A-Z Challenge Surnames V

No V Surname either!

So let’s talk about taking a vacation. Yes, a vacation!

Who hasn’t dreamed of travelling to their ancestral home?

For me it was Italy and the fact that I still have relatives who live there. Since making the trip in my early 20s, I’ve gone almost yearly and we have become extremely close. I feel such a connection with them and they have come to Canada to see where our branch emigrated to. I got to visit the little village high up in the mountains called Sauris where the DOMINI family lived for 500 years. I got to stand in the church where they were all baptized and touched the baptismal font! This church is so old it has graffiti scratched in the walls from the 16 and 1700s!

 

In 2004 we got to take our 2 boys to England and visit Cornwall and Liverpool, two of the places my husband’s paternal side came from. We visited the farm estate in Veryan, called Castlezens (a derivative of Castles End) where his gggrandmother was a domestic servant and got to see where she slept. Below is the window from her room.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I’ve also been to Scotland half a dozen times. My husband’s maternal side is half Scottish and half Irish. Have yet to make to Ireland but it’s on my list. In Scotland, I’ve walked through the villages that the ancestors lived in and searched for their gravestones in the local cemeteries.

 

If you ever decide to do a “research/vacation trip” make sure you go prepared. Get as much information as you can on the places you need to go before you leave!

It’s a good idea to just pick one place at a time (if you can) instead of trying to fit ALL your ancestral homes in one trip. That would be too hectic and stressful and may end up ruining the trip for you.

Take as many pictures as you can and if you have time, fit in a visit to the local registry office or archives. You may make a new discovery or two!