I did manage to take a few photos around the apartment and the town, during the TV shoot where I did Not Exist.
The apartment itself was….interestingly decorated. My photos don’t do it justice. The owner has a strong affinity for color, I think it’s safe to say. And mirrors, and plastic flowers, and objects d’art of every kind, everywhere…
Here’s upstairs, a small slice:
In the upstairs bathroom:
On the front porch, Cousin in the foreground, lurking off camera; Auntie unseen inside the door, being filmed “discovering” the place; more mirrors and plastic foliage and gnomes and whatnot scattered about.
We walked around the town (an unpleasant town, I have to say, and not just because of my crankiness: there was no center, and lots of traffic, and Auntie said the church was very unlovely). I never caught the name of the town–it wasn’t Como per se, but a smaller town somewhat inland. In fact I have still not seen Lake Como, except overhead, from the airplane. Next time!
Anyway, as I was ghosting around a corner staying off-camera, I noticed a cool crumbling wall with pretty little ferns growing out of it. I like ferns.
The filming continued all the way till evening (and then planned to pick up the following day, though of course I’d be gone by then). They wanted us to drive to the restaurant that had been selected for us, but Auntie insisted we walk–a ten-minute walk. I can see why were supposed to drive; it was a busy road with basically nowhere to walk, but even so, it did feel good to stretch our legs. And the walk home was nice, much quieter.
But the restaurant itself….was an American restaurant. Sort of an Italian-inflected knockoff of a Hard Rock Cafe, I guess (though I haven’t eaten in one of those in centuries). Loud music from the 50s playing, loud decor–even loud families with small children shrieking and running around. And on the menu: burgers and fries and cokes and such.
We did enjoy a couple of nice bottles of wine, but even so, it was the only disappointing meal I had in Italy. Too bad it had to be my last one (unless you count the pastry and coffee I had in the Milan airport the next morning); but, that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Or the cheesecake, or whatever. 🙂
One more unrelated photo, from along the road–I made Auntie pull over so I could take this (that’s her car on the shoulder, in the background):
And now it’s 10:30 a.m. in Chicago. I’ll putter around here and repack my suitcase, then relax until lunchtime and airport-going-time. Please send good thoughts to the airline gods for me!