Weekend Update

Anna Romagnoli

This past weekend was the end of our spring break at Fordham. I spent this last week in West Palm Beach, FL with my two roommates. It was great to relax, enjoy the warm weather and spend time at the beach. Now that we are back, we are excited to enjoy spring and the rest of our last semester at Fordham!

My roommate and me enjoying the beautiful weather

Erica Restaino

Over Spring Break, I went on a Gabelli School of Business Study Tour to Santiago, Chile! In addition to exploring the city, we attended lectures at a Chilean Jesuit University and visited several companies. Since the Chilean economy is largely connected to its copper export, one of our visits was to Codelco's El Teniente Copper Mine, which is the largest copper mine in the world. It was quite the experience to go into a copper mine and see how the whole mining process works from start to finish. After the cold winter at Fordham, it felt so great to spend a week in the sun and the heat!

Some of us in all our mining gear

Danielle Smith

While I was sad to see Spring Break end I was happy to get back to Fordham to see my friends. Before my parents headed back home after dropping me off at school we stopped at Palumbo Bakery on Arthur Avenue for delicious pastries!

We love all the colorful treats

Ferragosto on Arthur Ave: NYC’s “real” Little Italy

This past Sunday was a special day on Arthur Ave as the area celebrated Ferragosto, an annual festival.  Ferragosto is a centuries-old Italian tradition that recognizes the end of the harvest with the consumption of the fruits of the labor.  Several blocks of the Avenue were closed to cars and opened for local vendors to set up shops along the street.

The crowded streets during Ferragosto 

I was quickly overwhelmed by the options for food but also impressed by the variety and quality of it all.  Along the street, there were people selling handmade pastas, fresh raw oysters, all kinds of breads, freshly roasted coffee, stuffed clams, and many types of cookies and pastries, not to mention the choices for pizza.  Also, restaurants along the street added outdoor seating and were serving from their menu.  It was difficult to decide what I wanted to eat, but I soon found myself in line for sausage, pepper, and onion sandwiches.

One of the many markets on the street

Another vendor selling Italian specialties

After eating, I continued walking down Arthur Ave and saw some of Ferragosto’s other offerings, including handmade cigar rolling, wine tastings, and several musical artists performing live.  Although it was crowded, I very much enjoyed spending the day taking in the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the festival.  And while perhaps not every trip to the “real” Little Italy of New York City is quite as entertaining as it was on Sunday, I feel very fortunate that the Italian restaurants and specialty shops open every day on that street are less than a 5 minute walk from my home at Rose Hill.

Vendors cooking food right on Arthur Ave.

Blog By: Brendan Burke