So I’ve lately become Pinterest-obsessed. OBSESSED, I tell you. To the point where Dan and I will be sitting on the couch together, marathon-watching whatever TV show we’re currently into (right now it’s American Horror Story. Jessica Lange kills me. Forget Helen Mirren, I want to age into Jessica Lange. The woman is 64 and doesn’t look a day over 42. Those cheekbones! Stunning.), and I’ll be furtively sneaking peeks at my phone, refreshing the page over and over to see the latest pins.
It’s a sickness, and I am not ashamed.
Anyway, one of my favorite topics to search (after squee-inducing baby animals and bitchy SomeECards), is – you guessed it – travel. It’s pretty much the ultimate travel porn site. Lots of pretty pictures of lots of pretty places? SIGN ME UP.
One of my biggest regrets (if you could even really call it that) when it comes to our 2011 tour through Europe was our omission of Spain. Now, I’ve actually been to Barcelona, back in 2005, when my friends and I made a weekend excursion there whilst studying abroad in France. Even just those three days were enough to make me wish we’d had a much, MUCH longer stay. Of course, as broke college students traveling through countries where the exchange rate didn’t favor us, we ended up staying in some cheap, sketchy hostel, though if – ahem, when – I make my grand return to Spain, I’ll definitely choose one from amongst these gorgeous Barcelona hotels.
I’d definitely hit Barcelona again – the wild architecture of the city and the carnival that is Las Ramblas are too fantastic to never see again – though I’d also add in Madrid and Sevilla. More than anything, though, I’m dying to see the Moorish architecture in cities like Cordoba and Granada.
Supposedly a great deal of the beauty of Moorish/Islamic art is based in its sacred geometry – the idea that certain shapes and proportions are particularly meaningful or symbolic. I don’t know much about it, and I don’t think I need to in order to appreciate its inherent worth.
Besides, did you see that recipe for gazpacho? Delicious! (I pinned it twice, for good measure.) (No, I didn’t.) (Help.)