Meet one friend, get one local guide for free

China Town and Little Italy; 2 areas I visited in the past but that I was keen to explore again. To avoid talking to myself and going gaga I decided to share the day with a French tourist who was spending 3 months in the city. It was the first time we met and one of the first things she told me was that she just found an iPhone on a bench in a park and was wondering if I would call the number (as she didn’t have a US phone). I was slightly surprised/reluctant at first - not very common to find an iPhone on the street… After a few hours walking around and chatting she reminded me about the phone - by this time I had already forgotten about it but I was definitely keen to help.

Two numbers were displayed on the lock screen, I took my chances with the first one and got a really nice American woman telling me it was her friend’s phone and she asked if I could call the friend.  She also took the occasion to tell me at least 5 times how awesome I was. The second call was to the friend, the supposed phone owner. It was a success, we quickly came to an agreement to meet in 15 minutes in front of a donut shop.

I was really happy and relieved to know that we would give back the phone and carry-on our walk. That was the plan before Jeanne arrived. A lovely lady, walking fast and feeling slightly out of breath landed in front of us; immensely grateful for her phone.  She wanted to offer us a lunch, we refused, then an offer of donuts - we’d just had one while waiting for her - then a tip that we also refused - and finally she proposed to take us on a tour - accepted! Strolling along the streets, Grand Street then Bowery Street, from China Town to Soho, telling us her story as well as a potted history of NYC. We heard about the decline of Little Italy, the massive extension of China Town, about Portuguese immigration and how the area was transformed. She has been living in the area for 48 years… We spent the entire afternoon with her, absorbing fascinating tales from a local.