Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Where do Your Family Roots Take You?

Cousins hiking

 

My cousins and I went to Italy to visit their Italian cousins. Family roots. After visiting their cousins, and seeing their Grandmother's house, one they had never seen, let alone stepped inside. Later we drove to Cinque Terre and stayed in Monterosso.

 

Belforte Restaurant Cinque Terre Tower

 

Visiting cinque terre

 

Belforte restaurant

 

Belforte plate

 

Cousins sharing a meal

 

Ristorant belforte

 

Terrace restaurant belforte

 

My cousins had heard about a restaurant in Cinque Terre that shared their family name…

Belforte: Beautiful and Strong.

They are.

And the restaurant was.

Every detail was an honor to the name.

The Belforte Restaurant in Vernazza, is in an ancient stone tower, that stands against the sea.

We had one of our best meals there.

I asked the owners if I could buy some of their plates since my cousin's name was on it. The owners agreed, and my cousins thought I was the best thing, until we had dessert that is.

 

Laundry cinque terre

Italian coastline, tower

 

 

 

Sun umbrellas

Orange umbrella

Colorful cinque terre
 

Italian riviera at night

 

Colorful isn't it?

Dang, in the middle of the night, midnight to be exact,

Cinque Terre

had me

contemplating

sunglasses.

_______________________________

Where do your family roots take you?

Comments

29 responses to “Where do Your Family Roots Take You?”

  1. Ellen at American Homestead

    Last December I traveled to Brataslava, the city that my Grandfather laft when he was a young teen to make the journey to a better life in America. But it was while I was on a bus in Budapest that I had a conversation with a local guy and when I looked into his eyes I saw my own. Then I started noticing so many people looked like my Dad’s side of the family. I felt I had gone home…

    Reply
  2. Zosia

    I am Polish through and through despite my over 20 years in Canada. However, I left part of my heart in Canada after so many good years there. You might say my roots are in Poland but new shoots are in Canada :-).

    Reply
  3. Kiki

    oooooh my gooooooooooooood!
    this is the top of gorgeousness; le comble du bonheur, the max of all maxi-beauties…
    I once acquiered(in Italy, where else?!)an espresso cup from our favourite caffè on the piazza of our short holiday place… I also wanted to buy the cup because I experienced so much happiness on every morning at this small place; when I explained my wish to do so, the serving person disappeared to ask the boss – and he never mentionned the matter again. When we definitely left, I asked again if I could buy a cup, I was then questionned about the whys etc and I replied in my best Italian with a Swiss German/English/French accent…. and got a NEW ONE AS A GIFT. Only condition: Think of us every time you use it; you were such delightful guests! And I DO, on a daily basis…
    I have no family roots as such… Born in Switzerland, to a Swiss dad who grew up in Germany and a Swiss mum with Swiss family back to Adam and Eve….
    Corey; you get a BIG kiss for this extraordinary post! It’s so full of glory and happiness, of beauty and fabulous thoughts and actions… 🙂 Mille grazie, cara!

    Reply
  4. Liz

    Your cousins are such beautiful women(che bella)…like you! I am so happy for you that you are on this venture with them…Italy happens to be my motherland too. I hope that they will learn, if they don’t already,too love it is as much as I do…

    Reply
  5. Bev

    We have kept in touch with our Danish relatives and even visited the family farm. Also went to the little village above the Artic Circle in Norway where, thankfully, my great-grandmother left to make her way via Canada (we believe) to the U.S. illegally. (So many stories floating about how she did that. Did she sleep with the Immigration official and then steal his wallet in the morning? Or did she make her way by boat from Canada to Whidby Island?) We’re trying to find out about English relatives as well.
    How much fun it is to retrace roots.

    Reply
  6. Paulita

    Such cool photos. Wish I was were your cousin too. My daughter Grace loves tracing our history and has connected us to Henry the 8th. Do you think we can stay at a palace in England? Luckily, on my husband’s side, the kids have some cousins in northern Italy where Grace will visit next year.

    Reply
  7. Marilyn

    What a very special time together with your cousins. Nice gift of the plates too. Love all the photos and the restaurant sounds and looks amazing.

    Reply
  8. Kathie B

    What a great trip for all of you!!! Of course, I’d like to go there just on general principles, even though I doubt I have a single root there.
    Corey, you already know my story of starting the search for my lost Azorean roots after a lifetime of my family concealing our Portugueseness from me.
    On my first trip to the Azores I visited all three villages from which my paternal great-grandparents hailed. Later, in the regional archives where they’re stored, I held the frail original books in which my grandparents’ (not to mention a great-grandfather’s and his mother’s) baptisms were registered. These have since been scanned and the images posted online, which is less romantic but a whole lot more convenient, not to mention economical, than traveling (most of the way) across an ocean!
    In the course of my explorations I’ve met a passel of distant cousins in the Azores, have become BFFs with a long-lost second cousin in California who’s my age (our dads were first cousins, and as a young child I recall once meeting her dad and his own elderly father when they were visiting from out-of-town) — and I’ve communicated via email with a few other distant cousins in the US. My search is by no means over — it seems that the more I learn, the more I realize how much else there is to learn! — and I look forward to locating more ancestors’ records, and perhaps finding additional living distant relatives.

    Reply
  9. Sue

    So gorgeous!!!
    My roots are German/Irish, but they haven’t taken me anywhere… yet! I have always wanted to go to Ireland, but Germany has not called to me as much for some reason. I have not a drop of Italian blood that I know of, but I have always wanted to there. Four years of classical Latin in high school and converting to Catholicism will do that to you, I guess!
    I am also 5 parts Japanese – that’s one husband plus four kiddos. ;o)

    Reply
  10. debra

    C, another great post! Mom’s family is from Scotland; my cousin traveled to the area , researched, and traced back almost a thoudand years. Can’t wait to go there, even though I know I’m 100% Gaul!

    Reply
  11. Kathie B

    Thought Sacha might like to know:
    On NPR “Morning Edition” this AM, Eleanor Beardsly reported that among the many qualifications thought to make Christine Lagarde especially well-suited to be the next head of the International Monetary Fund is that she spent a year of high school in Baltimore, Maryland, which enabled her to gain a real grasp of American culture!
    And here you thought you were just havin’ fun ;-)))

    Reply
  12. JudyO

    One of the outcomes of tracing my roots was when we were in Paris last year. My maternal great great great great grandfather opened a Patisserie in Paris that is still there. He was German and brought to Paris by Louis X!V to be his personal pastry chef. It was such a thrill to see my mother’s family name (Stohrer) on the shop and of course I had to buy some treats so I could get a box with the name on it. Todays owner was very courteous and also gave me some monogramed mementos.

    Reply
  13. Sam

    Such pretty plates and a thoughtful memento. Family is such a beautiful thing. My family roots take me back to my heart.

    Reply
  14. Theresa

    Just gorgeous photos. Thanks for taking us along on another great journey! My roots would take me to Hungry and Scotland. Places I hope to visit one day. My son will visit Scotland next summer….lucky boy!

    Reply
  15. Brenda L. in TN.

    Lovely gift to your cousins…very thoughtful…
    another beautiful colorful sunny town you’ve taken us to…thank you.
    My roots are Irish/Scottish/German…dad’s side is Irish/Scottish…mom’s is German. I would love to go to them all someday.

    Reply
  16. Patti

    Corey, I am so enjoying the contrast of color between France, China and Italy. Each place seems to have a color quality of its own. Each is so different and fitting to the culture. Thank you!

    Reply
  17. Amy Kortuem

    Ireland. I stood outside the church in Rathcormack, County Cork, and looked for the family graves. I asked a man who was mowing if he knew where they were located, and he said he was just hired to mow, he didn’t know anything about the cemetary. When I asked he had seen the graves of the Flynns, he perked up, grabbed my arm and said, “Oh the Flynns! I know where they are – because I’m on of ’em.”
    Small world when you’re looking for family. When I took a closer look at this man, I recognized the high cheekbones, the outline of the jaw, the heavily lashed twinkling eyes of my father’s cousins and brothers.

    Reply
  18. Mélanie Aussandon

    I’m totally in love with your colorful photos , but the one with the colorful umbrellas is stunning . I would love to make a big frame with it .
    Ciao Bella

    Reply
  19. Frances

    Family history would take me to India – many unanswered questions there…
    I have to agree with Mélanie about the umbrella photo – stunning indeed !

    Reply
  20. Brenda, Walker, LA

    Corey: My dad’s roots were traced straight back to the Bastille in France, lol….
    My mom’s family traveled through Nova Scotia, then on to the Louisiana Coastline, up the Mississippi River to dry land, where they settled in areas with French names,Like “FrenchSettlement”,Gramercy,St.Amant,Prarieville,Vacherie,ect, (beyond New Orleans) and farmed, keeping a lot of the French customs alive.

    Reply
  21. Marie-Noëlle

    You’re spoiling us with those gorgeous colourful pictures of yours !!! I LOVE them !
    My roots would not take me that far !!!
    Lyon and the Beaujolais area. Vines… and vines …
    If I follow my husband’s … I end up in … Lyon … and the Champagne area. More vines … !

    Reply
  22. Salut15@ aol.com

    Fabulous pix of a most fabulous spot! Bravissima!

    Reply
  23. Mardog

    Ate at that restaurant in Vernazza and stayed at an inn just nearby overlooking the sea. Enjoying seeing the town again.

    Reply
  24. cynthia Wolff

    geez…nothing like your family. what are youse guys all awesome or what?? not a stinker in the bunch.

    Reply
  25. Bridget

    Love, love, LOVE (!) your photos. Thank you ever so much for sharing. My roots are taking me back to Kansas this October to meet cousins. My eldest cousin is in her 90’s she worked on the family tree up into the 1980’s. Also meeting another cousin who actually has a lot of the same old cabinet cards as my Mom. Please don’t pinch me. This journey will be a road trip with only my Mom and I. We are meeting with my Aunt (Mom’s sister) and then embracing our family history. I can’t wait!

    Reply
  26. Sheala

    What a great time! Love your photos. Italy is a place I’ve always wanted to visit. I’m so happy for you Corey, what a blessing.
    PS~ my roots are in Ireland (mostly)
    XOXOXOXOXO Shea

    Reply
  27. jend’isère

    Christine Lagarde actually spent a year in my hometown of DC suburb of Bethesda, while I was there. Opposite to my mother, my kids laugh at my “new world” accent while I have actually returned to my “old world” real roots as adult.

    Reply
  28. Rhonda P.

    Oh my, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
    If only my family and I could get there to really dig for our roots.

    Reply
  29. cheap jerseys

    My eldest cousin is in her 90’s she worked on the family tree up into the 1980’s. Also meeting another cousin who actually has a lot of the same old cabinet cards as my Mom. Please don’t pinch me.

    Reply

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