Going Back To Brooklyn

On Wednesday, we will be going home to Brooklyn New York. Myself and 4 of the kids are visiting Mom and my family. They are so very excited. We're going to spend a few days in Pa. with my brother and his family, which we can't wait for. They also are super stoked to see their twin cousins for the very first time! My younger brother has two adorable 20 mo. old girls and the kids have been just dying to see them! They have never seen either brother's home so this is going to be a great visit. Santino did see Matthew's home, but that was 2 yrs ago and I don't know how much he remembers

What is truly amazing to me is how much my children adore my family even though we have lived in California since 1989 and the last 4 kids are natives to this state. They pick up with all of them like they just saw them the day before. I am very lucky to have such a wonderful family that extends beyond just my Mom and brothers, sister in laws and nieces. My Aunts, Uncles and cousins are so wonderful and we all get along great.

It will be nice to be home, yet bittersweet as well. There will be a big hole without my Dad. My Father grew up in the same house that myself and my brothers grew up in too. I know being there without him is going to be hard, but I am happy to be with Mom and she is looking forward to the chaos that will ensue once we are there. You can be sure there will be plenty of that with my brood!

I think we will act like tourists for this visit. We will go to the Museum of Natural History, take in Time Square, maybe even the Statue of "Littlebe" as my 21 yr old Desirae used to call it. My kids deserve to see all these iconic sites that we natives take for granted. We'll get out early and let Mom be our train guide as we take the City by storm. I'm not good with the trains at all since I never had a reason to go into the city, so I will rely on her expertice. Another thing is, we NYers never call it Manhattan, it is always the city, remember that and people will think you're a native too ;).

I will take lots of pics and I know some great lay outs will ensue. The part of Brooklyn I hale from is an Italian neighborhood called Bensonhurst, so I am going to try and take some photos that show the ethnicity of the area, I think that will be a great page. As a matter of fact, Pauly Walnuts from the Soprano's is from there as well. My Dad used to see him on 18th Ave. a lot, which is a major shopping thoroughfare in Bensonhurst. It has definitely changed since I moved to California, but I would still like to preserve the feel of the place in a lay out.

Here are just a few pics of where I'm from -

This is Aldo's, he did my brother's wedding pics. Actually he did tons of Brooklyn wedding pics. I loved to walk by and admire all the pictures in the windows of the brides. They're located on 61st and 18th Ave. We used to live right around the corner from here, last home before coming to Cali.

This is the famous Alba's Bakery. They have been bought by VillaBate Bakers who were located a couple of blocks away and it is now called VillaBate Alba's. Probably kept Alba's name in there since it is such an 18th Ave icon

Last but not least, is the fantastic Joe's Focacceria. If you want a rice ball or panelle special, this is the only place to go for it! My Grandma's house is across the street and through the school yard, so we could walk there from her house. My Dad would get the vasteda, yuck, lung. No visit home is complete without going, and yes, I will be there!