Kim,

Before you go the Seychelles, I highly recommend you get a Canon G7 X Mark II. It is not much larger than a pack of cigarettes. (if anyone remembers how big a pack was) It has a great piece of glass and full 1" sensor. Even better... it is only half the cost of iPhone. I think you would be VERY pleased with the pictures and glad you took it. It is the Rolls of point and shoot cameras IMHO.

Caveat - Canon has released the Mark III version, but it is getting panned by the pros. I think they added more bells and whistles at the cost of the quality of the product. Plus it is $200 more expensive.

Your trip to tracing your roots in France sounds so cool. How far can you trace back the family origins? 12th Century?