Annecy is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It is located on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, 35 kilometers south of Geneva, and last July, I had the privilege to visit this interesting place for a whole day.

The city is very beautiful, located between the lake and the mountains. Although you can tell that the site is quite touristy, I found some empty spaces where I could really appreciate this place. Highly recommended.

Located in the current French city of Lyon, Lugdunum was a very important Roman city. The ruins of the ancient amphitheater and the various exhibits in the museum next to it tell the story of a vibrant Roman city, important to the empire for several centuries. The original city was located west of the confluence of the Rhône and Saône, on the Fourvière hills.

Last September I had the opportunity to visit again the city for a second time, and on this occasion I was able to spend a good amount of time exploring this area, which is undoubtedly one of the most interesting in Lyon.

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to visit again the City of Light, and even though I had visited Paris quite a few times in recent years, this was the first time I climbed the Eiffel Tower. Once you cover the 674 steps needed to get to the second level, you are rewarded with a really nice view of the Champ de Mars on one side and the Palais de Chaillot and the Gardens of the Trocadéro on the other. I took this opportunity to take some aerial pictures, and one of the views I liked the most was the one showing the Champ de Mars with people scattered admiring the amazing iron structure designed by Gustave Eiffel, erected in 1889. I will always remember the amazement I felt when I saw the structure for the first time.

Some weeks ago a Polish colleague recommended to us a small city near Colmar called Riquewihr, that he described as a gorgeous medieval city located in the mountains with an old walled center. Today we decided to head north into France to visit this place, and we were able to corroborate that this place is indeed one of the most beautiful towns in the Alsatian region. We were reading that during WWII this was one of the few places that were spared from destruction, since it was relatively hidden in a cul-de-sac, and so there are many houses from the 15th century really well preserved. One of the perks of visiting this place is the route to get there, since you pass through several vinicole plantations and some other nice towns as well. In one of the towers surviving the original wall built by the Duke of Horburg in the 13th century, you can visit a museum with the history of the city. It's called Dolder in Alsatian, meaning the highest point, where I took this picture.

A friend was visiting us this weekend and she wanted to visit Strasbourg so we decided today to hop on the TER train and go to this beautiful Alsatian city. When we got there we were welcomed by a very nice sunny day and while we were walking in the old city center I took this picture of the Place Kléber. This is the largest square at the center of the city, and there is an interesting historic fact: Even if the place is currently named after the French general Jean-Baptiste Kléber, the first name it had was Barfüsserplatz (square of the bare-feet-goers), because once there was a monastery along the square.

I feel very lucky living in Europe, and now I feel even luckier living so close to Paris. Knowing I lived close to the French border, I knew that Paris was very close by train, and last weekend I had the opportunity to try out how close it was by taking the TGV to the Gare de Lyon (and it was indeed only a couple of hours). I have been in Paris several times, and there are plans I repeat over and over: taking the metro to Hotel de Ville, crossing "Île de la Cité", stopping by Notre Dame, and then continuing to walk through Rue de Rivoli until I reach Palais Royal. Then I go to le Jardin des Tuileries, continue to "Place de la Concorde", and then I walk all the way up through "Avenue des Champs-Élysées" until I get to the "Place Charles de Gaulle", where "l'Arc de Triomphe" is located. I took this picture at the end of my walk there.

There are 2 Alsatian cities bordering the north of Switzerland: Saint Louis and Huningue, where you can do an interesting bike ride along the Huninguen channel. This old channel, fed by the Rhine River, was built in the 19th century and used to be a fluvial medium of transport in this region. Despite the chilly weather today, we decided to ride along the canal and went all the way up to Kembs. When we were approaching the town, I found this funny tree in the middle of this growing field. Kudos to the owner for sparing the life of this little tree!

A couple of weeks ago I went by train to Besançon, the Capital City of the Franche-Comté region in France. The town has a very interesting history, being one of the first cities conquered by Julius Caesar in the "Gaul" region. I enjoyed walking around the old city center, and when I was on my way up to visit the Citadel designed by Vauban, I stumbled upon these ancient Galo-Roman ruins. Every time I find those types of ruins, I have to stop by, because for me it's a clear reminder that those cities have been there for a really long time.

One of my favorite plans when I visit a new city is to go as high as I can to get a panoramic view of the place. When I visited Nice back in January I read that the Colline du Chateau overlooking the Baie des Anges offered an amazing view of the city. So I climbed all the stairs and after a good walk (later on I found there was an elevator, but never mind) I was rewarded with an amazing view of the old town, the bay and the sea.

I still remember how I felt the first time I visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris (it was the same sensation I experienced when I visited the Taj Mahal): a landmark that you have seen so many times in pictures, postcards, movies, books, etc., but this time the place appears right in front of you, and you can almost touch it from a distance. Every time I go to Paris, I try to go to the Trocadero metro stop to get a really good view of the Eiffel Tower. Once, I was playing with my camera and I set up a long exposure while the tower was glittering, and that's how I got this shot.

One of my first images of Europe was the majestic old walled city of Carcassonne. A Scotish friend invited me to visit this place with a friend of hers who was visiting her, and I was so happy that I was able to go. I loved the city! I was able to come back some years later when I took a train trip from Girona to Carcassonne, and during the night I was able to capture this shot.

In the autumn of 2010, I had the opportunity to make a small trip, flying to Girona and then going by train. I went all the way up to Carcassonne, stopping by in different towns including Narbonne, where I needed to switch trains. I took the opportunity to walk around this former prosperous port located in the department of Aude. I'm always fascinated by gargoyles in European cathedrals, but the ones in Narbonne were particularly spooky, so I took a picture of one of them.

Last weekend I visited Strasbourg. I found a cheap flight to Frankfurt and then from there I took a couple of trains to get to that nice French city. Something I had read about and really liked was the "Jardin de deux rives", a shared park between the French and German countries (Strasbourg and Kehl). I had crossed some European frontiers by car before, but this is the first time I have done it by walking back and forth in less than 15 minutes. In this picture I'm looking at Germany from the French side.

Last weekend we went to visit our friend C. in Dijon. It had been almost 2 years since the last time we went there, and we had a great time walking around Dijon, hiking in the nearby towns, and going to the French movies. The first day, when we went to the city center and were heading back, I took a picture of this warm sunset.

Last year in September I went to visit my friend C. in Dijon. The easiest way to travel was to fly to Lyon. I had the chance to make a small tour around the city center. Even if I didn't have the chance to visit la Basilique de Fouviere, at least I got a glimpse from the distance here (I couldn't stop comparing it to Montmatre in Paris).

This year (09) I went to visit my dear friend T. in Paris, and we went together to the Fete de la musique. But the year before, we also did it, and on a very sunny day next to the Eiffel Tower, she took this beautiful picture.

In January 2007 we went on a paid ski trip to Courmayeur in Italy. One day when the sport guys were skiing we went with J.B. and M.G. to do some sightseeing in Chamonix Mont-Blanc. Actually we wanted to go to Geneva, but the bus schedule didn't work out so we ended up here. Anyway, it was worth it. We took a small train, went up to the mountain, and we saw this beautiful snow lake.

During the winter of 04, I was living in France with M. in a really small village next to Bordeaux, called Cestas. I always remember seeing spiders so big you could see their teeth! A nice plan in Cestas was to go to a park nearby. It was there I took this picture.

One of the advantages of Basel is its proximity to both the French and German borders. So two weeks ago we went with K. to visit Colmar in the Alsace region of France. We had a really good time walking around the narrow streets of the old city. I finally tasted the famous "Tarte Flambee" (not recommended if you don't like or tolerate bacon) and I visited the Unterlinder Museeum, which displays the famous "Retable d'Issenheim". If you are visiting the Alsatian region, this city is definitely a recommended spot. I took this picture in a picturesque area of the city crossed by canals, called "Little Venice".

The first time I went to Paris in the autumn of 04 with M, the weather was amazing with really clear blue skies. I took this picture in Montmartre and I still enjoy looking at the colors and the background here :).

10 years ago I started my European journey right here, at the center of the world, according to Salvador Dali. I took a train from Toulouse to Perpignan, and I started a new chapter in my life filled with so many experiences that I feel many decades have passed since January 2004. Today, when I look back, I feel extremely lucky to have had the chance to live these years in this continent. I have to confess I didn’t like it at the beginning, but bit by bit I blended in and I fell in love with Europa.

I went through some very tough and very rewarding moments and I made some very important life-lasting connections. These years opened my mind to the world and I matured immensely as well. I’m really looking forward to the next 10 years to come. I’m still happily Conveuropean after all these years :).