leaving Sembrancher and Valais

This morning we must leave this beautiful and historic valley of our ancestor Gaspard Nicholas Ribordy. We have had an extraordinary visit seeing the residences that our grandfathers and relatives built beginning in the late 1600s and still being used today. We have wandered the streets of the village of Sembrancher and explored the passages and attics, worshipped at the church and visited the graveyard where many of our relatives are buried. We have explored a medieval castle of the Duke of Savoy with the neck chain attached to the post in the dank prison chamber. Byron wrote of the prisoner who spent 6 years here in the Castle of Chillon and added his name to the graffiti on the wall near the sketch made by another prisoner in 1545. We have marveled at the height of the mountains and the villages and towns on those slopes. We have driven to Verbier, the Swiss Aspen and watched the paragliders practice over the valley 2000 meters below. We have walked in a Roman ampitheatre from the 2nd century that is used today for the cow fights in springtime. We have taken hundreds of photos that will not be able to capture the beauty of this place. Nor can we capture in photos the kindness, generosity and friendliness of our cousins Rene and Dodo. They have made us feel that we not only are family, we are close family. They are simply fantastic men as well as their families.

We leave today for southern France. For me, a part of me will always remain here in this beautiful country with these exceptional people.

Try to write more tonight.