{Tunis, Tunisia}

*Sorry for the picture intensive post!*

Tunisia was my first trip to Africa, and it definitely met the expectations. It was a beautiful place surrounded by the ocean. Our first trip in the country was to go see Carthage. Carthage was the home of the Punic during the period of fighting with the Romans. It backs right up to the ocean and is just awe-inspiring. The ruins are still being dug up but you see enough to get the idea of how the Punic people lived. Its neat seeing the places you learn about in history first hand. After Carthage, we headed over to the Medina. The Medina is a city center with 8 doors. It is a walled in complex full of shopping and bartering and people throwing things to buy in your face. Most of the sellers would put a necklace on you and then demand money. It was quite the experience to say the least. In the Medina, there was a rug shop made of hand stitched rugs which “will last 1000 years”. That was the selling point, obviously. The rugs were beautiful, with intricate designs. We ended up buy 3 rugs. You have to help out the Tunisian economy some how, right? Or maybe that is an excuse. The weather in Tunisia was also not the best, but it did clear up till the end of the day. The other place our guide took us was the American cemetery in Tunis. It was so neat to see a monument for all the soldiers who died in pursuit of saving the Tunisians. Again, Tunisia is definitely a place I recommend going.

On a side note, Happy Leap Day! Hope it is awesome :)

{Valletta, Malta}

Malta, what a wonderful place. Besides the horrid weather we had, it was absolutely amazing. My parents and I took a tour of a Neolithic Temple in Malta, which was way cool. My favorite part about seeing ruins is imagining what used to happen in that place, and how the people were. I am also amazed by how they built such magnificent structures without modern day tools. After the temple, we headed across the island to a fishers village. The boats in Malta are so brightly colored and beautiful to look at. Had the weather permitted, I could definitely have spent a lot longer at the village. If you ever get the chance to go to Malta, take it, you will not regret it.

{Barcelona, Spain}

Barcelona! Barcelona was so beautiful and I had such an amazing time. We walked along a tree lined path with artisans on each side, such a perfect start to the day. At the end of the path was Café Zurich which was a cute coffee shop where we got coffee and tea. As we were enjoying our drinks, a protest began outside (and I thought I left Quebec….?). It was pretty neat seeing a protest in another country. It goes to show how people everything are connected through ideas and needs.

We headed over to La Sagrada Familia, which ended up being a MUCH longer walk than we thought. We were given 3 different directions so basically we were on our own to get there. After about a good 45 min walk we made it! That was quite the experience. Getting lost definitely gives you a better view of the city though.

To get back to the port on time we took the subway. THE BARCELONA SUBWAY IS SO NICE. It was so clean and well marked. Taking the subway really shows you a taste of local life, which is the only way to travel. We didn’t have too long to spend in Barcelona, but it was amazing none the less and I will definitely make my way back here some day J

, which ended up being a MUCH longer walk than we thought. We were given 3 different directions so basically we were on our own to get there. After about a good 45 min walk we made it! That was quite the experience. Getting lost definitely gives you a better view of the city though.

To get back to the port on time we took the subway. THE BARCELONA SUBWAY IS SO NICE. It was so clean and well marked. Taking the subway really shows you a taste of local life, which is the only way to travel. We didn’t have too long to spend in Barcelona, but it was amazing none the less and I will definitely make my way back here some day J

{the boat}

Woke up, got ready and went to explore Genoa for a bit before we needed to board the ship. We found a cute coffee shop hidden inside an outdoor museum. I think that is one of the best things of Europe is the cute cafes and the relaxed feeling.

After coffee, we went to grab a bit to eat at a little, local restaurant and then headed back to the hotel for check out. We headed to the ship, boarded and explored. The ship is HUGE and decorated….very, very decorated. A bit too much for my taste, but what are you gonna do, eh? It is really cool though because there are so many nationalities aboard and just walking around you hear so many languages and all the stuff speaks so many different languages. I really wish I spoke more languages.

Today was pretty uneventful, but Barcelona tomorrow!

{Genoa, Italy}

After meeting my parents in Paris, we flew together to Genoa, Italy. It is a small port city, but beautiful none the less. We checked into the hotel and began the Withers walking tour. The city is so old. It has beautiful cobble stone roads and old buildings with beautiful architecture. I love going to cities where very few speak your language because you really have to embrace the culture and figure things out for yourself.

After walking around for hours, we found the restaurant we were looking for (after several failed attempts for directions). My mom is gluten intolerant so we had to find a certain restaurant that catered to it. The restaurant we found was delicious and SO filling, but you can’t fret calories here especially with all the walking we did. With a full belly, we decided to trek about the city some more. I really wanted to get higher up in the city so we could look out over everything, and higher we got. Italy is very hilly and mountainous so we definitely got our workout for the day.

We made it to the top of a smaller hill and looked out over the city. It was such a spectacular sight. I am always amazed at this beautiful world around me. Since we were still jet lagged and had been up well past 24 hours, we made our way back to the hotel, ate and passed out.