A person cannot find something unbelievable in this world while they are looking for it. The wonderful things and places will choose to find you when you least expect it.
The sun was just setting on a warm Friday night and i had just met my sister Nicole, her boyfriend Frank and my boyfriend Dan at Grand Central Station. We had no plan, or idea of what to do for the night. We just knew two things: We were excited, and we were hungry. Dan asked me what i was in the mood for and my answer became the theme of the entire night, Italian.
Before we knew it we were wondering around little Italy at night. Green, white and red lights arched over the streets giving off an enchanting glow. I remember having this nostalgic feeling of once again being a child at a carnival with the whole night ahead of me. My heritage is mostly Italian but for tonight, while i was here, i was 100% and more proud of it then i had ever been. Nicole and I slowly walked down the street; the aroma of authentic Italian food no doubt reminded both of us of our Grandmothers kitchen. We suggested the name of each restaurant to our boyfriends with fake and exaggerated accents. Although we passed a dozen places that would have been suitable, we kept walking to be sure that we were not missing an extraordinary one a little further up the road. Finally hunger stopped us all in front of an amazing little pizza place on the corner.
We chose a table outside so we could continue to take in the unbelievable atmosphere. As I watched the people walking by, smiling contently, i felt connect to each and every one of them because we were all experiencing this place together. I noticed the sign on the corner "Mulberry Street." My mind flooded with memories from my high school Crime and Violence class. Mr. Beler had chosen to dedicate most of the semester discussing the historical gangs and people of New York and he continually mentioned this street in particular. All of a sudden the history of where i was overtook me, i imagined that i had just gotten off a boat from Italy, The way some of my grandparents had, it would have most likely been this neighborhood that my family and i flocked to. Perhaps a distant relative of mine lived on this very street. I felt even more connected to this place then i had before.
When the pizza came it made every pizza I have ever had seem inferior. We all ate until we felt intoxicated. Afterwards, we wondered around more, noticing many novelty jewelry shops and places to buy useless nick-nacks. Dan and Frank both felt as if they had to have just about everything they saw in these places. Suddenly, we noticed the time, it was nearly 1AM and trains stop running at 2. We quickly picked up a box of cannoli’s to-go, and we all rode the train back to Connecticut together. During the long ride home I snuck a cannoli as everyone snoozed. The taste carried me right back to Little Italy, and i realized that without even looking I had discovered my favorite neighborhood in New York City.
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