France and Portugal - September 2025

 Antibes on the French Riviera

Mussels

Mussels, baby clams, octopus

Red wine, white wine

Croissants, crepes

Warm sunshine, sandy beach, very swimmable Mediterranean water

Narrow streets with attractive doorways and plants, gift shops 

Antibes on the French Riviera was a great relaxing week-long holiday with my friend Kitty.

She returns to Antibes again and again.

It’s a lovely town and is great for people-watching.

We were there in mid September and there were still plenty of tourists.

We had a wonderful time.

Atalaia, Portugal 

From France I flew to Portugal where my friends, Blaire and Dale, are living in a small village about an hour north of Lisbon. I had been in Lisbon and Porto before so I decided I would just be with my friends in their area. It's beautiful with rolling hills and white villages scattered about. Roads are narrow and there are many roundabouts and 90 degree turns. It’s an agricultural area - cabbage being the main product, then pumpkins. There are olive groves which often are trimmed to be more like bushes. Atalaia is close to the coast, down a steep cliff with sandy beaches stretching on and on. It’s a tourist area with cold water; people come here to learn to surf, not that far away is Nazaré where surfing championships are held in the winter.   

Porto d Mós with Blaire  

Dale and Blaire

                                     

View from their house

We made daily excursions to museums, castles, fortresses, beaches, and a wine tasting. The Museum of Resistance and Freedom in Peniche traces the history of the dictator, Salazar who ruled Portugal for 46 years, 1932-68. (Franco in Spain 1939-75). The museum is located in a 16th century fortress and  became a prison in the 1960’s. There are video interviews of former prisoners and relatives. One man talked about escaping by swimming for an hour and a half in December. I can’t imagine. It’s an excellent museum.

A dinosaur museum is close to Blaire and Dale’s in Lourinhã. Dinosaur bones have been found in the cliffs and continue to be found. One exciting find were two groups of dinosaur eggs (the size of tennis balls) in a “nest.” Research continues on the finds. We visited a textile museum in Porto de Mós that had many historic looms and tools used for weaving. There were some beautiful woven fabrics on display. We also wandered in the 13th century castle which was once a Moorish settlement.

Castle

Porto de Mós 

Odidos is a lovely medieval  tourist town surrounded by a city wall. To explore  the town. you start with a glass of sour cherry liquor, then wander the attractive narrow streets. It’s a cute little town with nice shops; flowers and plants decorate the buildings. Starting in 1228 Odidos became part of the dowry for the queens. The castle there is a luxury hotel.

We walked on several beaches, long stretches of sandy beach where it was usually windy and  wavy. Walking on the beach was good for this Minnesota girl. 

The market has beautiful fruits and vegetables, a red pepper the size of a small cantaloupe. We also got cheese and fish. The fish salesman surprised us by speaking excellent English. Blaire and Dale are doing their best to learn Portuguese. 

My favorite food in Portugal are the custard pastries, but even better than those was the sour dough bread that Dale made. It was very special and very beautiful. It was a very relaxing and pleasurable time that I spent in Portugal.

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