Welcome to the 1 July edition of the Carnival of Europe! We kick off this month with a submission from Zhu, who presents The French And Their Bathrooms posted at Correr Es Mi Destino. She says, “I first noticed the many dif­fer­ences between North Amer­i­can bath­rooms and French bath­rooms a while ago, but I had some­how for­got­ten about it. It all came back to mind today, when I went for a drink …”

Andrea, the blogger behind Destination EU, and the brains behind this blog carnival, gives us a tale of a road trip from Amsterdam to Maastricht posted at Rear View Mirror.

We have two posts from Nicole Jewell at Pass the Ham this month: first, this one about a new gourmet market that has opened up in Madrid, and second Chasing Saints in Sardinia. Nicole has her favourite, as do I, but what do you think?

Tim Leffel gives us current prices for travellers visiting his favourite European city – Budapest. Travel Prices in Budapest, Hungary posted at Tim Leffel’s Cheapest Destinations Blog. It’s somewhere that’s been on my bucket list for a while, and now I have absolutely no excuse not to. Thanks, Tim!

Katie Beck is a journalist, travel writer and blogger based in the south of France. Her blog is a combination of her favourite photos and stories from her travels around the world and she has submitted Planes, trains, and ferryboats for the blog carnival. She can be found at stumblingintoparadise.

I first met Adam in Umbria, Italy. I believe it was the first time he’d visited the country, but apparently he loved it so much that he headed straight back to Bologna a few weeks later … He’s written about hanging out at the Bologna gay pride. Photos from Bologna Pride 2012 posted at My Gay Travel Guide. Come back soon, Adam – but this time make your way south!

Michael Schuermann presents Bricks Won’t Break Your Bones posted at easy hiker, discussing the use (or lack thereof) of bricks in important architecture around Europe.

ParisBuFF, meanwhile, writes about the Beat Hotel in Paris: The Beat Hotel is a hotel in Paris only a Beatnik could love posted at Paris Movie Walks – 10 Guided Walking Tours.

Laurel at Monkeys and Mountains talked to a Benedictine Monk while in Norcia, Umbria, and now gives us the lowdown. Another Italian one. Hooray! (Not that I’m biaised at all …) Conversations with a Benedict Monk in Norcia, Umbria posted at Monkeys and Mountains.

Rachel Webb goes to Torremolinos for a day to visit a fish festival, and it sounds delicious. Om nom nom. Fish Fest – Dia del Pescaito in Torremolinos posted at Andalucia Explorer.

Kerry Dexter gives us a lovely post about the history and music of Heisgeir. I confess it’s somewhere I’d never heard of, so I was fascinated to find out more about it. music, history, and Heisgeir posted at Music Road.

Kenneth Lange tells us three stories from a small Danish fishing village. Nothing better than a good bit of folklore on a Sunday afternoon, I say … 3 Folksy Stories from a Small Fishing Village posted at Kenneth Lange. He says, “Three small stories about life in a small fishing village. I think they show that all places, regardless of size, are worth visiting.” I couldn’t agree more, Kenneth. Some of the most fascinating stories come from the tiniest beginnings …

Off to Gran Canaria for this next one from Matthew Hirtes: Random Photo of Gran Canaria #14 posted at matthewhirtes.com. A great photo, and an amusing (and informative) narrative to go with it.

Finally, Jai of Savoir There writes about Genoa, a city which she considers to be one of the unsung heroes of Italy and of Europe. A grand claim indeed: what do you think? A weekend in Genoa, the city of hopes and jeans

I hope you enjoy reading all the submissions as much as I did. Please do take the time to comment and let the participants know what you think, either here or, even better, on their own blogs.

Looking forward to seeing you all at another blog carnival soon …