Venice is Numero Uno! (Or is that #101??)

Venice is not an easy city to live in. But the tremendous cultural offerings and great food (which you'd be hard-pressed to find in another city of just circa 60,000 people!) make Venice number 1 for me! And apparently I'm not alone... From VeniceWord's "Buongiorno Venezia" newsletter:

"The economic daily Il Sole-24 Ore presented the usual yearly results about the quality of the life in the Italian provinces. The results for Venice are in ups and downs. Generally speaking, in comparison with 2005, the city moves up the table by sixteen places and now is forty. More particularly, Venice occup[ies] the first place for its cultural offer and exhibitions as well as the food-and-wine connoisseurship. It is located in the middle for business, health services, quality of transports and standard of living. Unfortunately, it brings up the rear as regards the public order and, above all, the cost of houses: Venice is next to last (place 101 out of 103 provinces in all)."

Wickles in Maine!!

I don't get too much occasion to food-blog when I'm not in Italy, but I just can't resist broadcasting the wonderful news! Wickles, made in Alabama and called by my folks "the world's best pickles," are being sold in Hannaford's supermarkets right here in Maine, the land of the "wicked good"!!

As their website attests,

Using a secret 70-year old family recipe differentiates Wickles products from all others... Wickles (short for "Wickedly delicious pickles!") are a unique blend of dill, garlic, and sweetness with just enough spice to keep you reaching for more.

And it's true! Southern, sweet and spicy... What more could you ask for?!

In Search of Islamic Venice...

"INSPIRED BY THE Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition 'Venice and the Islamic World, 828-179'” (see July 2007 Washington Report, p. 43), this reporter recently traveled to the canal-laden city to seek out the art, in situ, which was influenced by the Islamic world..." (more at Travel Tips: In Search of Islamic Venice)

My "Footnote to History" on MetaFilter

Poor "Michelle's Mental Clutter"! It has been a bit neglected recently... not because I have no more mental clutter, but instead cuz I've got more places I'm spreading it all around!

These days, most of my history posts are going directly up on my Facebook page (in the vain hope that my students might actually read some of them that way!) Anything super-major important I go ahead and post first on Metafilter, which is a community weblog that ranks around 50 in the world's top-read blogs (whereas my blog, ahem, is not quite that well-read!)

That just leaves my more idiosyncratic musings for MMC, usually involving strange news about Venice and Italy that filter through to me while I'm stateside... And that's why my previous blogstorm has slowed down to a trickle!

Still, I'm not ready to join the multitudes of ex-bloggers... It's just a question of there being a place for everything and everything in its place, even if it is ultimately just mental clutter!!

So, today I'm sharing here the link for my most recent post on MeFi about original historical documents available for free through "Footnote"... Footnote to History on MetaFilter. Enjoy!!