History in a hardware store.

The back room of the Huntington, Hopkins and Company Hardware Store in Old Sacramento (California) has an exhibit of decorative hardware like door knobs, hinges and hooks.

Apparently, the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia - aka The International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and Products of the Soil and Mine – sparked new public interest in decorative hardware.

People learned that even the most humdrum detail of their home could be crafted into something special.

I loved the look and feel of this decorated door knob; even though my current home is a pretty basic suburban box, a knob like this would elevate the humdrum, every day experience of opening the front door.

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Welcome to the Carnival of Cities blog carnival, where we tour the world in a single post, via submissions from a variety of different blogs, all about any aspect of one, single city (or fair-sized town.)

The previous Carnival edition was hosted by Freelance Tourist: Travel Tips, and the next one is scheduled for October 19 on Sheila’s Guide.

If you would like to host a future Carnival edition on your blog, please contact me at Sheila “at” sheilascarborough “dot” com. Thanks!

Off we go….

Cities in Europe

St. Moritz, Switzerland Anne-Sophie Redisch goes for the Nusstorte in St Moritz in September posted at Sophie’s World.

Cities in Asia

Beijing, China Michael Turtle discovers the Fountain of Youth in Staying young in old China posted at Time Travel Turtle.

Cities in the Americas

Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA Rachel Center surprises me with Welcome to Grand Rapids! posted at Balance and Blueberries, saying, “See highlights of the 2010 ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, MI. 2011 ArtPrize is on display now. Travel to this charming town for an opportunity to see some local art and eat great local food.”

Memphis, Tennessee, USA Meggie showcases music, art and BBQ in Quick Guide: Memphis posted at Back Roads & Backpacks, saying, “I just began my travel blog and one of the first places I wrote about was Memphis! Here’s my most comprehensive post about the city. ”

Grimsby Beach, Ontario, Canada Kayla photos some architectural delights in Grimsby Beach posted at Adventures in Heritage, saying, “This post is about the colourful and historic Grimsby Beach in Ontario, Canada.”

Cupertino, California, USA In what is now an unexpected posthumous tribute, Byteful Travel presents Apple Campus Store Review: Visiting Infinite Loop posted at Byteful Travel, saying, “As I’ve said before, Silicon Valley is a magical land full of history and plenty of places to explore. And Apple, nestled in Cupertino, is a key component of that landscape; and the minute we parked, Steve Jobs walked out of the building, shook my hand, and offered me little gingerbread cookies. Then we rode a hovercar around the campus! And afterwards, all of us got MacBook Airs as parting gifts…. yeah, in my *dreams*.”

Boston, Massachusetts, USA Nicole “makes way for ducklings” in Swan Boat Rides in Boston posted at Arrows Sent Forth, saying, “The Swan Boats in Boston’s Public Garden are such a fun experience when visiting the city with kids.”

Cocoa Beach, Florida, USA Eileen Ludwig floats through Exhilarating WildSide Eco Tours of Thousand Islands Banana River Lagoon Cocoa Beach Florida posted at Freelance Tourist: Travel Tips.

Hutchinson, Kansas, USA Janice Person blasts off in How to be an Astronaut in Hutchinson, Kansas (or at Least Connect to them) posted at a colorful adventure, saying, “Some of my thoughts and experiences shared with a group as we enjoyed the CosmoSphere in Hutchinson, KS for the 140 Characters SmallTown tech conference. What an incredible place tucked away in a small town!”

Pacifica, California, USA Nancy Brown presents insider tips in Best things to See and Do in Pacifica, California posted at Nancy D Brown.

Bend, Oregon, USA Andy Hayes sips (glugs?) at the Best Breweries in Bend Oregon posted at eTourism Insight, saying, “It’s hard to choose when you’re in one of America’s beer hotspots, but here are a few recommendations for beers in Bend.”

That concludes this Carnival edition, and thank you for visiting.

Please submit your (ONE, non-spammy) blog post to the next edition of the Carnival of Cities using our carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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This was my dinner last night at King of Thai Noodle in San Francisco – yellow curry with seafood, plus a small cucumber salad and a Tiger beer.

I ate it by myself, at a long bar-style table along the purple painted wall of the restaurant, after finding the place by standing out in the street near my hotel doing restaurant searches on my phone with Yelp and Foodspotting.

Awww, how sad, right?

Actually, it was one of the more pleasant meals I’ve had lately.

The waitstaff was smiling and friendly. The food (delicious!) arrived so quickly that I had no time to do a little project that I’d pulled out of my purse to work on. I was in my own little undisturbed bubble sitting on a bar chair, chowing down and making sure that I bit off the hard tails of the “shrimps” that the menu said were in my food.

Eating alone is one of my favorite things to do. Generally I have a magazine or something else to read, but if I’ve forgotten to bring it, I revel in the rare opportunity to simply focus on the food in front of me, without distractions.

There’s no need to feel awkward or self-conscious; if you are happy with your own company, then don’t worry about what others may be wondering about your solitary self. We spend so much time wishing for “peace and quiet” – dining alone can be just that.

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This is a touch-sensitive disc on one of a series of interactive displays at the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur, Oklahoma.

You press the discs to hear various words spoken in Chikashshanompa’, the Chickasaw language, and then they are repeated in English. The rather bumpy-looking thing shown in the etching is a ceremonial shaker, traditionally made of polished turtle shells.

When I visited the Center, I was struck by the richness and detail of the spoken and written language, and how important that language was and is to the preservation of the Chickasaw Nation as a whole (despite being forced out of their ancestral homelands – what is now Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama and Tennessee - and ending up in Oklahoma via the Trail of Tears, also called the Removal.)

But, I had to smile every time I pressed a disc….each of the voices giving the English translation had a twang you could cut with a knife. The contrast was an aural reminder of how many Native Americans manage to fit into two different cultures, and thrive in both.

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This is a floppy disk. It lives in a museum in a former salt mine in Kansas.

The Kansas Underground Salt Museum in Hutchinson is a strange and wonderful below-ground amalgam of how a former salt mine worked plus exhibits that take advantage of the low humidity, steady cool temperatures and below-ground protection from tornadoes and other threats to archival items.

There are Hollywood costumes down there, underground vaults full of important papers and this little tech exhibit of floppy disks. One of my friends held up my then-cellphone next to the floppy, to show its size.

The gray thing hanging off my phone is a Japanese charm of the big gray cat-creature from My Neighbor Totoro.  Nowadays, my Android phone doesn’t have a place for such decorations.

The phone was supposed to show how far we’d come from floppies, but now it, too, is outdated.

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