Being raised in New York City, you better believe my Italian family frequented Little Italy quite often. The music, the cannolis, the spaghetti, all reminiscent of the film, The Godfather. I could still hear the Italian music in my head when I think about it.
When we first moved to California after being in the deep south for six years, I was thrilled to learn they too had a Little Italy. Saying this is an Italian girls dream would be an understatement. I was so excited that I too would be making memories for my little ones, with cannolis of course.
San Diego’s Little Italy has so much more to do with the kids than just eating fabulous food. When my two-year-old and I are done with our mommy and me Italian class each Thursday, we like to walk over to The Firehouse Museum, which is on the same block as the Cultural Center. This museum is Free for children and they ask for a $3.00 donation for the adults. I call this the best $3.00 momma ever spent.
Inside the museum, children and adults get to see and touch firefighting memorabilia dating back 100 years. This museum was founded in 1962 and has parking for 8 cars, so the chances are you will need to be prepared for meter parking.
Another thing I love about this museum is you could book it for a party. I feel its perfect for children under five. For more information about the museum you could read about it here.
As a NY’er it was quite bitter sweet seeing a 9/11 display. The display has the actual steal from one of the towers. They also incorporated images of our heroes who perished that day on a surfboard. That is one of the coolest surfboards I have ever seen. I don’t talk about 9/11 with many, but I did lose over ten friends that day.
The Firehouse Museum is quite the adorable attraction and I am so glad my kids could dive right into their pretend jobs of being firemen. In a world full of superheroes, its the firemen that I always want my tribe to respect.
The museum is open Mon-Fri 10-2, and Saturday and Sunday from 10-4pm.