Yes, the Fatherland because Renie’s father was born near Antwerp, Belgium in 1905. He was in his 30’s when he immigrated to the US, met Renie’s mother in NYC, married at The Little Church Around the Corner, then relocated to Arkansas when WWII started.

Although French was Renie’s dad’s native language, he rarely spoke a word of it wanting, like so many others of the time, to blend in as a proud American. Eventually, but not until after Mr. Bressinck’s death, Renie’s genetic predisposition won out and speaking French well became a passion.

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In France, locating a suitable gite to rent for a week or so is kind of like buying a pig in a poke. First we conduct an exhaustive search on the internet then plunge into the sea of choices and grab one. The guardian angel of “le troisième age” often looks after us and we usually end up with a great place. La Cour Vincent in Bligny-sur-Beaune was one of those and it came with a bonus — the gracious and elegant owners M. and Mme. Duréault.

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Since leaving Switzerland on August 30 and arriving in Flanders Fields on October 9 (See entry dated Oct. 14), the time we spent in interesting places and with precious family and dear friends trumped any efforts to stay in touch. The details of our stays in 13 different hotels and gites in 40 days would exhaust even our most ardent followers, but by moving around so often, we were able to sate our curiosity about certain new places and satisfy our desire to revisit others.

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