After having lived here for less than one year, I have noticed the wide diversity of the region. You can be in the area of the train station in less then 10 minutes and then out in rolling open hills in 10 minutes. Given that there is more open space, I was surprised to find out how urban Poughkeepsie can be – meaning finding diversity in terms of people, places neighborhoods. We had passed the Caffé Aurora which is in the LIttle Italy section of Poughkeepsie many times but every time we wanted to stop it was not open. This Saturday (day before Easter) we walked in and found many delicacies for Easter and the feeling of an historic, Italian bakery. There were long lines of people buying their items and a raffle of a chocolate bunny about the size of a toddler. We bought a few things including a chocolate farm animal and we felt we good have been in New York or Boston, or any number of larger cities with their ethnic specialties. Go Poughkeepsie!

John Bradley

Vassar College