How I Travel: Liza Colón-Zayas Wants to Film ‘The Bear’ in Italy
The second season of TV show The Bear found the characters more siloed on their own journeys outside the kitchen. One learned about hospitality at the real Chicago restaurant Ever, while another flew to Copenhagen to train with the best. Liza Colón-Zayas’ character Tina went to culinary school, but she wouldn’t have minded a more far-flung filming location for her character—and she knows just the place. “Well, the Berzattos are of Italian descent,” she says, referring to the central family of the show. “Pizza school in Italy!”
Italy comes up several times with the New York City-born actress, who returns for The Bear’s third season on FX and Hulu on June 27. (One of her tips? Go to Venice “in the dead of winter, and it isn’t overrun,” she says.). Ahead, she discusses a memorable trip to Sicily with friends, some delightful destinations for the holidays, and why she needs to crank the AC.
What it’s like filming in Chicago:
People are profoundly generous. I'm such a shut-in when I work; I really just want to come home and unplug. So I don't get out to all of the restaurants that I could, but I get a lot of invitations from restaurant owners and chefs. It's some next level love. The first year, there were a lot of [happy hours with the cast], but our schedules changed. Season one, when we were all in the Original Beef [set], it was so much more central. There’s more focus on the individual characters’ lives now, so we’re more spread out. But sometimes we have outings. We just went to Nicki Minaj! We all wore pink wigs. So that was fun. I threw out the first pitch at a baseball game—and I never threw a baseball in my life! I watched a tutorial for children. So those things are still there, but people are busy and blowing up.
How early she arrives to the airport:
At least two hours, or I start having a meltdown in the taxi, especially for international travel. I want to make sure I'm not losing luggage or trying to race through. I don't run!
Her priorities when planning a vacation:
Relaxation. Great food. I love walking, just walking and seeing beautiful old architecture. I could hit a museum every now and then. I went to Florence and when I saw [Michelangelo's] David, I started crying in the middle of the museum. I wish I had more energy for the cultural things, the museums, but I just want to escape into a world that I can't get here.
The friend trip she recommends:
One was with a group of friends to Catania [in Sicily]. A friend of mine goes to Italy at least twice a year, and he uses the Thinking Traveller. If you're having a big group of people, you can do a villa through them. It was the most romantic, and felt just out of a movie, something that I had always dreamt of. This giant villa—if you have a group of six or more people, it’s actually doable. It was called Crossing the Rock and right on the water with this giant rock formation coming out of the sea and wrapping around balconies and a pool. It was magical.
The place she’ll never tire of:
Puerto Rico over the holidays is the best place. They start celebrating right after Thanksgiving and it goes on through the beginning of January. The warmth and the beauty—the weather is perfect. You can go swimming, you're not sweating to death. The mosquitoes can't be bothered. They're sleeping. I was supposed to go this past year. We had it all booked and then we both got Covid, so hopefully this year we can make that happen.
An underrated destination for the holiday season:
I went to Amsterdam over the holidays with some close friends. Amsterdam is magical, and it felt so Hansel and Gretel! The people are so kind, and they’re so into decorating for the [season]. It looks like a storybook. On New Year’s Eve, the neighborhoods have fireworks competitions, so if you have a good view the whole sky lights up. It reminded me of the opening teaser of a Disney movie, where a light goes across the whole sky.
The kind of trip you won’t find her on:
I can't travel in any kind of group. We did a day trip one time from Brussels to Bruges and it was a tour bus. I understand the driver has to do his job and talk constantly—I get it. But there was a passenger next to me who had these beans that he wouldn't stop clicking the entire time, and I wanted to kill myself.
Her one high-maintenance need on vacation:
I'm American and I have hormones and I need access to air conditioning. Lack of proper air conditioning makes me crazy and claustrophobic. I have to remember to have some sort of backup plan.
The hotel amenities she requires:
I'm pretty basic—an espresso machine, a microwave, and a little fridge. I don't always, but sometimes the food is good and you want to bring it back and put it in the fridge and warm it up later. So either decent room service, or those three things.
The place she’d recommend to visitors of her hometown, New York City:
The one thing that I think could check everyone's boxes, from all walks of life and any age, is Central Park. Central Park is everything for everybody. You're a dog lover? There are the best doggy parks. You want to skate? There's the skating rink. It's a beautiful Sunday? Go near the fountain, when they have free group salsa. People are just learning and dancing salsa and you walk a little ways and there's drummers with Caribbean and African drums. You’ve got Shakespeare in the Park. There is something for everybody, and you can go any time of year. People are in this celebratory, joyful state, and if you don't get it, you are dead inside.
Where she's headed next:
The next place is the Greek islands. I’m hoping that me and my husband's schedules will align this August. I'm going to do it! I'm going to live a dream, looking out at everything blue and white.
Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler
