I’m pleased to be hosting the Carnival of Cities on The Gooseberry Fool for the first time. Since this is a food blog, I was especially keen for posts with a culinary connection and I wasn’t disappointed. I hope you enjoy this week’s menu.

* Gray at SoloFriendly on great Thai restaurants in her hometown of Burlington in Vermont. It makes me hungry just thinking about it! We are blessed with great Thai in my home town of Sydney but sadly it is not something that London does well.

* London does, however, have reasonable Mexican food. Jessica at Ripe London was none too impressed with the offerings at Tortilla in the Angel-Islington or Mexicali in Notting Hill, but she does rate Taqueria in Notting Hill. This also happens to be a favourite of mine - terrific tacos and heavenly horchata.

* Wanderus on why Portland, Oregon is the microbrew capital of America. Cheers!

* Samir on living in Dubai and the contrasts with his hometown of Bombay - and a slice of life at an Indian-run cafeteria serving sandwiches, roast chicken and chai tea near Lamcy Plaza.

* Jon on the DC Traveler treats us to a Sunday brunch with a difference at a Washington DC cafe with drag queens.

* Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago is going organic and Stefanie at Focus Organic wants a tomato, basil and mozzarella panini.

If all that food has left you needing to burn off some calories, then it’s time to get active.

* The Q Family call into Cozumel in Mexico for some snorkelling and Starbucks on their Carnival Cruise. (They recommend the fajitas at La Laguna Beach Grill).

* CAE on VWXYNot? describes her love affair with her adopted city of Vancouver. I thought it was a lovely city when I visited, oh 10 years ago now, and all those gorgeous pics of kayaking make me want to go back. Either that or move home to Sydney - I could have a kayak there too!

* Jason Loper on Zola Jones Designs on a bike ride around the lake front in Chicago.

* Random Musings takes us boating on Lake George (is that a town?) and hiking on Prospect Mountain in the Adirondacks in upstate New York.

* Dave Cano on why his first impressions of Coney Island in Brooklyn, NYC were wrong.

* If It Feels Good Do It tells not-quite-all about a bachelor’s weekend in Las Vegas.

Time for a bit of culture, fun and relaxation?

* Leslie Carbone delves into history in Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.

* See how the other half lives with a peak inside a $9m penthouse apartment in Miami on Michael Emilio’s small business and real estate blog.

* Me, My Kid, and Life heads to Cannes for a short film festival. (Although she was there on business, a girl’s still got to eat and she found time for a shrimp spring roll, Thai rice and chicken in curry sauce).

* Adventures in Daily Living takes the kids on a fun-filled trip to Seattle, where they ride trains, buses, monorails and merry-go-rounds

* Andrew at the Cyprus Informer takes us on a journey to Kyrenia in Cyprus. His blog is usually quite commercial, but this post is not, and it really does sound like a beautiful town.

Thanks to everyone for taking part and apologies for the late posting - my broadband was up and down like a whore’s drawers last night.

Submit your blog post to the next edition of the Carnival of Cities using our carnival submission form. Please only submit one (non-spammy) post and keep it on the topic of cities and (midsize and bigger) towns. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.