First, I woke to discover that my most recent post, about the Miss Stresa and Miss Italia contest, was chosen by Italytutto as one of the top ten posts of the week. This is such an honor, but especially so this time, when I saw the company with which I was included. So many of the blogs I read are represented. Take a look at them if you don't already... they are, in alphabetical order:

Second nice news, I received my copy of Marcus of Umbria: What an Italian Dog Taught an American Girl About Love in today's mail. This book was sent to me from the author's publicist with the request to read and review it. Its Amazon description says, "A sweet, disarming story finds a young New York editor venturing to Italy to pursue romance with a sexy gardener and ending up falling for a neglected dog instead." They also say think Eat-Pray-Ruff. Many bloggers have been reviewing it recently and I'm looking forward to doing so as well... I will soon... Saving it for...

Number Three! Saving the book to read in Stresa, where I'll be as of July 23, having just bought my ticket. Very much looking forward to a few weeks of hanging out at Buscion, visiting various sites yet unvisited, cycling, cooking, seeing what adventures Colleague has in store, and, as always, posting about it here.

E' stato un bel giorno, no? It's been a very good day...