I'm in a Peugeot 206 with Laura, Stefano and Pietro and we make the trek to Como Lake, Italy. Still the coincidences and deja vu continue; this was the same car that I rented with my friend Kristen back in 2004. Seems like Peugeot is my official euro road trip car :) And I still can't get used to how close everything is. The fact that we left from Crema and made it to Como in about 2 hours, and we're in a completely different town with different architecture and amazing history. You drive 2 hours from Vancouver and you might get to Hope or Chilliwack. Big f'in deal!
So we finally find Emilia's apartment, and sure enough Emilia is standing there waving. Wow, seven and a half years...and she looks the same! Classic italian beauty, she honestly looked like she hadn't aged and was the same girl I knew back in Paris. She was standing with her boyfriend who I would come to know as Gigi (short for Luigi) and with whom I would become great buddies. He's so friggin hilarious; he has this loud outgoing personality and speaks super fast, kinda like what a westerner's perception of a typical italian might be. He would provide me with much entertainment...
We all went upstairs to their cool little apartment; very modern and stylishand tidy, and alot of orange accents everywhere. So cozy, with a living room/dining room, a kitchen with fancy appliances, and a spare bedroom with pullout beds. Then I had to prepare for the event of the evening, and one of the best moments of my trip...the big 70's party! Well it was more like 60's and 70's; Emilia asked me if I wanted to go a few weeks before my trip if I wanted to go to this 70's-themed fundraiser party and the ticket was 50 euros...but open bar! I said HELL YES of course. I can't quite remember what the fundraiser was raising funds for, but it didn't matter. So I pulled out my 70's shirt I had lugged all this way, and some yellow aviators....and to cap it off, I shaved my infamous handlebar moustache once again...I was as ready as I'll ever be!
A couple of Gigi's friends came over to get their costumes. Ok seriously: these costumes were TOP NOTCH. We're in a small town in Italy! Where the hell would they get such accurate clothes? The patterns were unbelievable and the wigs were so awesome. Gigi's one friend had this one piece satin suit with an open chest and bands of flowing fabric on his arms; Gigi and his other friends had AWESOME floral hippie patterns and huge shoes. Man, these guys knew how to have a good time. Emi had a dress her mom wore in the 70's, so awesome too. So the friends took off and we would meet them at dinner.
Then we all went out for a walk into downtown Como which is all foot traffic. A pretty small town, but some really swanky shops; we went down to see the famous lake, and we could see just a few of the hundreds of GIANT waterfront mansions that Como is famous for. Movie stars, soccer players, business moguls, politicians...all come here and buy homes on the lake. Not to be confused with Como Lake in Coquitlam where I used to live...trust me, no one important lives there.
There was a Rally event on though, I saw some awesome Euro Rally cars! Went down to the main square and all these wicked decaled out cars were sitting revving their engines...I had a huge grin on my face the whole time. There is no word for Rally in Italian, so when Emi was trying to explain to me what was going on she kept saying "rrrrrrallay-ah" in a thick accent...I had no idea what she was saying but I eventually figured it out. "Oh! A "Rally"?" "Si!...rrrrralllay-ah"...hahaha...
Como makes entertainment news all the time because supposedly George Clooney lives out there somewhere in a huge mansion. And by the way all citizens are convinced George is gay. Apparently italian pop star Tiziano Ferro lives out there too, sort of Michael Buble for Italy. He's also gay apparently. No one is safe for the italians, I guess.
We went into a candy shop and Emilia bought some "Marrons glaces", I dunno what they are in english, candied chestnuts essentially. Pretty damn tasty and sweet as hell! We then went to a bar and grabbed a drink, we all had a "spritz", which is a trendy italian drink, a combination of white wine and club soda or prosecco (sparkling wine) and Aperol, an orange-based bitter liqueur. Delicious. I've tried to find it in Vancouver but hard to come by.
We then met up with a bunch of Emi and Luigi's friends at a fancy restaurant for dinner that served typical fish and seafood from the lake (lakefood?) The dish I got was called 'Lario di Lago', a white fish found in Como Lake. I had fresh gnocchi as well; I wanted to punch myself in the face how good the food was.
Then I said goodbye to little Laura, and Stefano and Pietro. I just find them to be such truly genuine and helping people, who like to do things for others and expect nothing in return. Same goes for Emi and Gigi, they are just so nice to me and pay my way because I'm a special guest in their lives. I'm super grateful to have friends like all of them.
So then we all headed outside and were told to wait for a shuttle to the party? Serious, how big is this thing? And yes, what rolled up to take us to the party? Nothing other than a 2-toned VW Minibus in mint condition!!! What the hell! So hilarious to see all these tall guys dressed as they were cramming into the van...there wasn't quite enough room so we got the next ride in an old Land Rover.
And again, to my surprise we roll up to the party...which is held at an Audi dealership?? All the cars were moved out and there were lights and lasers and hundreds of moving bodies inside instead. Decorations everywhere. We get inside and there's a live band singing one hit disco song after another in sped up tempo, blending one song into the next for a nonstop dance party. And the outfits!!! WHAT THE HELL!!! How did all of these people get these amazing costumes!!! I was so impressed...and even more impressed at the open bar :) They even had another VW Minbus setup inside all lit up to take pictures with!
It was such an amazing feeling to be at the coolest party in town and be the only foreigner there. Well I did meet some girl who spoke english with a british accent but wasn't english, and a swedish guy who spoke english. I remember these italian girls saw my camera on my back and I felt it move and I turned around startled and they said something to me and I spoke back in italian. But they knew right away I wasn't Italian, and asked where I was from and thought it was cool that I was from Canada. We all went inside and danced right up near the band. Then I had one of those magical moments when I was slightly tipsy but fully aware of the awesomeness of the situation; I was dancing with old friends and new, and the music just felt so damned loud and...good. And everyone was having the time of their lives. So fun. I got alot of great photos here
When we decided to leave, what shows up to pick us up?? The Minibus of course! Gigi and his 2 buddies Freddie and Carlo were smashed out of their minds, and Emilia was quite tipsy too...we cram in the minibus and head back into town. We get dropped off at home at 445am and we have to walk up the stairs; the whole time we are all laughing our asses off and they're all stumbling around and laughing more. Gigi for some reason decide to drop his pants and walk up the stairs with his pants around his ankles. And it's all even more ridiculous because of what everyone's wearing and Gigi and Freddie had huge afro wigs on.
When we get up to the flat Gigi and the guys fall to the floor and Gigi pulls his underwear down to expose his bare ass, then pulls Emilia down and rolls around with her....he told a story about when they were in California and Emi saw all the hot beach body dudes she almost had an orgasm; Gigi's impression of her was hilarious...after all that I haven't laughed that hard in a while!
When we all eventually got up the next day, we headed out and up a twisty road to Bellagio for some lunch, and photos and amazing views...and no not the Las Vegas hotel, the REAL place...
No comments:
Post a Comment