I neglected to mention that, aside from Bossman, I had one other traveling companion: the stalwart Ganache the Chocolate Moose. Of course, I couldn't take Ganache around town with me, much to my chagrin, but during my trip, Ganache had some adventures of his own.
Haaaah. No, much as that would amuse me. The staff was really very lovely, and every day when I got back, I found that room service had found another little nook to place him.
The Hotel Cavour itself was also very nice.
But who are these ladies that they keep taking pictures of?
Those are actually promo photos from a 1949 Italian Neorealism film, Riso Amaro, or the Bitter Rice. While not actually filmed in Novara, it does represent most of the post-WWII era in the Piedmont region, as well as the sprawling rice fields that remain to this day.
Seriously.
Green fields and rice paddies.
Everywhere.
Every
where.
Most of these were along the route between the hotel and the actually facility where I was working that week, which was located in a smaller town, Mortara. Every morning, we'd rise and make the half hour journey, taking what would be generally called highways, but largely just long country roads that sometimes wound through villages along the way.
Again, much of the surrounding architecture was dedicated to ecclesiastical structures, which made for a scenic drive.
I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at quite the high number of churches, given the history of Italy, but it made for an unusual contradiction for the somewhat less conservative attitudes that I witnessed of my Italian colleagues.
For example, these were some of the art pieces that they had decorating the lobby and conference area:
I mean, lovely, but just unexpected.
This entry is actually a lot longer than I anticipated, and while it's mostly pictures, I will hold off on inundating you all.
Tomorrow -- the fine dining of the northern Italian countryside.
Until the next.
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