This is the story of my life so far: 69 years and counting.
Prequel: A Brief History of my Family in France
The story starts here
Previous episode: Part 117
In November 1998, two months after Gaëlle's problems in Maryland and my father's death, life was quiet again.
I knew that my father never wanted to travel, and Marie, my mother, did not want to leave him by himself while he was alive. But now that he was no longer with us, I had the idea that maybe Marie would like to travel.
So, I asked her if she wanted to visit us the next summer.
She thought about it, and she told my brothers and sisters in France. They told her that yes, she should go to visit us, but not alone, as she was already 78 years old. My brother Philippe volunteered to go with her.
My mother had an uncle Bertrand, a brother of her mother, that lived in Toronto. He had been in France for the last time in 1940, leaving with the last boat going to North America before the invasion of France. Bertrand was 95 years old and his wife Naomi was 90 years old. They were living together in a nursing home. One of their grandson, Paul, was taking care of them.
So, in July 1999, Marie and Philippe flew to Toronto. There they went to visit Bertrand and Naomi. The visit lasted only 45 minutes because they were both tired.
Marie was very happy to see again her uncle that she had not seen for 59 years.
Six months later, Naomi died and Bertrand one year after his wife. Marie had gone to visit them just in time.
While in Toronto, Marie and Philippe went to visit the CN Tower. They also went to see the Niagara Falls.
That was a good start for Marie who had not traveled very often before that. I think that she had taken an airplane only once to go to Marseille, and she had been to only one foreign country, Switzerland.
After several days in Toronto, Marie and Philippe flew to Vancouver and stayed with us for three weeks.
Continue to Part 119
If you like this story, please consider following me @vcelier
Summary
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7
Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14
Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21
Part 22 - Part 23 - Part 24 - Part 25 - Part 26 - Part 27 - Part 28
Part 29 - Part 30 - Part 31 - Part 32 - Part 33 - Part 34 - Part 35
Part 36 - Part 37 - Part 38 - Part 39 - Part 40 - Part 41 - Part 42
Part 43 - Part 44 - Part 45 - Part 46 - Part 47 - Part 48 - Part 49
Part 50 - Part 51 - Part 52 - Part 53 - Part 54 - Part 55 - Part 56
Part 57 - Part 58 - Part 59 - Part 60 - Part 61 - Part 62 - Part 63
Part 64 - Part 65 - Part 66 - Part 67 - Part 68 - Part 69 - Part 70
Part 71 - Part 72 - Part 73 - Part 74 - Part 75 - Part 76 - Part 77
Part 78 - Part 79 - Part 80 - Part 81 - Part 82 - Part 83 - Part 84
Part 85 - Part 86 - Part 87 - Part 88 - Part 89 - Part 90 - Part 91
Part 92 - Part 93 - Part 94 - Part 95 - Part 96 - Part 97 - Part 98
Part 99 - Part 100 - Part 101 - Part 102 - Part 103 - Part 104
Part 105 - Part 106 - Part 107 - Part 108 - Part 109 - Part 110
Part 111 - Part 112 - Part 113 - Part 114 - Part 115 - Part 116
Part 117