Sunday, May 2, 2010

Day 72: Buffalo


This afternoon we drove an hour and 45 minutes east to Buffalo NY.
The kids were very excited to see the American flag flying and signs with miles instead of kilometers.
We visited Nick's uncle and aunt, two of their children (Nick's cousins) and their granddaughter who is Emma's age.
Nick's uncle is 71 years old and has lived in the same Italian neighborhood (two different houses) his entire life. This fall they are leaving the neighborhood to live in Florida.

(picture of a picture) Nick's Grandpa and Grandma Stincelli and Nick's cousin Tony. Do you see a little bit of Ethan here?

They were very welcoming, even though they had never met any of us. We ate spaghetti with homemade sauce and meatballs as big as tennis balls. So delicious. In true Italian style they kept wanting to feed us more. And more. And more. Then dessert. "You's guys need more? You's want somethin' else? Hey Ma, get out the junk food!"
I cannot believe that after salad, all that spaghetti, cake and brownies, the kids were still able to put away two bags of chips!
We had a very nice time talking and walking around the neighborhood. It was interesting to hear about the old days, and sad to see how much the area is declining as all the original families die out or move away.
  
Original Stincelli family home. They didn't want us to go too close because now that grandma is dead, "colored people" live there(!)





And here we are, safely back in Canada :)

4 comments:

  1. Holy %$&! Ethan's doppelganger!

    Glad you guys took a little road trip. Good for the soul. That looks so much like the neighborhood I was born in in Massachusetts. Immigrant town with people from the same background all huddled together.


    Word Verification: mulato I kid you not!!!

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  2. Oh. My. Gosh. He looks EXACTLY like Ethan!

    I had a great aunt from Philadelphia. She was Italian, and she fed us exactly as you are describing. Even showing up unannounced, you could expect a feast to magically appear within minutes and after 3 or 4 or 5 courses she would still be apologizing about having no food in the house.

    Looks like a fun little trip "home". :)

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  3. The last picture brought back memories. I was born in Detroit, and my mother and I often drove into Canada to "walk-a-bout" as she used to call it. Thanks for sharing, Roland {You have a lovely blog and family.}

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