New Year's Celebrations -- The Best

The Best: Bologna, Italy (2002)

I was on a week's tour of Italy with my two friends/colleagues, M and O (both Japanese boyz). We had traveled by rail from Rome to the Vatican to Florence to Pisa to Venice to Milan to Palma (and finally!) to Bologna -- all in 6 days!!! My travel buddies, in their typical "Japanese tourist" style, had bought a travel guide, a rail pass (under a friends guidance), and created a list of cities to see, sites to visit, photos to take....

I was really tired by new year's eve.

So what's in Bologna? Why was our week-long, fun packed journey ending there? The answer, dear readers, is that our flight back to Tokyo was out of Bologna. Nothing else. We had a cheap flight that took us to Rome via Amsterdam and back to Tokyo from Bologna. Unfortunately the Japanese guide book was a bit thin on Bologna so my friends decided to go off to Milan (again) to do some shopping on our last day.

I decided to have some "fun" and leave the boyz to their shoping; I looked around to see what was in Bologna on Dec. 31st. Bologna, just like most Italian cities, has LARGE buildings. I think the Romans thought "the bigger the better", and that philosophy has been handed down thru generations of Italian architects, for I felt like Guliver in Brobdingnag walking thru the wide streets of Bologna. I went to the local tourist information centre, and asked them what I could do in the city of giant buildings. "Why? You are here on the best day of the year. We have the New Year's celebrations. Bologna has the *best* new year's celebration in ALL of Italy!" was the response that I got from the mustachioed, smiling gentleman who was giving me tourist information on Bologna.

Hmmm.... New year's celebration, huh? In a city named after the most famous spaghetti sauce in the world (Bolognese)?? This could be interesting!!

Once my "shopaholic" friends returned from their spree in Milan (I don't know how they did it!!!) I told them about the potential for some fun during this evenings' celebrations, and that we should purchase some fireworks sold on the streets in various locations around the city.

As soon as dawn came upon the city (around 5pm) we started hearing "booms" left, right, and anywhere from our hotel rooms. The deep barritone shook our bodies, almost like the sound of cannons being fired in the distance. I called up the front desk to ask what was going on: "presto, presto, sinorita. We finish presto, yes? Pericoloso!! Dangerous!!! Stay in room. Prego. Prego..."

OK, in that case I want to get out with the crowd!!! Prego!!

My two friends and I went to the nearest off-license to buy some booze so we could get some drinks to celebrate the coming of the new year: 2002!! WOW!!

Italians are very "latin" and passionate people. They not only like big buildings, but they also like loud *bangs*. I cannot count how many shops had their shutters down by the time we passed them at 5:30pm, nor can I count the numbers of McDonald's and fast food stores that the locals were throwing *live* firecrackers into the establishment. On the way to the main piazza, my champagne swinging (lightweight) friends and I had to avoid several fire crackers thrown in our pathways, while the locals pissed themselves laughin' from a distance, as if to say:"hehe, fuck the tourists!!"

We laughed. And they laughed.

We eventually got to the main piazza (after several detours to procure alcohol and made "friends" along the way) around 11pm. There was a band in the piazza on the main stage playing something in Italian -- couldn't tell you what they were singing for the likes of me! I would estimate that there were nearly 5,000 people crammed in a small town square watching some Eurotrash band perform "rock", leading up to the new year. People were drinking, smoking dope, n' throwing fire crackers at people's feet, stores, up in the air -- anywhere(!) -- for they were having the times of their life. It was a party day, and damn it, they were going to *party*, whatever happened!

Damn it!

As we started to go thru the countdown, the three of us, by which time were soaked to our bone marrow with champagne, beer, wine, cidre, and any form of alcohol falling from the skies at that time, managed to hook up with 4 stoned Italian teenagers who were passing round the "dutchie, 'pon da left hand side" (so to speak....)

"pass de dutchie 'pon da left hand side"

We shouted from the top our lungs in unity: "dieci, nove, otto, sette, sei, cinque, quattro....." the only Italian that we remembered from our travel guides -- once again we were united thru the universal language of the soul in those moments leading up to the begining of 2002 and the precious moments that followed...

WHOA!!!! FELICIDAD! HAPPY NEW YEAR!! (booming firecrackers /arms(?) in the background....)

That day I don't know how many people I hugged, how many people I wished "happy new year" in a language they probably didn't understand, how many people I shared a bottle of champers, or a joint for that matter. I saw many "happy" italian locals, elderly and young, in the piazza -- they were celebrating the begining of 2002 like there was no tomorrow. Yeah, I saw many injuries (people were throwing bottles of 1664's up in the air that landed on their drunken head causing serious cuts, bruises, and maybe lost eyes. But it was fun tho!), had loads of fireworks thrown under my feet (for a joke), and people jumping up and down celebrating the new year. But it was FUN!!

Fuck, it was a special day? Right?

I will never forget Bologna. We checked out of the hotel at 6am, called a taxi, only to get to the airport before it opened. (everyone was on celebratory mode, right?) We sat in the lobby talking about how cold, but fun it was the night before, and talked to fellow travellers about the wonders and sights of Bologna. (or the lack thereof)

If I was ever given a choice to celebrate new years eve in Bologna again, I will "defo" take up the offer!!!

Again, and again, and again...