Remember how Oakland won the title of "Most Exciting City"? Two more honors for the area have recently been brought to my attention.

1. TravelNerd, a division of NerdWallet, recently calculated the "Top 10 Urban Destinations for Nature Lovers." Criteria included parkland and weather. Between our lovely regional parks and our generally beautiful weather, we scored fourth place! San Francisco, at #2, was the only California city that beat us. Albuquerque and Washington, DC took first and third, respectively. To be fair, the list was compiled in San Francisco, so they might be a little biased (just kidding -- SF is a beautiful city that deserves the honor).

2. Best Colleges Online's list of "30 of the Most Amazing University Museums" includes UC Berkeley's Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. While that should come as little surprise, it's always nice when an East Bay staple scores a place on such a cool list. Even more impressive is that these 30 museums are from all around the world, not just the United States. Of course, there are lots of other cool museums in the area too...

What other (imaginary) lists do you think Oakland deserves to be on? Off the top of my head, I'd say "Most Diverse Food Scene."

Image courtesy of ~dgies on Flickr

That sounds vague, I know. Based on their criteria, though, it's easier to figure out how we won. For example, they take into account movie theaters per square mile -- and of course the East Bay has lots of amazing independent theaters. They also accounted for park acreage per person, and the area is full of gorgeous regional parks. Another category where I imagine we ranked pretty well is museums per square mile.

Check out the original article to see the rest of the criteria as well as the other cities that made the top 10.

What do you think of the article? Is Oakland really the most exciting city in America?

What's up with this heat? It feels like it's already late summer, even though it's not even quite May yet!

Personally I prefer cooler weather, but I'm trying to make the best of it. After all, strolling around Lake Merritt is much nicer in sunshine than in rain... at least if you remember sunscreen! The regional parks can also be really nice, especially under the shade of the trees.

Shopping at farmers' markets is another of my favorite summer activities. There's something wonderful about seeing all the produce gleaming in the sunlight.

What about you -- are you a sun person or a fog person? What are you favorite things to do on sunny days in the East Bay?

Image courtesy of Gretchen Holm.

This week is Oakland Veg Week, when Oaklanders can come together to pledge to go a week without eating meat (you can even opt to pledge to go vegan, if you want). For more information on the week, check out the official site. You can make a formal pledge there if you want, or simply follow the spirit of the week on your own.

In some places, this would be quite the challenge. Fortunately, there are lots and lots of options here. There are quite a few vegetarian restaurants in Oakland and in Berkeley. If you choose to go vegan for a week instead of just vegetarian, there are also plenty of vegan restaurants in both Oakland and Berkeley. Of course, if you enjoy cooking for yourself, you can buy ingredients at any of the wonderful local farmers' markets.

Know of any vegan or vegetarian restaurants not included on the lists? Have any thoughts about Oakland Veg Week? Leave a comment!

Image courtesy of Mental.masala on Flickr.