Happy New Year!

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Happy New Year from Siena! It is hard to believe that 2009 is over and that we have entered into a new decade. The last 10 years have been pretty amazing, and I can't wait to see what the next 10 have in store for us.
To celebrate the beginning of the new year we joined most of Siena for a party in the Piazza del Campo. Most of the day Thursday it had been raining pretty heavily and steadily, so we weren't sure how the Sinese would be ringing in the new year. At about 8pm, I sent Justin out into the rain to see if anything was going on. He returned only a little wet and said there were plenty of people out and about and that the rain was letting up. So a couple hours later, we decided to venture out to see what was going on. As we got nearer to the city center and the piazza, there were more people and more firecrackers going off. Once we entered the piazza, we realized that there was quite a party. The piazza was packed full of people, all enjoying live music and a panorama of images being projected onto the walls of the piazza. It was quite a site to see, on all of the 700 year old buildings. People were partying and dancing and having a good time.
Right before midnight, the clouds left the sky, clearing up instantly, so we could see the full moon and a sky full of stars. The next minute, people were cheering, kissing, poping champagne, and saying "Auguri!" to everyone. Then the fireworks started. I don't think there was an official firework show planned, but everyone seemed to have brought their own, and started lighting them in the middle of the crowd. There were fireworks going off in every direction in the piazza. It was pretty neat.
So, Happy New Year and Molti Auguri per un buon nuovo anno 2010 for all of our friends and family all over the world!