Arrivederci, Azzurri

Yesterday began as a day to solve problems and ended as an evening of pleasant surprises (except for fans of Italy’s World Cup soccer team, the Azzurri).

We got up early and went out at 7 a.m. looking for coffee for Shelley, trying to get a feel for the layout of Lucca.  It’s not easy, because it’s a town full of narrow streets where it’s difficult to distinguish between a main street and an alley.  Not much was happening except for people out for walks and cars making deliveries to businesses (traffic is restricted inside the walls).  We found a couple of bars opening up but not much else, but finally found a spot where we had pastries and Shelley had expresso (a little strong for her taste).

Still without our luggage, we headed out close to 9 a.m. to try to solve several problems.  We wanted to get a better map than the one in the guidebook I brought with me, and so headed for the TI (tourist information) center.  On the way we solved a second problem when we found a store that sold electronics, meaning that we were able to purchase a couple of US/Italian plug adapters so that we could recharge our rapidly depleting computers and cell phones.  At the TI we found a better map, and also found out the one small supermarket within the walls where we could stock up on some basic groceries.  On the way there we found a newsstand that carried a copy of the Grapevine, the local monthly English-language magazine of arts and culture.  By 11 we had solved our immediate pressing problems, and shortly thereafter we learned that our missing bags had been located, were in Pisa, and would be delivered by courier this morning.  We’ll see.

I spent the afternoon writing a blog post and napping, not necessarily in that order.  Our plan for the rest of the day was to see if we could find a place to get something to eat and watch the Italy-Uruguay World Cup game, which Italy needed to win or tie to move into the elimination round.  Our apartment is right around the corner from the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, which dates back to the Romans and was an amphitheatre seating 10,000.  Today it houses restaurants and shops, and last evening most of the outdoor cafes were set up to view the World Cup game.  We found a table at one, just far away from the television that it was hard to follow exactly what was going on, and ordered beer and pizza.

The atmosphere was relaxed and enjoyable, but after missing the USA-Portugal match on Sunday night because we were on the way to Rome (several passengers asked the crew to report the score but they never did) I looked forward to sampling World Cup fever in a country like Italy where soccer (pardon me, football) is the national sport and where expectations for success are high.  I never felt that last night, for two reasons.  One is that our sense was that most of the people viewing the game at the various cafes around the piazza were tourists rather than locals.  More important was that the Azzurri never gave the crowd much to cheer for.  They appeared to be outplayed during the first half, which ended in a scoreless (or nil-nil) tie.  The Italian fortunes were severely jeopardized in the 60^th minute when a defender was given a red card following a foul, meaning that they had to play the remainder of the game with only ten.  Notorious Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez apparently bit an Italian defender (which appears to be one of his best-known moves) but didn’t get any kind of foul called just before Uruguay scored on a header with just under ten minutes remaining, crushing Italy’s hopes of advancing.  This morning accounts are describing the game as perhaps the worst of the entire cup, and the Italian manager has submitted his resignation.  

If the game was a disappointment, what happened next was a pleasant surprise.  Shelley thought she recognized someone at a nearby table.  It was Laura Inscoe, the rector of historic St. John’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, best known as the site of Patrick Henry’s famous “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech back in 1775.  Laura and Shelley served together on the Board of Crossover Ministry, and Laura was in Lucca to preside over a wedding.  We were not surprised to have a small-world experience during the trip, but didn’t expect it so soon.  Had we gone to a different café right there in the piazza, we would have never seen them.

What made it especially gratifying for Shelley was seeing someone she knew.  There have been numerous times in the past when we are somewhere and run into someone I know, including an event years ago just after we started dating where she assumed I would know no one and the first person we saw said, “Hi, Jim.”  I’m happy to let her one-up me this time.