Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

My maternal grandparents were Scottish immigrants, born and raised in Glasgow, who came to America for better jobs and religious freedom. My grandfather fought (and was gassed) in WWI, and never fully recovered his health after that experience.

They were born Catholics living in a Protestant country, and they were in search of the American dream, raising their two daughters in Louisiana. My mother called her aunts in Scotland at Christmas each year as it was too expensive to call more frequently. She wrote back and forth to her Scottish relatives her whole life. She could only imagine what Scotland was like.

Our house had many signs of her Scottish upbringing: little Westie knickknacks, tea towels with Scottish terriers, and dolls wearing kilts and bagpipes. Most afternoons, we had tea (albeit from tea bags dunked in coffee mugs) and biscuits (whatever cookies my mom had on hand).

In 2000, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to accompany my mother on her first trip to the homeland of her parents when I flew with my parents to Glasgow. We spent a lot of time with my mother’s first cousin Anna and her extended family on my grandmother’s side. We also visited my mother’s first cousins on my grandfather’s side. It was a lovely trip. I stayed one week and my parents stayed an additional week without me. In 2002, I returned with my family and spent more time with my mother’s extended family.

Those trips reinforced my love of all things Scottish, and when I had my DNA analyzed, I was not surprised to find that I am 49% Central Scotland, Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland.

The bulk of the remainder of my DNA percentages (40%) is shown as Acadia, indicating my father’s Cajun background, which brought his ancestors to Louisiana, first from France, and then through Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island in Canada.

Thus, my conundrum of where I would live if I could live anywhere in the world! I love my home state of Louisiana, but I’ll probably not live there full-time again. I am happy where I live now, in the DC metropolitan area, mostly because of the friends I have from both my previous careers, and we have one daughter who lives here in the area. But, if I could have a home somewhere else … well, it would be a toss-up between Scotland and France.

We recently returned from our big trip for 2025, visiting Spain, Portugal, and France. Each time I return to France, I find myself falling in love a little bit more with the culture, the food, the cathedrals, the villages, the people (yes, the French people are really lovely, even to Americans!).

On our recent trip, we stayed in a small inn in Loubressac, one of “the most beautiful villages in all of France.” The designation was received from the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association, and it is absolutely worthy of it.

We were in France for a conference my husband attended as he is researching the French Resistance during WWII, specifically in this region of France. On July 14, 1944, Operation Cadillac was carried out in this region, dropping by parachute 558 containers of weapons for use by the French Resistance. My uncle (who was also my godfather) was part of this operation. While at this conference we actually visited a memorial to the French Resistance, where my uncle’s name along with one other American, were installed on it during Bastille Day celebrations last summer.

Loubressac also is home to the church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Loubressac, a building listed as a historical monument that is situated in the center of the village. The church existing today was built in the 16th century and replaced an original 14th century building.

On this recent trip, we had dinner with three Americans who have purchased homes in France. Two of them, a married couple from New York, live there permanently, and the other, the daughter of the other American listed with my uncle on the memorial, spends part of each year in a nearby village.

Oh, how I’d love to own a small home in this beautiful area of France, so far removed from Paris and its mass tourism, but nevertheless filled with all the charm of the French culture, cuisine, and ancient architecture. Away from the distractions of my uber-suburban life, I would no doubt read and write more, improve my poor French language speaking skills, and eat the simple but delicious food of the region. Ce serait merveilleux!