{travel snapshots}

Using the last two weeks of our time living in Paris to travel around Europe and Africa was an amazing way to end 3 months away from home.  As I mentioned before, 4 of our friends came to meet us in Paris and together we spent two nights in Paris in a fab Airbnb then headed to Spain, Morocco and back to the south of France.  Our two night stay in Paris was mostly used as a jumping off point for our travels, but we did spend a lovely day bike riding around the city and walking around the Luxembourg Gardens.  For our last night we went to dinner at FL restaurant in the 6th arrondisement, which is an adorable little place run solely by the chef and one assistant, then ended the night by closing down one of our favorite speakeasy cocktail bars, Ballroom du Beef Club.

We then hopped on a plane to spend two nights in Valencia, Spain for the annual Las Falles festival.  We truly lucked out on our accommodations which included private penthouse deck with a jacuzzi where we spent most of the day soaking in the sun before heading out to take in the culmination of the festival which is the burning of all the Falles statues around the city- learn more about the festival here.

Our next stop was 4 nights in Marrakech, Morocco spent in the beautiful Riad Pavilion Orientale.   Morocco was a truly unique experience like nothing I have ever known and I plan on doing a post going into detail about the perfect itinerary for a trip there so I won't go into too much information right now about our activities.  Our days where spent wandering the souks shopping for rugs, spices and trinkets while our nights where spent dining on delicious variations of Moroccon cuisine.  My favorite experience from our time there was our spa day at a traditional Hammam getting detox scrubs and relaxing massages.

We ended our trip with 4 nights in Bordeaux wine country in the South of France and chose once again to stay in a centrally located Airbnb.  Our time in Bordeaux was all about relaxing and drinking wine while trying not to think about how our trip was finally coming to an end within a few days.  We also took a day trip out to the adorable town of Saint Emilion to continue drinking wine among the quaint vineyards and little chateaus.

 {springtime in paris}

 {sightseeing via Velib}

 {checking out the view from our apartment in Valencia}

 {the Las Falles statues constructed in every neighborhood- most towering over 40 feet high or more.  Each statue was burned to the ground around midnight (which is particularly crazy given how close they are to the buildings- you can see a video of of one of them being lit up here)}

 {the end result of the Las Falles statues}

 {Bunuelos- basically like really awesome fresh donuts}

 {the peaceful beach in Valencia}

 {the interior courtyard of our Riad in Marrakech}

 {mini tagines served with our breakfast every morning- filled with butter, honey or jam}

 {shopping for a moroccan wedding blanket in the souks}

 {the gorgeous grounds of La Mamounia}

 {a walk through Jardin Majorelle}

 {the bahia palace}

{quick round of petanque at La Mamounia}

{a ceiling of wine glasses at Max Wine Bar in Bordeaux}

 {vineyards and adorable chateaus in Saint Emilion}

{the tiny town of Saint Emilion}