I stumbled accross your blog and enjoyed reading about your french adventure. My wife and I both grew up in Eugene and are entertaining the idea of another visit to France next year. We’ve been twice, and have fallen in love with the people, culture, and land. We spent three days in Nice last year and enjoyed it very much. We had some of the most wonderful treats to eat there from a couple small shops down near the carousal. We rode the train and didn’t get to see a ton of the natural landscape, but I thought some of the areas in southern France to be like the Willamette valley. Do you agree? We love Oregon and currently live in Portland but dream of becoming independantly wealthy so we can move to Paris. It’s great to see a faithful blogger and we look forward to eves dropping in on you. Cheers. Steve and Holli