Tasty Postcards From Southern France

Marzipan piggies and fruits in Nice.

If you'd have asked the 16-year-old me — shortly after touching down in Nice for my first trip out of the country — where I'd be living at this point in my life, I probably would have pointed the baguette I was lovingly clutching in the direction of southern France. 

So I'm feeling quite spoiled to find myself in France again this week, so soon after a bubble-filled trip to Champagne last month, for some friends' wedding. Much to my chagrin, my plot to find a crumbling Provençal farmhouse in need of my TLC has not panned out.

But here's a postcard snapshot of some of why I love this country and what I've been eating. After clocking many miles in a teeny rental Mercedes from Nice to Aix-en-Provence, up through the rocky hills to Saint-Remy de Provence, past the Luberon mountains to Orange, Suze-la-Rousse and the fabulous Chateau des Barrenques for the wedding (with some of the best wedding fare I've ever tasted), down to Marseilles and Saint-Tropez and, hugging the Mediterranean over the cliffs, back to Monte Carlo.

Saucisson in the Place des Lices market, St-Tropez.

Scored a bottle of Pastis in Suze-la-Rousse.

Learning (and not exhibiting) the proper petanque form. Best played with the above beverage, on ice with water.

Grilled sardines by the sea.

Escargot and rose in St. Remy de Provence.

A gorgeous basket of crudite at the wedding.

A walk through the vineyards of the Southern Rhone.

Rocks soak up the sun to keep the vines warm on chilly nights in Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Cheers to friends Xu and Kelly on their chateau wedding day.