Our second full day in Connecticut was a cold and wet one. We started off by driving toward the Connecticut/New York border to meet up with an old friend of Patrick's. Patrick and Chris were college roommates freshman year and have kept in touch ever since. Chris and his wife Jess live in Maryland but were in New York visiting Jess's family. So we made it a point, at the last minute, to meet up. I'm so glad we did. It had been 4.5 years since we had since them. And although we've skyped since then, they never had actually met Madeline. What a treat it was for Chris to meet the girls. Jess was back with her parents, and Ben, their youngest, was the only child to make the trip. Still, it was such a treat to see each other and catch up, even if it wasn't their whole crew.
After lunch we headed back to Michele and John's to get ready for Lydia's birthday party. Little did I know that Michele had moved my purse with my camera. So I spent the entire party looking all over the house for it. Needless to say, I didn't get any photos. But I can tell you they had a "magical" time. At one point in the night, a magician came to perform a few tricks. The kids had a great time. Havi was too eager to copy anything they might have shouted out. It was hilarious!!! Michele baked up delicious chocolate cupcakes with ganache and also served some tasty chicken piccata.
The next day Patrick wanted to show the kids around his hometown of Bridgeport. He took us by his old church and grammar school, St. Patrick's Church AND St. Patrick's School. It's a pretty popular name I guess.
Then we went to visit his father, who is in the hospital. It was so great to visit with him and have him meet Havi. (I did take some photos of him with his grandkids but am respecting his privacy and not posting them.) Following our visit, we stopped by Patrick's childhood home. And we also visited with one of his neighbors. What a delight it was for them to finally meet our dumplings, after all these years of Christmas cards.
After all our sightseeing and touring, we eventually made our way over to the pond in Milford to feed the ducks. The dumplings had such a great time feeding them the last time we were in Connecticut. So when they knew we were heading back, they made their request to do it again. We obliged.
After feeding the ducks, it was time to feed ourselves. So we headed over to Wooster Street in New Haven for some famous Napoletana pie at Pepe's. To say that I was looking forward to this moment would be a huge understatement. This pie is the whole reason I have been trying to perfect my own pizza making at home. He set the bar high for me.
We sure do love our Napoletana pie, thin and crispy. Delish! And of course, no trip to Wooster Street would be complete without following up that pie with a tasty cannoli from Libby's, right next door. Since I have gotten into making my own ricotta cheese, I was really looking forward to a cannoli from Libby's, and it did not disappoint. I think I have to add cannoli to my list of treats to make. Nothing beats fresh ricotta cheese. Just sayin'.
Anyway, after we stuffed ourselves we headed back to the house to pack up and relax a bit. The kids had fun playing with the leaves in the front yard. But I took too many photos I want to share to even think of adding them to this already very lengthy post. So I will save them for next time.
