After my time at the NY Botanical Garden I drove over to Arthur Avenue which was about a 15 minute drive, however finding parking took almost that long. The "Little Italy" section of Arthur Avenue is in the middle of a not so safe area so it was important to find a good spot for parking. I lucked out and was right in the middle of the best area with restaurants, bakeries, pastry shops, cheese stores, etc. There is a Arthur Avenue Retail Market which is indoors and has a bit of everything, even a cigar maker at one end. There are cheeses, meats, salamis, sausages and parma hams hanging...a bit of sensory overload. There is a produce section, a section with all kinds of Italian specialties, a butcher, etc. There were tables in the center where you could sit and eat, or in my case have a cappuccino and sketch. I had a good view of the deli as well as barrels of who knows what and most of the time a variety of people ordering at the counters. Nobody bothered me and I was able to sit and sketch for about an hour and a half while I waited for my friends to arrive. Then we were off to shop at a few shops and finally we ventured into a wonderful Italian restaurant, Emilia's. I felt like I was back in Tuscany. We had lots of time to catch up and talk and were never rushed.
Here is my sketch done inside the Arthur Avenue Retail Market.
