After our little adventure in Bassel, we turned around and headed back to France for our next stop, Colmar. We spent two nights at the Hotel Roi Soleil Prestige which was a another, new and modern hotel. The rooms were so nice and they also had a wonderful breakfast buffet.

Colmar is a another picturesque town, located in the Alsace Region of France. Known for its German influence, one of the most famous people to come from Colmar was Frederic Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904, the French sculptor best known for designing the Statue of Liberty. There was even a replica of the statue near our hotel!

Born in Colmar, Alsace to Jean Charles Bartholdi (1791-1836) and Augusta Charlotte Bartholdi née Beysser (1801-1891), Bartholdi was the youngest of their four children, and one of only two to survive infancy, along with the oldest brother, Jean-Charles, who became a lawyer and editor. When Bartholdi's father died, his mother moved the family to Paris, while maintaining ownership of their house in Colmar, which later became the Bartholdi Museum. He attended the Lycee Louis-le-Grand in Paris, and received a BA in 1852. He then went on to study architecture at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts as well as painting under Ary Scheffer in his studio in the Rue Chaptal, now the Musée de la Vie Romantique. Later, Batholdi turned his attention to sculpture, which afterward exclusively occupied him.

Bartholdi served in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 as a squadron leader of the National Guard, and as a liaison officer to General Giuseppe Garibaldi, representing the French government and the Army of the Vosges. In 1875, he joined the Freemasons Lodge Alsace-Lorraine in Paris. In 1871, he made his first trip to the United States, to select the site for the Statue of Liberty, the creation of which would occupy him after 1875.

On December 15, 1875, Bartholdi married Jeanne-Emilie Baheux Puysieux in Newport, Rhode Island. They had no children.
Bartholdi was one of the French commissioners in 1876 to the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. There he exhibited bronze statues of "The Young Vine-Grower," "Génie Funèbre," "Peace" and "Genius in the Grasp of Misery," for which he received a bronze medal.

Bartholdi, who received the rank of Commander of the Legion of Honor in 1886, died of tuberculosis, in Paris, on 4 October 1904.

Bopping over to Basel

After leaving Viethorey, we headed east to Switzerland...mainly to just say we had been there. Enroute on a 2-way highway, we were stopped by 3 policeman and asked where we were going, how long we intended to stay and whether we were carrying more than $10.000. Stan's answer, "I wish!" The guard chuckled and let us go on. We were a ways from the French/Switzerland border, so it seemed odd to be pulled over. Anyway, no big deal and just another experience on our trip.

Basel is localed in Northwest Switzerland on the Rhine River, where the Swiss, French and German borders meet. It has a population of around 166,000 and is the 2nd largest urban area in Switzerland. It is a major center of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

We arrived around 3 or so in the afternoon and as we looked for a place downtown near the convention center to get a snack and a drink. After eating, Deb and I walked down the street to a second-hand store crammed with candlesticks, vintage clothing and accessories, and musical instruments - you name it, they probably had it! The man working there was so funny; when we asked if he spoke English, he said he spoke three languages - English, French, and German - so if customers couldn't speak one of those, he guessed a deal couldn't be made. We had fun looking around and eventually, Deb settled on a silverplated teapot and a couple of trays. I ended up with a hammered metal tray made in Germany. Anyway, we were happy with our purchases and wished we had more room in our suitcases to take things back with us!

That was about the extent of our visit to Switzerland - very short, but sweet!

The Friendly Frenchman

Modern home outside of Viethorey

Street in the village.

Above: Stan and Linda by the monument.

Below: Another view of the village.

Right: land outside the village - rolling hills.

Okay, I know what you have heard about the French -that they aren't particularly friendly to us Americans - and some cases, that does in indeed apply. However, after we left the cemetery in Viethorey, we drove back by the church in hopes of talking with a village resident. As we approached the church, I saw a man coming out of his house, which was next to the church. We stopped the van and I approached him with "parlez-vous Anglais?" (One of the few French phrases I know which translated is "do you speak English?" ) He shook his head and laughed and said "No, no." About that time Stan was walking towards us and I motioned for our nephew, Jack, to join us as well. I asked Jack to tell him who we were and that we were trying to find information on the Girardots.

The Frenchman said Girardots were well-known there and that there were some Girardots who lived nearby. He gave Jack the directions to their farm. He also said there were about 110 villagers there in Viethorey and that the church there was closed except for a prayer service once a month. He also said he was not surprised we were there as a year or so ago some people from the US or Canada had also stopped there seeking information on the Girardots. That was the main information we got from him and even though he was friendly, having to communicate through a translator isn't the easiest!

As we talked to the villager, several men from the village walked over and stood by our van. The Frenchman pointed out that one man there was the "mayor" of the village. It was still lightly raining, so we thanked the man for his information and help, then got in the van and drove to the Girardot farm. Of course, as soon as we left we were disappointed that we didn't get the Frenchman's picture with us, but at the time, we were a little "gob-smacked" (as the British would say) to be finding out all this information and also, it felt a little strange that the group of men were gathering and just watching us all. Anyway, the Girardot place was very nice, and looked like quite a successful operation, however we could not find anyone at home. : - (

A Matter of Grave Concern

After stopping at the church in Viethorey, we loaded up in the van and set out to see if we could find the cemetery. It wasn't near the churchyard, so we drove a little down the road and sure enough, we came to a small cemetery surrounded by stone walls. The graves here were a little different than most American cemeteries - each individual grave plot was surrounded by a little edging or short wall, defining the grave site. Then, on top of the actual grave the area was filled in with stones - not grass - as in most of our cemeteries. Because it was raining harder, we quickly walked around the cemetery, photographing the Girardot graves. Another thing that seems unusual it that some of the graves would have multiple names on the stones, yet the grave plot was the same size as one of our graves in the US. Do they bury on top of one another?

I do have pictures and will post those later.

Finding French Roots

On Wednesday, our third day of the trip, but our first real day of sight-seeing (you "loose" a day on the way over), we had a nice buffet breakfast in our hotel in Besancon. To give you a general idea where we were at, Besancon is about 215 miles east of Paris. From there, we headed out to find a very small village, Viethorey, in the hills of the Franche-Comte region in France. Viethorey is about 14 miles from Besancon. This region is very close to the Alsace region and it offers beautiful country sides,strong traditions and folklore. There is a strong local accent to the French language. The local cuisine is excellent, with cheese being an important ingredient.

After getting off the major highway and venturing into the countryside, I had moments of wondering if we would find Viethorey. After many twists and turns, and rolling hills, we saw a welcome site!

So, we knew we were on the right track. Even though it was a gray, rainy day, the weather couldn't spoil my delight! As an amateur genealogist, I have been researching the my husband's family - the Schenher/Girardot line - for several years. Gabriel Girardot is my husband's great-great-grandfather, his daughter, Elizabeth, or "Eliza," is Stan's great-grandmother. Eliza married Charles Schenher, also from France, in 1860 at Avilla, Indiana (Noble County) and they set up residence at Ege also. Charles is Stan's great-grandfather.

I had found that the Girardots had originally lived in Viethorey before coming to America. I had thought that the Schenhers had lived there also, but I now think they came from another area in France...still working on that link. Our first glispe of Viethorey was just how I pictured it. Maybe a little poorer, run down, but still a quaint old small village.

The story is that Gabriel Girardot, along with his family, came to the US in the mid 1800's and settled in Noble County, Indiana. The area where they settled became know as the Girard Settlement. Gabriel had promised to build a Catholic Church in the US in praise of his family's safe passage and start in their new country. He held to his vows and built a frame church near his homeplace. The church eventually burnt down and was relocated down the road at an intersection. It has had several fires over its history, the most recent being about 20 years ago. Each time the parishioners have had sure it was returned to its original glory - if not better. The name of the church is Immaculate Conception and the name of the Girard Settlement was changed years ago to Ege - pronounced Egg-ie - after Fr. Francis Ege, a popular priest who served there many years.

As far as our branch of the family, no one seemed to know much about the Schenher and Girardot families before they came to America, so stopping in Viethorey was a good starting point to hopefully gather a little more information.

First glimpses of Viethorey.

The church where I suspect Gabriel Girardot attended. They currently

have Mass just once a month.

Another view of the church.

This monument, on the side of the church, was in honor of the Viethorey residents who were killed in WW I and II. We knew we were in the right place when the very first name on the monument under those killed during WW I was "Xavier Girardot."

We decided to drive around and see if we could find the cemetery, which we did. Of course, as luck would have it, my batteries died in my camera and it was starting to rain harder by then. Luckily, my sister took pictures of the cemetery for me, which I will post later. Our adventure had just begun in Viethorey!

J'aime Paris!

On Monday, March 28th, my sister, Deb, her husband, John, and their eldest son, Jonny, drove from NE Indiana to our house here in Fishers. We promptly transferred their luggage into our van and headed for the Indianapolis International Airport. After clearing security, we stopped at Champs for a bite to eat before boarding our plane to Philadelphia. We had a very smooth flight to Philly and headed towards the International Terminal. We found a place to sit and relax; where Deb and I could load up on Diet Coke as we knew in France we would be limited to Coca Cola Light....not quite the same and usually out a bottle or can. We were so pleased with USAIR. Although we had coach seats, they were much roomier than the flight we took last year. Also, each seat had a built-in entertainment system in the seatback in front of you, so there were many good free movies to choose from and also we were able to track our progress on the built-in GPS. It always helps to see how far you've gone and how long it will be until you land! Our flight across the pond was uneventful - the way we all like to fly! We arrived in Paris earlier than scheduled - always a welcome surprise - and quickly claimed our baggage. We went to the rental desk - Avis - and claimed our van. By then it was around 8:30 am or so Paris time (2:30 am Indy time).

Our ride for the week, a 9-passenger van!

We found a little coffee shop and a place to sit while the guys had their coffee and Deb and I had our first Coca Light. After that, we found some seats out-of-the-way in the airport and sat and waited on nephew Jack's train to arrive around 11 am.

Once we met up with Jack, we loaded our luggage into our van and headed out from Charles de Gaulle Airport, through Paris and beyond. Getting out of Paris was more difficult than we expected. Of course it didn't help that I had printed off the wrong directions to follow! Oops!

After many missed exits, driving around round-abouts more than once, getting on the wrong roads, etc., we finally made it through Paris and into the French countryside, bound for Besancon, France. where we were spending our first night. One of the towns we passed along the way was Dijon - like the mustard - a picturesque city withe some beautiful parks.

Pretty park in Dijon.

Besancon is the larger town where we had heard the Schenher's and Girardots may have originally lived before coming to the US, so we choose to start our adventure there.

It was a bit of a drive to Besancon, but once there we were delighted with our hotel. A smaller boutique style place, Hotel Florel, brand new, very modern, it was a welcome site to our weary eyes!

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Hotel Florel, Besancon.

There was a nice restaurant beside our hotel, so we went there for dinner. We had a nice server - Delphine - whom caught Jonny's attention. She didn't speak English, but with Jack, we were able to order easily.

Stan, Delphine, and Jonny.

A very weary bunch - John, Deb, Jack, Jonny, Linda

A French meal isn't complete without cheese!

Several of us ordered this special- "noodles" (actually what we would call bow-tie pasta)

cooked in a rich broth, and pork. It was very good!

Stan & I were going to split a side order of sauerkraut, and Delphine tried to

tell Jack this was a lot of food.....we didn't realize the sauerkraut "side" we thought we

ordered came with ham, sausages, bacon and potatoes, too!

After dinner, Deb, John, Jack, and I headed back to our hotel, but Jonny, and Stan started talking to some locals on the way out, so they stayed and chatted with them and watched soccer on TV. A little later, John decided to go back to the restaurant and hang out with them too. The guys met a man from Algeria who kept telling them how much he loved the US and said, "I love Americans!" I don't know how they found the energy to stay up later. For me, this bed was a welcome site for some very tired eyes!!!

Our room at Hotel Florel...clean, comfortable, modern!

We were off to a good start!

Chicago

One of my favorite pictures: Me with the girls -Kristy - about 2 1/2,

Holly, around 8 months and Kelly, 5 - early 1981 - Christiana House.

I have to start this blog by posting about my weekend in Chicago with my 3 wonderful daughters. We had talked about doing a "girls" weekend for a couple of years, but we never made it happen! However this year, we decided to go to Chicago - in the middle of winter, no less!

We left late on Friday afternoon as Kristy had to work all day. Grandpa Stan pitched in and watched Grace and Clare until Keith came home, so we were all set! We had a very pleasant ride to Chicago and we all caught up on what had been happening in each other's lives.

Once we reached Chicago, we were able to find our hotel - The Westin - with the help of Holly's GPS on her phone. How handy! After checking in, the girls headed out to a drugstore, but since it was late and we were all tired, that was about it for us!

After a good night's sleep, we all were refreshed and ready to shop! Our first stop was The American Girl Store in Water Tower Place. What a paradise for young girls....and some of us older ones, too! Kristy was looking for a special dress for Marti de Montfort, so we headed to Macy's first. Luckily she found a couple of dresses that were perfect for her event, then had to make the hard decision to choose only one. In the meantime, Kelly and I picked up some sale items, too! After shopping, lunch, and a little sightseeing, it was time for dinner. We ended up at The Cheesecake Factory... I know, we have one right down the road at home, but our feet were tired, it was very cold and we had a play to make! With TCF close to our hotel, it became the obvious choice.

After dinner we took a cab to our play "Late Night Catechism" and got ourselves in Catholic School mode. The "nun" who "taught" our class was very funny and we all enjoyed the show. The next morning it was cold, gray, and raining, so we decided to gather up and head for Indy. I am sure the grandkiddies were happy to see their mothers, and the husbands even happier to get some relief! All in all, it was a wonderful weekend and I want to thank Stan, Joel and Keith for letting us get away for a couple of days. I am so blessed to have 3 amazing daughters and it was wonderful to spend some time with them....just like the olden days!

Can't wait 'til next year! : - )

My girls - Kristy, Kelly, Holly and Abby. Christmas 1999. - Moorings house.