I just came back from a 6-week trip where my half-sister and I traveled around 3 european countries. France, Spain and Italy gave us plenty of things to see, hear and taste. Along the way, we made long and short stops in the following cities:

Paris – Lyon – Rome – Florence – Marseille – Bordeaux (and the Châteauneuf-sur-Charente region) – Madrid – Cadiz – Sevilla

There is so much to see and do in these lively and beautiful areas of the world, and we truly enjoyed our time to the fullest (well, except in Sevilla as we both got quite sick). We are so fortunate for being able to travel to and discover these incredible places! Here are a few pictures of our trip:

France

It had been a while since both of us had visited France. In my case, the last visit had occurred back in 2009 when I lived in Nice for a few months. My stepsister hadn’t been to her parents’ country of origin in over a decade. Therefore, we were excited to make a few stops there, discovering new cities and revisiting places that we hadn’t seen in a long time. Here is an overview of what we saw and did:

Paris

Lyon

Marseille

Bordeaux, Angoulême and Châteauneuf-en-Charente

Spain

By the time we got to Spain, we were truly happy to know that we would be spending a good number of days in each place, instead of jumping from one city to another. Madrid was a definite highlight of the trip, with loads of good food, good music, lively neighborhoods and friendly people. We then headed to Cadiz for a few days of celebration at the Carnaval. Afterwards, we were looking forward to relaxing and soaking up the sun in Sevilla. Unfortunately, I got really sick and spent most of the week in bed, but my step-sister thoroughly enjoyed the city. Here are some pics of the two cities that we enjoyed to the fullest, as well as the few shots I did get on one of my rare outings in Sevilla:

Madrid

Cadiz

Sevilla

Italy

Italy is on almost everyone’s list of places to visit during their lifetime and with reason. Unfortunately, that means that there are sooooo many tourists. Of course, with a bit of creativity, it’s always possible to get a glimpse of the “true” Italy, the one where english isn’t the main spoken language. Florence is a definite highlight between the two main cities, as it has a lovely rose and yellow glow, and so much art that a lifetime would not suffice to take it all in. Rome is chaos incarnate but it has its charms. In any case, here are some of my favourite shots:

Rome

Florence (and the tuscan village of Certaldo)