Last Friday, the quote “Not all those who wander are lost” by J.R.R. Tolkien came to mind as I had about an hour between appointments. Knowing this in advance, I brought along my trusty camera and wandered through the Little Italy neighborhood of San Diego, which is only fitting since I’m 50% Italian.
The Old Fire Station #6 sits on the edge of this neighborhood.
The sun was directly behind the tower, just waiting for me to take the photo.
The building now serves as a museum.
I have mixed feelings about the semi-recently added Piazza della Famiglia.
The food court, fountain, and seating area join together for a beautiful meeting spot; at night though, the ever-changing color LED lights on the fountain look a bit tacky.
A bit further down is the Piazza Basilone, with its tiled globe and fountain.
The Piazza Basilone was created in November of 2003 to honor GySgt John Basilone and the “Boys That Never Came Home” from the wars in the 20th century. From the Little Italy website:
GySgt John Basilone was a United States Marine Gunnery Sergeant who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Guadalcanal during World War II. He was the only enlisted Marine in World War II to receive both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. He served three years in the United States Army with duty in the Philippines before joining the Marine Corps in 1940. After attending training, Basilone deployed to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the Solomon Islands and eventually to Guadalcanal where he held off 3,000 Japanese troops after his 15-member unit was reduced to two other men. He was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of Iwo Jima, after which he was posthumously honored with the Navy Cross. He has received many honors including being the namesake for streets, military locations and a United States Navy destroyer.
Near the roof of the Civico 1845 restaurant one finds this interesting face nestled in the fake greenery. He’s looking straight ahead to avoid the plastic that surrounds him.
Did I take a selfie in the “That’s Amore” chair? What do you think?
Brunch was at the Farmer’s Table restaurant near the Piazza della Famiglia.
If you are craving dry french toast that tastes like it was leftover from the week before, this might be the place for you. Thankfully, the cocktails were good.
See more Little Italy in San Diego photos at my main website.
Great post. I don't drive this route often but a month ago passed this way. I couldn't recall if I'd ever seen that street blocked off by the permanent farmer's market. I feel bad but I didn't even know about Piazza Basilone until now. Thanks again for spotlighting an important monument in San Diego. Sorry to hear how the meal went this this is starting to be the new trend. "How awful can we make it but still get away with it?" On that same trip of mine a month ago we stopped in at the Shakespeare Pub and Grille. I realize it's trendy to makes jokes about how bad British food is but theirs was especially terrible. Fish as dry and hard to eat as shoe leather. Absolutely no flavor in anything, as if a special process were used to extract flavor from meats and potatoes that ordinarily would have had some. Those bread sticks of yours would have gone good with that.
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