Oranje, Les Bleus, Red Devils

Dutch team colours

I'm a fair-weather futbol fan: just follow it during World Cup years -- this is one of those years -- read the newspaper stories about Portland's Timbers and Thorns, and take in whatever Sports Illustrated manages to drop into its mix.

Sports bar in Rome, May 2008

I expect we may meet a lot of fans who are more die-hard in Europe. One of our first views of Rome in 2008 was a sports bar with a crowd (about 60 people, I think) watching Catania play Roma. Similar scenes were repeated throughout our month-long trip. My memory tells me that the people at the sports bars in Florence were the most boisterous, but it's not a clear memory. We never sat down to watch a match.

As it turns out, there is a good chance teams from all three countries on our itinerary will be in it when we arrive in Paris. (As I write this, France is hammering on Switzerland 6-2.) This isn't, of course, central to our travel adventure, but it is sure to be interesting. France is doing surprisingly well, and I recently read that Paris, as if it were not enough things already, is becoming known as a city of sports fans. Our three-night home in Bruges, Hotel Navarra, set up a room specifically for taking in the action. If all goes perfectly (at least by my way of thinking), the Dutch will play in the final while we are in Amsterdam.

That's the sideshow. I'm most looking forward to walking, eating, architecture, watching people and meeting people. Eleven days until departure!