it's a big night

Most of France is at a standstill starting in about an hour. Not because of the strike by the bus drivers in this area (the second one in about a month) but because France plays Italy in the Euro 2008 tournament. The winner of the match moves on to the quarterfinals; the loser is finished.

France and Italy border each other (the border with Italy is about 45 minutes from Mougins) and are generally considered among the three best soccer nations in the world (along with Brazil). And they don't like each other, particularly since two years ago at the World Cup final, which is considered by the French to be a catastrophe (see above and you can read what happened here). I'm not sure I could care less about tonight's match, but Dave will surely be watching. So will everyone else.