<p>Buongiorno!
Turns out we were on Lake Garda for the World Cup final, not Como as I stated in the OP. It was beautiful, we were in a section called Gardone Riviera–more than a marketing ploy, as the microclimate there mimics the real Riviera–it never snows there, and there are Mediterranean flora and fauna (all kinds of palms and cypress and those little lizards) all around–while I was told that you could find great skiing in winter within a 20-minute drive. The Alps literally plunge into the lake from an altitude of a half mile or more…in places, it feels more like a very wide canyon, because of the steepness. It felt very much like the French Riviera, and I found myself constantly forgetting where I was and accidentally interjecting French into my rudimentary attempts at speaking Italian. </p>
<p>Game day was interesting. We drove all the way around the lake, and World Cup fever was everywhere. I was also interested in Wimbledon–I was hoping to catch Federer/Nadal–but all I got was shrugs when I asked about it. Wimbledon Schmimbledon–no Italians playing, so it didn’t exist. It wasn’t even on TV. I didn’t find out that Federer had won until I picked up the Herald-Tribune a few days later.</p>
<p>Sunday night was memorable, however. The game began at 8pm, and we learned that nearly everything had shut down in preparation for the match. The concierge at our hotel kindly made a dinner reservation for us at the adjacent establishment–the only place in town serving dinner that night–before racing off to the village square to watch the game.</p>
<p>The place we went for dinner was spectacular, like something out of a movie. We were on a cliff-side veranda overlooking the lake. Grace Kelly and Sean Connery could have walked by arm in arm, and I would have shrugged and said “Oh look, it’s Princess Grace and 007” and gone back to reading my menu. They belonged there. The funny thing was that in this incredible five-star setting, they had set up a wide-screen TV so that guests and staff could watch the game. If you look at the first picture in this link <a href=“http://www.villadelsogno.com/[/url]”>http://www.villadelsogno.com/</a> , the TV was placed about where the first potted palm is located. I began taking pictures surreptitiously because it was so amusing to see the tuxedoed maitre-d’s and dinner-jacketed wait staff trying to do their jobs and watch the game at the same time. I have some great high-five shots, and even a mid-air chest bump performed by these normally super-dignified men over the course of this special evening. Even the chefs were sneaking out to the patio to watch, and one caught me grinning at him, and pantomimed self-strangulation to indicate the tension in the kitchen. When Italy won, they were running around shouting and waving Italian flags, setting off fireworks, and pouring spumante. The moon was full over the lake, and it was really something to see and hear.</p>