Côte d'Azur

For almost a year now, I have been preoccupied with Provence. I have been obsessed with the food and flavors of the region - fresh goat cheese & olives, roasted lamb, scallops, sardines, fresh herbs, Rosé, and of course truffles. I feel like this past year I have been discovering what so many foodies already have - that Provence might just be heaven on earth.


Even though we live (relatively) close to there - it seemed like some exotic, far away place that I would probably never visit until I was old and rich (ha!). Yet somehow, as we tried to find a place to go for a last minute save-our-sanity getaway over the Easter holiday (a trip that would probably be Cory's only break from work for the year), we found ourselves booking plane tickets to Nice.

I'm not gonna lie. It was everything I ever dreamed of. It was a beautiful blue water, delicious local wines, Tapinade from Nicois olives on fresh croutons (um yes please for every meal thank you), and the warmest, friendliest people like, ever.

I completely fell in love. The trip was just what we needed to sooth our haggard souls after a long, stern winter in Berlin (which doesn't exactly bring out the best in people). Fresh air, a slower pace, good food and stellar service everywhere we went. Its amazing what seeing smiling faces can do for you. Its no wonder the French Riviera has been the escape of artists, poets, and royalty for centuries. Lucky for us, its just as enjoyable for regular folk too :)

(if you are one of the like three people who cares, you can see more photos on Flickr)

Vino

Someday I will visit Napa Valley, California, Bordeaux, France and Tuscany, Italy. I would at least like to visit the Mosel wine regions here in Germany. I love the way vineyards look in the Autumn, the combination of colors is just gorgeous - the browns from the vines, the greens, yellows and reds from the leaves and the deep purple and blue hues from the grapes.

These Merlot Grapes were growing in the terraced vineyard behind Sanssouci Palace, the summer palace of Frederick the Great. Supposedly they still harvest and make wine from these grapes , which would be fun to try.

This print is a now available in my Etsy shop! I am trying to make some note cards and similar items as well, look for something soon :)