"Auguri! " and Happy New Year..from Rome

The Piaza di Spagna --The Spanish Steps -- now jammed with holiday revelers. The flower and keychain and handbag salesguys now have tables covered with bottles of beer, wine, champagne, foccaccia, sandwiches, an other goodies for sale. Most drinking here seems to occur with meals, so public drunkeness is rare and frowned upon. Tonight, drinkers are everywhere, as are fireworks. The Spanish Steps, still alight with the Christmassy "Light of Freedom" in honor of the victims of kidnapping worldwide, are filled with revelers wearing blinking light headgear and other paraphernalia..

After visiting the Steps we returned to our apartment to celebrate the New Year together. At midnight, the fireworks started. Explosions, lights, and sparkling all over this wonderful, crazy city. Strangers wishing each other "Auguri" which translates somewhere between "good luck, "good fortune" and "congratulations." Like wishing a good "augur" of future fate and fortune. THis city is at once enormously religious and pagan at the same time. A crowd of uniformed high ranking polizia and carbineri officials hurried down the street accompanying a city official in a suit. But the crowd drinking and shooting fireworks received no comment. New Years in Rome, We are together again as a family, so far from New York, but after a couple of weeks, beginning to feel strangely at home ere.

It is New Years in Rome. The eternal city ticks off another year. Happy New Year ! Auguri !