Côte d'Azur, France (09/27/2012-09/30/2012)

I've found paradise, and surprisingly, it's in  Southern France. Not much to say other than it was just a real treat to feel the warm Mediterranean sun, eat fresh local produce, drive on serpentine roads criss-crossing the mountains and look at some of the nicest clear blue water and skies I've seen in a long while.  People were friendly, wasn't too crowded (could be the time of year), and surprisingly, it was not nearly as expensive as I had feared (even property prices are not crazy in most places).

That said, I wasn't alone in my assessment - many of the world's wealthy (Russian oligarchs especially) call the French Riviera home, and the sight of yachts, €500 million houses (no lie - it's pictured below), and personal firework extravaganzas hint to some dynamics underneath the surface that may disprove my above hypothesis... but I didn't have a chance to find out.  Definitely a place to come back to (and of course it goes without saying that it was great to see family after so long).