return from the north

Stéphane has been very interested lately in his family's roots. After his father died, he remembered his father showing him some old family documents and with the help of his mother, dug them back out. They include his grandfather's wedding contract, identity card, and some military records. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot more to go on, except for vague memories from his mother, aunts and uncles. So, we decided to spend a couple of days of his Toussaint vacation in the land of his forefathers, Pas de Calais.



Pas de Calais is already my favorite region of all the places I've visited in France, and I could easily see us living there (who knows, maybe we'll retire there?), so I jumped at the chance to see it in Fall for the first time. We were quite lucky with the weather, thanks to a bit of Indian Summer this week, and the region is just after peak with autumn leaves.



Unfortunately, we hit a few dead ends in our research, and since we wanted to do so much in so little time, I'm afraid Fry suffered a bit with few naps and not a lot of freedom. Stéphane continues to do his research online for the moment, but we're planning on going back next summer for a longer period and renting a gite (a summer rental home, the region is crawling with them!). That way we won't feel so rushed to visit family, do a little sightseeing, take Fry to the beach for the first time, and do a bit of research. I'm already looking forward to it!