change of plans

Zelia bought a Groupon months ago and today we are using it.  The confirming email she received reads in part:

Zelia, you've been approved for 2 people for a "walk n' talk"

with one of our soldiers for the Little Italy Chinatown Gangsters tour on September 20th at 2pm.

The tour starts on the corner of Mulberry and Worth streets at the southeast corner of Columbus Park in Lower Chinatown by the

tables and benches.

I throw my small Lumix camera into my tote, expecting to get pictures of famous murder sites.

We arrive a the appointed place just minutes after two, despite having gotten off one subway stop too early and then having to run to be there before the tour leaves.  

Except there is no tour.  Instead, we find two ladies who don’t look like they are there for any kind of walking, and two men relaxing nearby.

We check the spot several times.  We call and leave messages.  Nothing. 

But it’s a beautiful summery day, and it’s Zelia’s birthday.  So after waiting twenty minutes, we leave.

We pass through Chinatown, where blueberries are $1.50 a box and jumbo wild shrimp are half the price they are in Agata.  Then there are the exotic fruits.  I can’t imagine what they taste like, but they look beautiful.

The Feast of San Gennaro occupies Little Italy; it appears that most New Yorkers are there.  There's no good reason to add two more. 

We have a quick lunch ($7 total) at a place called The Corner in Kenmare Square; this, too, is overcrowded with people (inside and out). It's three in the afternoon and there's a 45-minute wait for a table.

Zelia gets an ear of grilled corn and I get a chicken taco to go.  We eat at a park across the  

 street; our lunch is totally satisfying.

We walk some more.  Through Soho, up to the Flat Iron district.  On the way we pass another street fair, shop for some furniture (for Zelia, not me), and even observe an escaped crab on the street.

We walk seven miles (assuming my Nike Fuel Band is accurate). 

Zelia eventually gets an email from the tour people, apologizing for their screw-up.  We’ll just have to reschedule for another weekend.

But a long walk on a beautiful day in a fascinating city with a good friend is still, a very nice way to celebrate one’s birthday. Probably even better than musing over old murders.