My story with Portugal (Part 1/3)

With an in-laws half French (my husband’s mother), half Portuguese (my husband’s father), I’ve heard everything about Portugal…some good and some not so good ;p

And yes, opinions are divided according to experience. My father-in-law adores his country of origin, and even though he’s lived most of his life in France, he’s been brought up in the Portuguese way, with its customs and culture. He speaks Portuguese as well as French. Married to a Portuguese man, my mother-in-law discovered Portugal at an early age with her husband and in-laws. She spent one or two months there every summer vacation for 10 years. You might think that’s great, she was going on vacation, but it wasn’t really (always) a vacation. My father-in-law and his brothers were building their house there, so it was a lot of work and little time on the beach. Yes, the Portuguese don’t have their reputation for hard work anywhere. Nevertheless, after the effort came the comfort, and while the women enjoyed the long beaches of fine sand, warmth and blue skies, or built sandcastles with their children, the men went fishing. Perhaps you can already see where I’m going with this?

Fresh fish caught by my father-in-law (and later by my husband) and cooked by my mother-in-law…already a nice Franco-Portuguese mix ? Of course, all gathered around a table to chat for hours: brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, cousins, uncle, aunt…

That’s what Portugal’s richness is all about: magnificent weather and scenery, a friendly family atmosphere and fresh produce. That’s a bit of my Portugal story, even before I set foot in the country. A few years ago, I decided to explore and make up my own mind by going there.