The Little Italy Experience

While living in new York City, my roommate Mickele and I have been trying to experience something new each day. We want to get the full City experience and do not want to be stuck in the Upper East Side and midtown for the whole year. While trying to decide where to visit for the blog assignment, I wanted to pick a part of the city that I had never been to before. We had heard that there was an Italian festival going on in the streets of Little Italy last weekend. Neither of us had ever been there, so we thought it would be the perfect time to explore that section of the city.

Around four o'clock in the afternoon, Mickele and I hopped on the subway and ventured down town towards Little Italy. This section of the city was much different from anything I had ever seen in New York City before. All of the streets were closed off for the festival and the streets were packed with tourists shopping for bargains, Italian chefs selling their freshly made pastries, and college kids, like ourselves, trying to experience everything the city has to offer. The streets were covered in red, white and green decoration. italian culture was throwing itself at us. All of the buildings were made of brick and were no more than five stories tall. I felt as if I really was walking through the streets of Italy. The smell of garlic bread and sizzling pasta filled the air. The intriguing smells made our stomachs rumble, so we decided to stop at one of the many Italian restaurants that lined the streets. We chose this one particular restaurant because the Italian men that worked there were exceptionally friendly and did not hesitate to converse with us. This is somthing new that I had never experienced in New York City before. Usually waiters or waitresses are in a rush and do not take the time to have a conversation with their customers. But these men spent several minutes asking us about where we were from and telling us where the best gelato shops were. As we ate our authentic, Italian pasta dishes at one of the outside table, a large Italian man with a chef's hat on strolled by. he was singing Italian opera at the top of his lungs. It felt as if I were an extra in a scene from an Italian movie. As he passed, the people sitting at the outdoor tables of the restaurants applauded. It was such a rare experience. After dinner, we finished off our experience in Little Italy with some creamy, pistachio gelato from the shop that the men at the restaurant had suggested to us. We also got some authentic cannolis from on of the stands on the street to take home with us.

I was so glad that I was able to explore Little Italy. It is now one of my favorite parts of the city and I hope to go back there again soon. The picture at the top of the screen is of Mickele and me in the street of Little Italy. Behind us you can see the incredible decorations and the quaint buildings that line the streets there.