Besancon

The main reason we returned to Besancon is that I was interested in seeing some more of my birthplace and also finding the chateau where Mum worked and also the lady who Mum worked for. It has all been a bit mysterious because I didn’t have any proper address to go to but we tracked down some people who used to be our neighbours in Montboucons where we lived for 2 years before we left France to come to Australia. My brother and I played with them as little kids. The woman I spoke to had never heard of the chateau or Madam D.

The addresses and numbering of houses in the villages is unusual. Houses are built in a random fashion not often in straight rows with the odd and even numbering system. We drove around the area where we thought the chateau was located but there was so many high rise apartment blocks and big shopping areas we were getting disheartened until we found the street where one of Madame D.'s children lives and then we found the chateau.

It is a very old and stately looking property. Madame D. just happened to be looking out an upper window as we drove by. Andrew spotted her so we stopped and told her we were looking for Madame D. and it was her. So we had a very short conversation and had a look around the grounds and took a few photos of the buildings. She gave me a red rose. I would have loved to go inside and have a good look around but we weren’t invited.

After leaving the chateau we went to St Ferjeux to look at the church where Mum and Dad were married and my brother and I were baptised. One of Mum and Dad's wedding photos shows them standing on the steps of the church with Madame D. so it was nice to see that in real life.

We did other things in Besancon besides tracing my family history. We ate out at restaurants every night, sat in cafes in Place du 8 Septembre to have coffee and people watch and managed to do a couple of tourist things. Like visit the Musee du Temps and the amazing Horloge Astronomique in the Cathedrale St Jean.

The city was so alive. It was an amazing transformation from January when it was death-defyingly cold.