This photo is a shop front in the medieval Born neighborhood in Barcelona. What used to be a district of textile guilds and jousts in the middle ages, now quarters the workshops of artisans, crafters, and fine artists within its puzzle of narrow streets.
It's difficult NOT to imagine my own little workshop hidden behind huge graffiti covered medieval wooden doors along some alleyway. Of course in this fantasy I am adept at Spanish, friends with all the neighborhood's old ladies (who ramble around corners followed by mangy terriers), and eating croquettes with my Estrella and a novel at lunch every day. I'll live on Montjuic's hillside in Poble Sec.
I guess everyone imagines their alternative lives in the cities they visit. I think I do because it's a way of feeling like I could fit in--not because I'm unhappy with what I have. But it makes me wonder about the thousand possible versions of my life that could unfold, but for happenstance's meeting with a few key decisions so far and creating this New York life instead, imperfect and interesting, sometimes terrifying, sometimes boring, but pretty cool overall.
I'm thankful I have so much comic-relating artwork to juggle at the start of the New Year, because otherwise, with the end of the busy holiday season, I would be going through some down-in-the-dumps, mopey travel withdrawal. I'd forgotten how happy it makes me to experience a new place, and I'm going to make sure I take myself someplace cool as often as I can.
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