Cote d'Azur

Sunset Day One
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How else do you describe seeing Sus' parents at the airport in Marseilles except "a sight for soar eyes." After three months in Asia living on less than $50 a day total, to arrive on the south coast of France and stay in a rented out house (which is the closest thing we've had to a house in many a month) was mind boggling.

It was exactly what the doctor ordered. Delicious food (that was not rice based), a comfortable bed to sleep in, our own coffee maker, and wine...lots and lots of wine. The details of the stay in south are fuzzy at best.

The House
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Most of our time was spent sleeping and catching up with Sus' parents, sister, bother and sister in law; whom we were all really excited to see. The days were lazy, with the occasional swim in the Mediterranean (though the weather and water were both cold), and most of the mornings were spent figuring out what we were going to eat for an afternoon snack.

The major highlights of the trip were brought to us by some close friends of Alan and Shotsy. We were treated to a night at the nicest and most popular club in Marseilles by this amazing couple named Valiant and Paullina. Because Valiant was heavily tied into the club scene from his work as a singles party organizer, he not only knew where to go, but he also knew everyone at the club. They treated us to a beautiful bottle of champagne and showed us the "hottest" bar in the area. Perhaps it was not exactly our scene, but the time they showed us was awesome. We can't wait for them to visit us in SF.

The House
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The day after our night on the town, we all went up to a small town on the outskirts of Aix en Province and were treated to an absolutely amazing lunch and tour of the area by Valliant’s older sister Prima. We arrived at their gorgeous house to find a beautiful table of cheeses, wines, meats, and whatever else "Williams Sonoma" usually puts in their perfect meal advertisements, spread out across their outside patio. Following lunch, Prima and her husband proceeded to take us on a drive thought a few of the jaw-dropping hillside villages of the French wine country. We were essentially shown things that you only see in "Better Homes and Gardens" magazine. What an amazing day!

Brokedown car
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As our stint in the south of France drew to a close we decided to take a trip to the town of Nice so we could see the actual French Riviera. After a great evening of touring around Nice, we headed over to the second smallest, and possibly the richest, country in the world Monaco. For those of you living under a rock, Monaco is the playground of the ultra-rich, yacht toting, dream-life living people of the world. In a word: Wow! The port was overfilled with yachts that could pass for cruise lines, and the streets were filled with more amazing cars and cloths than you could ever imagine. It was impressive...to say the least.

The Neighborhood
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Next, we're jumping on a train to Paris, where Susannah, Her sister Annah, and I are renting an apartment for five days. Should be fun. We'll let you know.