Cool libraries

Someday, I want a home with a beautiful room just for books and hours spent reading. I love these pictures of what other people have done to make literary sanctuaries. 

This one feels so cozy; I love the idea of a room within a room by sectioning off a corner. 

I don't know how you'd ever get so many perfectly color coordinated books, but if you had them, what a pretty way to display them! Though locating the one you wanted might be more difficult than if they were organized by type. 

I love the funky S-shape on this one. Of course, for all of these I'm pretty sure most people (or at least I) would need a ladder to get the top books. But, I've always wanted to go on one of those tall, sliding ladders you see in movies, so maybe that's a win-win. 

(Visit Shelterness for more.)

European travel

Citta del Mare

I've been slowly stockpiling places I want to visit when I study abroad in Florence next Fall, and this hotel in Sicily just  jumped to the top of the list. A Cup of Jo posted about this hotel this morning, and I'm already smitten. These water slides send you straight into the Mediterranean ocean! Although I'm not quite sure how you get back up to the hotel after flying into the sea. But I have to say I'm more concerned with if it will still be warm enough for this in fall; I can't imagine that I'll actually want to stop splashing around in the Mediterranean once I'm there. 

Another warm-weather destination I plan to visit (actually, I'm intent on going whether or not the weather's nice) is the Cinque Terre. Everyone I know who's been has raved about the charming five-island cluster. 

Outside of Italy, I'm dying to go to France. Obviously to Paris, since I've never been, but also to Colmar. This picturesque town looks straight out of Beauty and the Beast, and as a sucker for anything Disney, I've already fallen in love with it just from pictures. 

Finally, I've always dreamed of going to Santorini, Greece, where I've heard that the weather is actually ideal in fall. Although I'm not sure how feasible it is to get there from Florence, I'm determined to make it sometime in my life. The whitewashed buildings and shocking blue water look unbelievable. 

I have a lot of plans for my one-week fall break, and I'm starting to think perhaps I should try to think outside of my summer mindset (Nice, France, is another one of my top picks), as I've heard that Europe actually gets cold in the fall/winter, unlike Southern California. But no matter where I end up (I'm hoping Oktoberfest will be one of my getaways!), I think I'll be too giddy about being lucky enough to travel in Europe to care too much about the weather.