Southern France: A croissant wrapped in a crepe inside a hunk of fromage

When I mentioned to Kate that I was going to write a blog this morning about our trip earlier this week to Southern France, the first thing she said was, "You damn near killed me on that trip."

Well, I have to admit, it was ambitious. We set out to see 21 cities in four days - and we saw 19.5 (the 0.5 was Nice, where we never made it downtown). The hardest part was, in all of them, you could have spent a weekend and still not feel satisfied that you really got a feel for them. I mean, it's the French Riveria....where almost every episode of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" was filmed. And the weather was perfect every day.

But, instead of boring you all with an essay of insights about why I chose these places or how our hotel was or what kinds of things we did there, I'm just going to show one picture from each place, create a slogan for the town, and share the first word or phrase that comes to my mind and Kate's mind about them. That way, you can get a feel for what we saw/did/ate/felt and can ask questions if you'd like. So, here they are, in the order which we saw them:

Montpellier: It's a tourist spot, we swear

Justin: Overhyped
Kate: Sleepy

Nimes: Where everything is old

Justin: "Roman"tic (both that it was Roman and charming)

Kate: Nice market

Pont du Gard: It's a freaking acquaduct, people

Justin: I wish that was us in the canoe

Kate: I wish we had sandwiches

Avignon: Popes used to live here

Justin: Historic or Grand, I'm not sure which

Kate: Cute ducklings

Gordes: Located somewhere in France

Justin: Nestled

Kate: Beautiful (and Justin tried to get me hit by a car)

Arles: What happens in Arles stays in Arles (because nobody cares)

Justin: Which city was that again?

Kate: I had a tasty omelet

Justin: Yes, she did

Aix en Provence: Welcome to America

Justin: Touristy

Kate: Cute, but lots of American students

Marseille: The Miami of France

Justin: Dirty

Kate: I did not like it

Gassin: Close to St. Tropez

Justin: Rainy, bad ice cream, good views, done in five minutes, Kate peed in the woods

Kate: It was really small

St. Tropez: Beyonce waz here

Justin: I like Annapolis better

Kate: Ritzy

Mougins: Where artists come to die
Justin: I got confused

Kate: Just waking up

Cannes: Rhymes with flan
Justin: I'd go back in a second

Kate: More going on than I expected

Antibes: If only we didn't speak French

Justin: My favorite town on the trip

Kate: Packed with charm

Villefranche sur Mer: Heaven for rich people

Justin: Hard to find

Kate: I was really tired

Monte Carlo: We're just kidding about the jacket and tie thing

Justin: Bleh

Kate: A bit of a letdown

Menton: Sounds like a breathmint

Justin: McFlurries rock

Kate: Justin doesn't know how to share McFlurries

Eze: Where a single bottle of wine actually costs 1,590 euros ($2559)

Justin: Too much cheese in Eze

Kate: I really liked the cactus garden

St. Paul de Vence: Not enough crepe shops

Justin: Stunning views...of tourists

Kate: Much more touristy than I was expecting

Ste. Maries de la Mer: We have horses

Justin: Reminded me of Chincoteague

Kate: Bouilabaise in yo' face!