loves2travel2011
Dec 2013
I was visiting my sister in NYC and she signed us up for a Saturday morning tour of Chinatown and Little Italy. This combines my two great loves - history and food... We met the guide, Liz, in front of this grocery/market, and we had maybe ten minutes to walk around in it until the other people showed up.
It turned out to have been all girls: the guide, my sister and I, a girl (who turned out to be a travel blog writer - my dream job!) and two girlfriends.
What can I saw? I will have to read the travel blog writer's description because I am sure she is more eloquent than I am, but I can tell you that Liz is an engaging speaker, she knows the history of this place, and is able to recount stories that bring it all together - celebs, immigrants to this country, regional flavors and traditions, and interesting tidbits of information. All with a great sense of humor and a great easy going personality.
The food was great, but I do have to warn you - it will be a good 30 before your first bite... I scarfed down the mozzarella and prosciuto like there is no tomorrow, I was so hungry.
My advice to you is: don't come ravenous, eat something (SMALL, really small - like a cracker or two) before coming. Wear comfortable shoes, this is not the time to show off fancy high heels.
The tour is supposed to be three hours, but in our case it took a little longer. We never felt rushed or out of breath trying to make it to the next place, and I am not a good walker (coming from a state where you drive from your driveway to your mailbox) but even I didn't have a hard time keeping up with Liz.
She gave us plenty of time to take pictures, and most wonderful - they have a guide (that I will cherish for the next time I am in New York!) with the names of the all the restaurants we visited.
Down side: no pizza I eat will be even remotely close to the fabulous pizza we had at Grand Appetito... and those dumplings.. oh...
Although you are eating small portions, by the time we got to the 5th station (out of 7) I was already full.
You have to wait till your fifth station (a Thai restaurant) to get to the bathrooms, so keep that in mind (figure at least a couple of hours).