So did Bruce know if or when Alfred was going to show up? He just happened to be there? I think Bruce took Selena to Italy and made her sit with him and wait 24/7 just in case Alfred showed up.
Alfred: Remember when you left Gotham? Before all this, before Batman? You were gone seven years. Seven years I waited, hoping that you wouldn't come back. Every year, I took a holiday. I went to Florence, there's this cafe, on the banks of the Arno. Every fine evening, I'd sit there and order a Fernet Branca. I had this fantasy, that I would look across the tables and I'd see you there, with a wife and maybe a couple of kids. You wouldn't say anything to me, nor me to you. But we'd both know that you'd made it, that you were happy. I never wanted you to come back to Gotham. I always knew there was nothing here for you, except pain and tragedy. And I wanted something more for you than that. I still do.
Bruce knows where he goes and when he goes (it would literally take 30 seconds to check the manor's paperwork to check when Alfred's holidays were). "Hey, waiter, does a British older gentleman order this exact thing every night? Great, when does he come? Great, thanks, see you later tonight, reserve this table for me."
