Happy New Year!

Wow! What a new year's eve party we had last night! Well, we didn't really have a party, but we did PARTY! We're in Groningen, Netherlands right now and they celebrate New Year's a little differently here in Holland. Instead of going to a bar or club or soemthing like that, they all spend time with family and friends, and then go out around 12:30 am. So, every bar and pub was closed until a half hour after the new year began! Crazy!
So, we went to the "centrum" aka the center of town. There's a big square there with a church, the town hall, shops. . . and a ferris wheel and merry-go-round. Yeah, that's right, a merry-go-round. Too funny! Think of Back to the Future and their town square. . .it looks just like that! So, people started setting off their own fireworks about fifteen minutes before midnight. And it got crazy! There were fireworks being misfired into crowds, tons of firecrackers exploding down alleyways, and to to it off. . . there was Smurfette! That's right, there were people in costume! They must have confused Halloween with New Year's or something. Let's see, we had Popeye, Spiderman, Ghostbusters, a chipmunk, a cavemen, a 50's greaser, and last but not least Smurfette! She was HOT! Nothing like ringing in the New Year by doing the "Smurf!"