A Day In Milan

Two months ago, I was planning to go to Florence and see David. That changed (something about things in Florence being closed on Mondays) and instead I went to Milan to see The Last Supper. No regrets there. I want to return to Italy someday and explore it more thoroughly... visit Florence and Rome and Verona. For now, just a small taste will have to suffice.

Other than seeing TLS, I hadn't really made any solid plans for Milan. The night before, I was looking up things to do via the internet, and the Duomo popped up. The name was familiar, probably because Rick Steves gushed over it once or twice, and when I mentioned it to my cousin she said I must go.

An €11 ticket gets you into the building, into the below-ground archaeological site, into the next-door museum, and onto the roof via stairs. (For just €4 more you can ride the lift. I almost wish I had forked over the money; my poor legs.) I can't say what my favorite thing was. The rooftop was exciting, the decor and stained glass in the church was beautiful, the ancient relics in the museum were mesmerizing, and the underground tombs and baptistry were creepy/cool.

Then, in the evening, I went over to the Piazza S. Maria Delle Grazie, home to Leonardo DaVinci's masterpiece. You have to get tickets to that in advance, and they let you in in groups of about 20. You get 15 minutes to look at TLS, plus another painting on the wall opposite. There are plaques in there that tell you which apostle is which. A neat experience.

Photos from my day in Milan....

Alps!

The Alps are incredible and gorgeous. Fact. Yesterday I took a train from Bern, Switzerland, to Milan, Italy. I had accidentally (?) purchased a first class ticket; oh well. It allowed me to have a single seat. I spent most of the ride just staring out the window, and, when we passed through tunnels -- there were many -- journaling about how happy I was.

In Switzerland, a lot of the houses were made of wood. There were nice, fancy houses alongside run-down, poor-looking ones. I was reminded of Heidi. Crossing into Italy, the style changed... Lots of red roofs and stone buildings. Lots of colorful laundry drying on balconies and hanging from windows.

Here are some photos taken from the train.

Bern, baby

Sorry for the post bombardment today, but it looks like my Free Wifi days will soon be ending.

Today my cousin and I spent the day touring Bern, Switzerland. Bern is gorgeous, though I would not want to live here, because of the bells, the incessant bells. It's 15 minutes past the hour? Well, bing bong to that! It's 8:00? Why, please DO enjoy this 15-minute-long concert! Bonnnng.

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In the morning, we took the funicular (hill-ascending tram) up to a park that had views of the (distant) Alps. After lunch, we visited the Kunstmuseum, a museum of fine arts, which had the usual Picassos and Matisses and such. After leaving there, we walked to a cathedral, which was amazing and old and cool. We then walked all around Old Town. I am now exhausted, thanks.

Tomorrow, my cousin and I part ways, and I go onward to Italy, and after that, Spain. Please pray for my continued safety.

I took about a hundred photos around Bern. Here are... slightly fewer than that. 

The Lady Photographs

The train ride from Kaiserslautern, Germany, to Bern, Switzerland, had great views. The train itself ran more smoothly than an Amtrak (what I'm used to riding in the U.S.), and we got to sit in a compartment. Arriving at the Bern train station, it was a little chaotic/crowded/scary, but my cousin was with me, thankfully. We found our hotel, which was very nice. Here are some photos from the train...

Castleton

So the castle thing happened. My cousin, who I've been staying with, took me to Burg Lichtenberg, a castle ruin. There were tunnels to explore, towers to climb, and great scenery all around. My first non-Disney castle!

We also went to a German restaurant/cafe, where I tried their potato soup, as well as a German pancake dish called Kaiserschmarn.

Today, my cousin and I boarded a train to Bern, Switzerland, and that's where we are now. Lovely views from the train. Pictures in my next post.

I heard they had chocolate cake here....

Guten tag and all of that.

I'm in Germany, which my brain is still registering as "crazy." Germany is a far-away, fairy-tale land. Far away. Not here. It may as well be Narnia.

But later today I may go see a castle, and that may help me better feel the reality of the place. Orrrr it may just confuse my brain still further. My previous castle experiences are limited to Disneyland and Nathan Fillion. (Unfortunately, not at the same time.)

The important thing to tell you is that I survived the 10-hour, nonstop flight from Portland to Frankfurt. I had been dreading that piece of the journey. And yes, I was cramped in a small seat next to a man with chicken-winged elbows, and behind a guy who seemed to feel his seat was a rocking chair, but on the plus side, I slept very little, and I think that will help soothe the jet lag transition. I was able to sleep pretty normal, local hours during my first night here in Kaiserslautern.

The plane (Condor) had video screens at each seat which could show you the progress of the journey. We flew over Canada, Greenland, and Iceland! If only I'd had a window seat... I could have enjoyed those countries' clouds....

This thing...

This thing I'm about to attempt might sound crazy. Crazier than traveling around half the globe, mostly solo. Crazier than doing the above with only the things that will fit inside a schoolish backpack and a messenger bag. You see, I am going to attempt to do the above AND blog about it using only a tiny, cranky vintage iphone that relies solely on wifi and has the battery life of about an hour.

Testing....

I'm not able to promise to post regular updates, and I can assure you that spelling errors will happen. (Fingers big... keyboard small.) But provided I don't get totally frustrated with the device, I will plan to update regularly. 

First destination: Germany.

On The Set Of "The Librarians"

A few weeks ago I got to work on the TV series "The Librarians," which is currently filming its second season in Portland.

The pre-job notes for the gig were a bit longer than I'm used to seeing. Instead of asking us to bring three outfits, we were asked to bring at least two complete outfits for three different possible roles (student, professor, or dignitary) in two different scenes (one outdoors/informal, one indoors/semi-formal). Twelve outfits? Um... sure.

Our call time was 10am. We met at a parking garage in downtown PDX, where we were then shuttled to the filming location a few blocks away. Extras Holding was in The Portland Art Museum, which is one of those places I keep putting off going to for reasons that can only be described as psychological.* Several scenes would also be shot inside the museum that day.

I arrived wearing jeans and a striped long-sleeved shirt, but the wardrobe people had me change into a frumpier getup. Then I went to Hair and Makeup, and they put my hair into a schoolmarm bun using six bobby pins and loads of hairspray.

After everyone was ready, all of the extras -- about 50 of us -- were then led outside in front of the museum, which was standing in for the "Portland Public Library". Across the street, in the park, they were filming a scene. For several takes, I walked down the sidewalk in front of the museum library.

When the park scene wrapped, we went back inside and were asked to change into a second outfit, this one for a posh party scene. I had brought two dresses, one cute and sequinny and one black and ill-fitting and straight out of the back of my mom's closet. Guess which one they had me wear? Old lady dress, yes. But at least it matched my hairstyle! They also loaned me a big old greenish cardigan to go with it. Add to that nylons and dress shoes. Yuck.

When it was time to film the scene, we all trooped up the stairs of the art museum, to the Grand Ballroom. En route, we passed by a table covered with champagne and wine glasses, each of them filled with mysterious liquids and/or fake ice. We had to each take one as a prop. Then they assembled us into groups of 3-5 people. I was put in a group of 5. They brought us onto the set, which was this big room in the art museum that had been decked out with props relating to pirates and ships from the buccaneer days. There was a smoky atmosphere. Add to this the fact that I'd decided to do this scene without my glasses. I'm lucky I didn't drop my wine glass, trip over a wire, or crush a faux schooner.

They spent some time rehearsing us, having us try standing in different places, and getting things just right. In the end, I was only about two feet away from Rebecca Romijn in the scene, but I don't know if I'll be seen, and if I am, you'll see me looking way too intrigued by a dusty model of a ship. (I guess I could've just pretended it was a cleverly disguised treasure map, ala DuckTales... missed opportunity.)

We did several takes, then they had to move the lights and equipment around, so we stepped away, and after a while came back and did things from a different angle. Then we stepped away again, while they filmed a scene at a bar. They needed a few people to walk between the actors and the camera. I was one of the people picked (I think because the camera was pretty high and I'm tall? The other people who were picked were all tall) but every time we did the take, the actors finished their dialogue before I passed through. (I would've only been a millisecond black shadow anyway.) One of the other guys that was supposed to walk through the shot was freaking me out a little. He was literally clipping his nails right there on set, while mumbling to himself about wanting to eat.

At 3pm, we went back to extras holding and were given snacks. Most of us (especially nail-clipper guy, apparently) were ravenous, so that was nice. An hour went by, and then they said they were going to send most people home, but did anyone want to stay for one more library scene? I raised my hand and got picked, along with about 6 others. We changed outfits again, and then went to the catering tent for dinner. (This is why you offer to stay later... free food. I had lemon cake and some mysterious vegetable covered in pesto.)

A little while later, we went up to a different room in the museum, a library. Here, the PA looked us over and picked a few of us to be in this one scene where one of the main characters realllly wants to check out the Complete Works Of William Shakespeare. Four people were picked and three people, including myself, were not. (There's always a twinge I feel when not picked, like it's third grade gym class all over again, but I try not to let it bother me. I realize it's about the scene and the colors we're wearing, etc., and that they often have a few more people than they really need, yada. But still.) One funny thing about the set was that they had these prop books set around on top of some bookshelves. When I looked at them closely, I realized they were phone books! They'd glued pictures to the open pages to make the books look like encyclopedias. And now you know all the secrets.

I was out of there by 7pm. I returned my cardigan and made my way back to my car.

A few days later, I decided I should rent The Librarians, season 1 and get a clue about this show I'd done. Unfortunately, Netflix didn't have it; they only had the Noah Wyle movies that the show is based on. I rented the first one and seriously hated it.

I hope the show is better than that movie.

My episode(s) should air in early 2016.

*I have now visited the Art Museum as an art enthusiast, and it is quite nice, as museums go.


(ETA: The two episodes, "And The Drowned Book" and "And The Broken Staff," ended up airing on November 1, 2015. I am visible in the first episode, in the museum scenes. This marks the first time since, um, 2010, that I can actually be seen in something I've worked on! (Though my car did get to have some screentime on Grimm earlier in the year, so... yay car!))