Elena, our tour guide, had an amazing memory of names. After a brief introduction of each other and to rest of the group, she already called us by our first names, while we were still struggling with each other ‘s. We just joined a group of 10 taking a walking, cultural and food tour (in that order). Under her skilled and subtle hands, we soon meshed together as if we had known each other for a long time. She took us on 3 mile trek along the City Hall, the old Dutch and Irish neighborhood, Chinatown, Little Italy and finally lower East Side. She told us vivid stories about things, places, and the footprints of that immigrants generations before us left in the city. Along the way, we ate sumptuous fried dumplings, fresh mozzarella on top of prosciutto, hot-off-the-oven knish, and soft baked pretzels.
Before the end of the trip, I got to learn more about Elena. A Russian beauty, she spoke accent-less English, told lively stories, and spoke fluent French, and possibly Spanish, in addition to Russian. It was such a privilege having her as our our guide. Highly recommend her if you get a chance to pick your own.