday was the highlight of the trip for me.  When Oskar and José visited us in Boca we had a Berrocal dinner for them and this trip would be no different.  It was Easter so why not celebrate! The meal was unimportant, but the company was.  I hadn't pulled these out in over 3 years.  They needed a good washing up.  Sadly, I discovered that one glass and around 8 utensil tops were missing. I am sure they will show up when we unpack the items that were stored in the bar in Boca, but it did cause a moment of anxiety for me.  How could I serve 6 with only a complete service for 4?  Then I remembered the wedding sets, headed out to the garage and brought them in. Crisis averted.  

Because it was Easter, we had to have a bit of chocolate, and every couple had a large egg on their plate that I felt represented them.  José got a cat, Yael got a Ferro Roche egg with a "jewelry" surprise inside, and George's had a monkey attached.  At the end of the meal Oskar decapitated the chicken and he and Yael had to wash and reassemble the coffinettas. It was interesting to me that Yael had spent time in the Berrocal Foundation as an artist in residence and had never assembled the puzzles.  Now was her chance. 

All in all, it was a good meal I think.  

Monday saw Yael and Nir off to Rome for an early flight the next morning. OJ and I took a walk into the town around 3 to see the cheese rolling festival (the whole reason they came really-don't let the friendship or the prototyping fool you).  Sadly the rain was so bad that it was cancelled. But we did
have a big bit of the chocolate egg and a nice cup of coffee.

On Tuesday OJ and we headed over to Castiglione del Lago for a pizza.  The first place was a bust. No pizza until evening, so we headed to a rather nice little caffe a bit further down.  No great view of the lake, but we did have amazing food and a nice view of the surrounding area.  

The next day they too headed off to Florence for a day in the city. George and I loved having our friends and can't wait to do it again.  

And did I forget to mention that all the while the work continued?  I spent as much time supervising the renovations on the Palace this week as I always do.  Thankfully there were no major problems.