highlights:racing around town in a car trying to find the perfect game-viewing venue (and switching at half-time due to crappy reception)
watching the second half in a football field with 200 italians all masticating pork chops, drinking wine out of little plastic cups, bleating away on their pressurized horns and high-pitched whistles and zealously waving their ridiculously oversized flags about
watching italians everywhere near total breakdown just from the tension of it all
italians cheering for every juve player that gets put on the field (this is piemonte, after all)
italians cheering when zidane is red-carded
italians cheering upon each successful penalty kick past barthez
italians going totally apenuts when grosso makes the kick: screaming, hugging, laughing, jumping up and down, running around, waving ridiculously oversized flags about
racing around town (sometimes at a standstill) in a car, honking the horn, hanging out the window and screaming like a hooligan (yes, i did this — but only for a few seconds)
listening to everyone else in town race around town, honk their horns and hang out the windows and scream like hooligans until 2 a.m.
a sign, hoisted in the air:
ADESSO VOGLIAMO LA GIOCONDA
(now we want the mona lisa)
Fat is flavor 
what’s a juve? and what does “ADESSO VOGLIAMO LA GIOCONDA” mean?
juve is short for juventus, the turin football team that’s been beset by scandal of late but is one of the best in this country. or was, anyway.
and i translated the sign in the parenthetical addendum at the bottom, fred.
so Kate told me that the story that’s currently circulating is that materazzi twisted zidane’s nipple and then called him a terrorist. which i think warrants more than a headbutt.
also at some point I need to post pictures of Ian’s insane pomegranate pavlova. pretty soon it’ll be pomegranate season! by the way, should i try the mangosteen juice they’ve just come out with? i’ve always wanted to try a mangosteen.
mangosteens are the bestest!