Also when touring The Hill over the weekend, we stopped in at the Italia-America Bocce Club. I’ve never been to a bocce club before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

There are lanes, similar to a bowling alley in some ways, but carpeted. Our tour guide, Joe DeGregorio, gave us a brief overview of the sport, explaining how the scoring works, (bocce is played in frames, also like bowling), and how you determine whose turn it is to play, (it’s more complicated than simply alternating turns).

After explaining the sport, he invited a group to come out to the lane, and try it out. Guess who he picked?

The children had a great time playing. They actually did a pretty good job, (beginner’s luck?), especially given that they had never played before. In the end, the girls beat the boys, but only barely.

It was a cool looking club. They have a banquet room, which I imagine has witnessed some pretty awesome parties. There’s also a bar area off the playing floor…seems like the kind of sport where it would be fun to enjoy a beer while playing! I particularly enjoyed the stained glass windows in the club, depicting scenes from a bocce game.

I kind of wish we lived a little bit closer…I think it would be great fun to be part of a bocce league!