All trials and tribulations regarding the status of my grant aside (the money should be here soon, they say, maybe by the end of the month. Right. As everyone keeps reminding me, we are South of the Alps here in Ticino, so things like banks run on a different schedule), I am enjoying my time here. Much of this has to do with the fact that the people in this place are quite wonderful and generous.
First on the list of wonderful, generous individuals is my delightful landlord Stefan Früh, who runs Cento Rustici vacation apartments (I've linked his website to this blog.) If you are considering taking a mountain vacation to this part of Switzerland, you should rent from Stefan because he is great. He is a believer in this place, where he grew up. He supports the local community and an older way of life. I believe that he is single-handedly trying to revitalize Intragna. As he was giving me the tour of the place, he kept remembering all of the shops that once were in the piazza, which now perhaps is not quite as bustling as it once was.
But Stefan is trying to bring back the bustle, and I think it's working! Intragna is a little mountain valley town. Although Camedo is actually the last stop on the Fart line (insert your own favorite joke here), Intragna can almost be said to be the last outpost of civilisation before the train really hits the wilderness of the mountains (well-kept wilderness - the hiking trails are really well marked and maintained!). Certainly people live and work further up the mountainside, but Intragna is the last little hub. It is where the train stops during the off-peak hours, making it much more difficult to conduct any sort of social life if you happen to live beyond Intragna, since the trains don't pass Intragna after about 7:30 in the evening.
In addition to trying to develop the tourist industry of Intragna, Stefan has a busy career as a folk musician. His music studio is directly below my apartment. He plays the violin in a Ticinese folk band that also includes an accordion and the Ticinese bagpipes! I cannot wait to hear them perform!!
So, my apartment is technically reserved for tourists, but since this is the off season, Stefan has agreed to let me rent it until the summer season begins. He has a good relationship with the Dimitri School and often rents to students when business is slow.
The apartment is adorable, but apparently it is not for everybody, as I discovered in a conversation with one of its former inhabitants whose roommate was not crazy for the place. "It's like my grandmother's house," she complained. Perhaps a lot of the furnishings are a bit dated, but, it's like my grandmother's SWISS vacation house that overlooks cobblestone streets, a fountain in the piazza, and houses built in the rustica style of Ticino.
It is perfect for me. Perhaps there is a little bit more space than I actually need (although now that I've been there for a week I find that I can use the space...), but it is quiet without feeling the complete isolation that sometimes crept up on me while catsitting in Camedo. Great for writing!
From this house I can see restored casi rustici from my window. These historic homes are built completely out of stone - even the rooves! There are very few windows and the shapes of the windows that are there mimic the shape of the houses, tall and narrow. And the chimneys of these houses are particularly interesting. They look like miniature houses themselves, with rocks on the top to keep the stone in place. (Pictures coming soon....)
The house where I live is built in more of an Italian style, with a stucco facade and terra cotta roof. But although the building appears to be quite wide on the outside, I am having a difficult time guessing the true dimensions of the inside of the house. Yes, Andy, perhaps there is a hidden room behind the bookcase that I haven't found yet!
I enter from the ground floor where there is also a hairdresser and Stefan's music studio, which he also said I am welcome to use anytime - perhaps I'll learn the Ticinese bagpipes while I'm here!
My apartment is on the primo piano, the first floor above the ground floor. The stairs leading up to my flat are steep, winding, and narrow, and made of stone. At the top of the stairs is a mysterious blue crutch. I would really like it to go away, but I think I'd be even more creeped out if it just as mysteriously disappeared.
My apartment takes up all of the primo piano in this part of the house. Nevertheless, I have two keys! And even the keys are precious. Actually, the keys are a little too heavy to be called precious. Each one is about three inches long and must be made of pure lead. They are those old-fashioned, simple keys that you imagine an innkeeper carrying on a big, round ring as he opens the door to your country-inn room in 1822. All I need is a candle holder and a pointy hat and I'll be all set! But I have two keys! One is for the main apartment and one is for my bedroom. To get to my bedroom, I have to go out into the very cold hallway, turn on the light, greet the creepy blue crutch, and then unlock another door, using another key. I can't get to my bedroom from the rest of the flat, even though it is right next to the living room. The walls are made of stone, so I guess knocking out a space for a door is easier said than done. But I'm getting used to this little ritual now, so I think it's going to be fine.
I spend most of my time in the kitchen and in the living room in the main part of the apartment. I have a feeling that the kitchen is set up in the old-Ticino style, based on what I can gather from the museum ads in my welcome packet. (The museum is across the piazza, which is a very small piazza. I need to check it out soon!) My kitchen, like the picture in the brochure, has a working fireplace along the inner wall. The kitchen table is set up between the fireplace and the window, which overlooks the little piazza.
The rest of the decor of this room and the rest of the house really does come from my Ticinese grandmother's 1970's decorating guidebook. The table is protected by a vinyl tablecloth. The windows are adorned with lace curtains. There is a cabinet with teapot, tea cups, sherry cups, and wine glasses. There is an enormous ceramic tureen which I am eager to fill with a hearty soup whenever I have my housewarming party (whenever my grant comes through, etc...). And the kitchen cabinets themselves and all of the appliances are a distinctive avocado green.
The bathroom, sadly, is nothing to write home about.
The backr oom, is not overly exciting, but it has a comfy couch that pulls out into a bed, a bookshelf, and a window that overlooks a tangle of casi rustici and terra cotta rooftops. And THIS is the window with the view of the alps! So I think I'll spend some time in there as well.
OK! I think that's enough blogging for today. I am off to observe the third years in their mask class. And then I think I'll make some soup...
