No, of course this isn’t Spain, it’s the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  But just thinking of our next trip has put me in mind of all the lovely places I’ve been, and I’ve started looking at photos from some past trips. This trip to Italy — well, Tuscany, really — was in 2006.  We were in Pisa the day the Italian team won the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup.  The whole town of Pisa exploded into spontaneous celebration.  Cars jammed the roads for miles. Horns honking. People yelling. Singing everywhere.  Hanging out of cars…  What a blast.

World Cup fever dominated during that trip. My kids wanted to watch the games whenever possible.  In Volterra and Campoleone we sat out on the sidewalks.  One night in Arezzo, a bar-owner set up a large TV right in the park across the street and served drinks. It was like a giant party that went on for weeks.