September 10, 2018 - Bronx Little Italy Ferragosto Fun in the Rain and Cycling in the Tour de Tahoe

Elisa's Daily Scoop 
Covering Long Island & NYC Boroughs 
CURRENTLY IN:  THE BRONX, NYC
​NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 104 DAYS

Bronx Little Italy Ferragosto Fun in the Rain

Hello!  It's Monday again and the start of a new week!!  Wow, have we had a huge amount of rain over the past few days here in the NY-area!

Yesterday was no exception either.  While my dear "baby" cousin was pedaling herself silly in the Tour de Tahoe, me and my trio headed to the Bronx for the annual Ferragosto in Little Italy.

Arthur Avenue, the Bronx (c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

For over 15 years, the folks in Little Italy have been celebrating this time honored, centuries old Italian tradition, which is a festival observed at the end of the harvest season.

Nowadays, the merchants of Arthur Avenue come together each September to create a day of festivities which includes music, fun activities and an opportunity for the community and beyond to enjoy food and drinks from the neighborhood restaurants, as well as a close-up view of local merchandise vendors.

(c) travelincousins.com

Anyone who has followed our blog for the nearly past five years, knows all too well that inclement weather never deters me or Tanya from our travel and visiting plans.

Well, yesterday was no exception.  The rain was coming down pretty hard on Saturday, here on Long Island and the surrounding area, and, as predicted, it was still pretty darn wet out yesterday morning.

As planned, me and my girls, got dressed, brought along our rain gear and headed north over the Throgs Neck Bridge to the Belmont section of one of our favorite boroughs - the Bronx!

​With the Ferragosto beginning at 12noon, the plan was to leave the house by 10:30.  Even though it only takes a little over thirty-five minutes (with no traffic) from Garden City to Arthur Avenue, I wanted to play it safe and get there early, as parking is not always easy to come by.

Boy, am I glad we left when we did because things were starting to get congested when we arrived, nearly a half hour before the official kick-off.

Cigars anyone? (c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

Angelo posing for a picture with all his great apparel (c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

​The overall mood was upbeat and sunny, from both the local merchants as well as the attendees.  Except for the water everywhere, one would never guess that people were out and about, enjoying themselves on such a gray and rainy day!

Our first purchase was not food. Seeing Italian-themed apparel, the girls were both excited and insistent on getting "ITALIA" tee shirts.  Angelo helped us with our purchase, striking up friendly conversation and posing for a picture.

With their new duds, we made our way along the street, taking in the aroma from the numerous and varied Italian food offerings, whisked away by the sounds of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra standards playing (and performed!) outside the storefronts, and of course, the friendly banter of folks meandering along Arthur Avenue.

​It's amazing how happy and friendly people are when they are doing what they love!  No amount of rain was able to diminish the smiles and warmth of the vendors, who had their own set of challenges, under the tents lining Arthur Avenue.

Bought a wonderfully delicious Ginormous Rainbow cookie from Morrone Pastry Shop! (c) travelincousins.com

My ginormous rainbow cookie (c) travleincousins.com

Similarly to the Arthur Avenue vendors, I absolutely love what I do - traveling and visiting different destinations and always meeting new people all the time, and so, getting caught in the downpour, only added to the adventure of my day!

As we headed onward, we came upon a sweets table filled with cookies and my faves - RAINBOW COOKIES!! My eyes zoomed in on them and we walked away with a ginormous rainbow cookie from Morrone Pastry Shop!!

​Fresh, moist and rich in flavor, I really tried to keep it to myself, but alas, my kids didn't allow that to happen!!
​
Next, we were led by our noses to Little Italy in the Bronx Marinara Sauce booth, where samples of penne in their authentic tomato sauce were generously being handed out.  Piping hot, very al dente (the way I like my pasta!), this was a great way for three Italian girls to start their eating fest!
(well, after the rainbow cookie of course).

(c) travelincousins.com

Enjoying my penne (c) travelincousins.com

While chatting with Mike about their sauce, a huge deluge of water from the tent fell on my head! (insert hysterical laughter). Thank goodness I was wearing a baseball cap under my slicker hood, which completely protected my face! Would not have been a pretty sight with smudged mascara!

Anyway, I was thrilled to learn that their sauce is not only organic, but vegan as well!  I'll be talking more about this product in the near future! ​

Having fun in the rain (c) travlelincousins.com

​Walking along in the rain, we stopped by Enzo's Restaurant and walked away with some sandwiches - fried chicken cutlet with broccoli rabe for me and Kelsey (I took all her broccoli rabe) and fried meatball for Gianna. 

If you are not terribly familiar with broccoli rabe, you should know that this delicate green can taste differently depending on where you get it.  If it is not cooked properly, it can be pretty bitter and nasty.  Well, Enzo's broccoli rabe was cooked to perfection, having been sautéed in olive oil, it tasted amazing!  Wow!  And the bread was fresh, soft on the inside, crispy on the outside.

Enzo's Restaurant booth (c) travelincousins.com

Enjoying their sandwiches (c) travelincousins.com

​Video taken near Enzo's

Not to brag, but I'm pretty much a pro when it comes to touring in the rain and handling picture taking.  However, the more we walked, the more we were accumulating bags (tee shirts, left over sandwiches, rainbow cookies) and combined with the rain, holding an umbrella and keeping our trio together, it was a bit of a challenge.  

The paper bags were getting wet and I had to roll them and put them in my slicker pockets.  It was an interesting look!

​In any case, we walked the full length of the fair, really enjoying the music along the way and the singing from the very talented entertainment at Pasquale's Rigoletto Restaurant.

My girls battling the rain (c) travelincousins.com

One of our long-time faves on Arthur Avenue - Dominicks (c) travelincousins.com

(CLICK HERE for more about Dominicks)

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

Pasquale's Rigoletto's Restaurant (c) travelincousins.com

Video for your listening pleasure...

Beautiful Stage and seating set up for opera singer and other entertainment (c) travelincousins.com

There was also a stage set up mid-way down Arthur Avenue, arranged with rows of seating, which, were unfortunately, mostly empty, due to the downpour, but on stage was an opera singer, whose voice could be heard for blocks - just beautiful!

As we doubled back towards 187th Street, from where we originally entered, Kelsey spied a table full of bread!  Yes, her favorite food! And of course, she had to sample it!  Thumbs up, according to her.

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

Our very last stop and food purchase on Arthur Avenue was for Zeppoles!  You cannot go to any Italian feast without getting these fried dough all-time faves.  Holy Moly were these huge zeppoles from Marie's fried to perfection and YUMMY!!!

Needless to say, we didn't finish anything and had "round 2" at home later on.

Last but not least - Zeppoles! (c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

We couldn't leave Little Italy without stopping in to say hello to our friends at Borgatti's Ravioli and Pasta Shop.  

It was hoppin' in there!  We managed to get a few pounds of Cavatelli and say hi to everything including Christopher.  

CLICK HERE to read: Borgatti's Ravioli and Egg Noodles - 83 Years Strong!

(c) travelincousins.com

Me and Tanya with Christopher Borgatti during our visit in July 2018 (c) travelincousins.com

Great way to spend a Sunday!!

In Travel News...
My next extended trip is scheduled for December to Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic, as you may recall from previous blogs, CLICK HERE for Elisa's Spontaneous Trip.

However, we do have some fun daycations planned in the weeks ahead.

September has our Washington & Hamilton Walking Tour, as well as Queens Night Market.

And of course, as this is Kelsey's Birthday week, (official birthday on Friday, September 14th), we'll be making some impromptu plans for this coming weekend, including a birthday dinner for my girl at Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas.

More to come tomorrow folks!!
Have a great one!
-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop 
Covering the West Coast & the World
​CURRENTLY IN: SACRAMENTO, CA​
​NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 4 DAYS

Cycling in the Tour de Tahoe

HEYA FOLKS!

This weekend took me from the OC to Sacramento to Lake Tahoe and BAAACK. So I guess you can say that this was indeed yet another of Travelin' Tanya's whirlwind weekends!!

While I still need to fill in the blanks for yesterday's Daily Scoop - which of course focuses on the previous day.
Today I will focus on yesterday and the reason for this trip - cycling in the Tour de Tahoe.

Choosing to stay at the Lake Tahoe Hard Rock Hotel for this biking weekend (yet again - because it just makes the most sense), since the resort also hosts the event and welcomes the Tour de Tahoe cyclists. 

Bike the West is the event coordinator and puts on this ride as well as the America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride (in the Spring). But the ride starts and finishes at the Hard Rock Hotel and Resort.

So staying right there means not having to wake up even earlier than we have to anyhow. LOL

In fact on that note, Dave had made me laugh yesterday when he mentioned how he can't wait until Tuesday morning when he can sleep in until 6:30am!  
And I totally get it. Our mornings as of late have hardly even been qualified as mornings. I'm certainly more accustom to these hours still being a part of the previous day.  

Anyhow anyhow anyhow, it may have been dark out but I was bright eyed and bushy tailed.

I had donned my new cycling shorts (which I was really hoping would do the job at hand and protect my under carriage from the immense soreness that a bad pair of shorts along with lots of miles pedaling could attribute to.

I was also wearing my new racing shirt - albeit it is a downhillers shirt but I really took a liking to it and this was my choice outfit of the day.

But considering that it was only in the 30's Fahrenheit outside, I needed to pack on a few more layers so I wouldn't freeze out there on the ride.

We also needed to fuel up with a good and healthy breakfast. 

On Saturday on our way up to Lake Tahoe  we had stopped by a Whole Foods in Sacramento for some snacks, energy bars, electrolyte replacers and breakfast foods for the morning ride which consisted of cold pressed fresh juices - I chose a Cantaloupe and Lime blend which was mighty tasty, while Dave opted for a Pineapple Ginger which he enjoyed.

We also had some fresh cut watermelon, an Almond milk based yogurt and some heart healthy, nutritious and protein packed oatmeal.

Once it was light outside and we were about ready to head down, we had peeked outside on the balcony to find that the parking lot (yeah I know - great view! lol) had filled up with cars, lots of bike racks and athletes all heading to the start line.

And that is where we were heading next.

Down to the lobby to pick up our stored bikes from the valet and then to fill the chill before the burn!

With no official start time and intervals leaving every 15 minutes (and even in between that) from 6:30am - 7:30am we took a few pics and were on our way.

Now the Tour de Tahoe is quite similar if not identical to the spring ride America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride and if you recall - and possibly only our long time followers will remember. Dave and I had ventured up to Tahoe back in 2015 to pedal in the America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride...

They offer a 35 mile (which is really 36.5 miler), a 72 mile and a 100 mile ride. But what made this ride oh so much more unique was that the 35 miler came with a boat ride to the other side of the lake.

However back in 2015 we were informed that the water levels were too low to get the Tahoe Queen - a big ol' paddle boat into the shallow north port.
​So instead they just shuttled us in buses to Kings Beach from where we had started back in 2015.

​Here's a clip of what I posted back in May 26th, 2015:

To say that we were disappointed would be an understatement, but we carried along and pedaled to the finish line - on Mountain Bikes have you know. Because ALL of the road cycles were all on reserve to the riders who had planned in advance and mountain bikes were all that the bike shop could offer.

This is how it went back in 2015:

Pushing and Pedaling - June 7th, 2015

What a Weekend - June 8th, 2015

​We figured that we'd give it another try in 2016...
But guess what - the boat needed repairs and had caught on fire during such repairs and thus of course that part of the ride was again cancelled.
​So we cancelled our 2016 ride all together.

In 2017 it just wasn't in the cards (ya know the schedule) and we opted to try again in 2018. 
Well we just so happened to be busy during the America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride - we were in Europe. 

But then there was Tour de Tahoe and another boat being used to take a limited number of cyclists across the lake to Carnelian Bay to start their ride.

So we pedalled to the South Shore Docks and eventually boarded the Tahoe Paradise for a 2.5 hour ride to the North Shore.

Of course I snapped away before, during and after the boat ride...

At the South Shore (c)travelincousins.com

Still waters in the morning (c)travelincousins.com

Waiting for our boat (c)travelincousins.com

Getting closer to our time of departure (c)travelincousins.com

Here comes the Tahoe Paradise (c)travelincousins.com

The Tahoe Paradise (c)travelincousins.com

Push off (c)travelincousins.com

We opted to a table indoors since it was still mighty chilly (c)travelincousins.com

Cutting through the waters (c)travelincousins.com

It's warming up (c)travelincousins.com

Tahoe (c)travelincousins.com

Arriving at the North Shore (c)travelincousins.com

The North Shore (c)travelincousins.com

Time to walk the bikes off of the boat (c)travelincousins.com

Ready to pedal (c)travelincousins.com

I love all of the trees and fresh mountain air (c)travelincousins.com

Cycling along (c)travelincousins.com

Beautiful (c)travelincousins.com

Pack of cyclists (c)travelincousins.com

So very pretty (c)travelincousins.com

The ride was going exceptionally well. The shorts were working great, our Vega electrolyte supplement was doing it's job. 

But I was still dreading the climb to the Spooner Summit at 7,146'. 

Lo and behold with all of the minor adjustments for this ride actually made the climb that much easier and less of a drag. I'm not saying that it was easy by any means. But it was definitely less painful. LOL

And once we reached the summit I needed to make use of a port-a-potty and while there opted to chow down a piece of banana for more energy since we still had another 16 miles to go.

Munching on my banana (c)travelincousins.com

After the Spooner Summit I had put my camera away until the finish line, which we happened to do SO MUCH better than last time. I was stoked!

Woo hoo! (c)travelincousins.com

We did it! (c)travelincousins.com

Kissing my medal (c)travelincousins.com

Biting my medal (c)travelincousins.com

Peace out (c)travelincousins.com

Until next time! (c)travelincousins.com

Photo opp (c)travelincousins.com

Good Bye Hard Rock (c)travelincousins.com

Once we wrapped everything up, we were planning to go get some smoothies and wheat grass juice, then head to Emerald Bay before our drive back to Sacramento. BUT the valet LOST OUR CAR!!!

Yup you read that correctly. The valet at the Hard Rock Hotel LOST OUR CAR!

The valet could not find our rental and had to involve the security team in the search.

Dave went with the security team and all in all after about 40 minutes of searching and waiting, they finally located our car and we could be on our way.

Selfie time Emerald Bay (c)travelincousins.com

Emerald Bay (c)travelincousins.com

Emerald Bay (c)travelincousins.com

Emerald Bay (c)travelincousins.com

Emerald Bay (c)travelincousins.com

Well folks there you have it, another successful WHIRLWIND WEEKEND brought to you by Travelin' Tanya!

Now I have to run, soooooo much to do today and before we leave for Hawaii.

I'm outta here,
-Travelin' Tanya