Instead of heading to Point Loma first thing the following day, I took the time to get some pictures around the hotel and Little Italy. Along some of the sidewalks were circular plaques inscribed with colorful sayings. The one I jotted down at the corner of Date and Columbia is an old Spanish proverb. “Las cosas claras y el chocolate espeso.” An English translation was provided:  “Ideas should be clear and chocolate thick.” This food theme was continued in another public way in Amici Park. Sculptures depicting tables with a plate of prepared food lined the street edge of the park. The one pictured at right has Blackened Fish Taco, Stuffed Artichokes and Marinara Sauce. It even provides the recipe, but if you want it you'll have to go get it yourselves; I did not write it down.

What I did write down was the name of Rose Cresci. She was the contributor of the artichoke portion of the recipe (if not the whole thing—I actually thought her name was some description of the artichoke preparation like a rosette or florette or something). As it turns out she is also quite the advocate for Little Italy. In my opinion the comeback of Little Italy seems to be progressing nicely. There is an obvious community here which made it a more attractive place to stay than down by the Grayhound Station where I stayed last trip. Here I could watch people walking their dogs, people talking with neighbors, old men playing bocci ball… well, I did not see this last thing on this latest trip, but there was a place specially constructed for bocci ball at Amici Park. You can see the corner of one lane in my picture.