The last week of September we met up with our good friends, Erin and Steve, in France. We picked them up in Colmar, Alsace on the way down to Burgundy. It was so good to see them and catch up on life and the Seattle news since we moved away last November. The four of us (+ 2 dogs) stayed in Beaune for two nights and fully enjoyed the Borgogne food, wine and the gorgeous vineyards at harvest time. We then parted ways: Crosiers heading to the French alps, Piemonte and Italian riviera–Curt and I heading south to Provence. Everything you’ve heard about the Provencal warm sunshine and delicious food (olives–yum!) is true; the whole region bathes in a sunny, yellow-orange glow. We stayed a night in Avignon and saw the impressive palace on the Rhone the Popes once occupied in the 14th century. Then the next day we visited limestone cliff-top Les Baux, had lunch in Aix-en-Provence, and stayed a night in a village near Cannes famous for its parfum, Grasse. After that we headed inland a bit, along hours of very windy Alpes-Maritimes roads, to see the biggest canyon in Europe–the Gorges du Verdun. Once that was conquered we were coast-bound: a quick drive-by of Saint-Tropez (no parking unless you’re a yacht!) and then the Cote d’Azur around to Nice and our much anticipated destination, the beautiful harbor village of Villefranche-sur-Mer (thanks to Erin for discovering this little slice of heaven!) We spent four relaxing beach days in Villefranche, and on the last night reunited with Erin and Steve to live it up one last time before they headed home to the States–in which an Amsterdam layover apparently proved especially blissful for Steve…But I digress…Curt and I closed our trip with one last sunny drive along the Med, stopping in Monte Carlo for a stroll (yes, it’s as over-the-top-opulent as you’ve imagined) and then into Italy. Once we hit Genoa we headed inland toward Milan, which given its insane traffic we luckily bypassed for a town about 15 miles northeast called Monza. This is where frog design has their Italian office, so we stayed a couple nights and had the chance to meet our friendly southern counterparts. Italy is always good to us; we have not been to a country yet that can match the food (specifically veg for Curt) or the wine. But trust me, we will continue our quest