Rod's thoughts on France and Portugal

 Here are my (Rod) general thoughts and impressions of France and then Portugal.

France:
Money - Similar to Italy, in the non-touristy areas, cash was preferred.  The cost of items were very similar to Italy, slightly cheaper than Michigan.  Again, plenty of cash machines around, but we made sure to use ones associated with banks.

Driving - Not as crazy as Italy (Tuscani) but seemed to have more traffic.  Streets were better labeled, and we only missed turns a couple of times.  We were very careful of speed as electronic enforcement was everywhere.  Every town we visited had a plenty of parking lots, so that was easy.  I would get a car again if visiting France.  We didn't really use public transport, except one time on a bus, but it was good.

Language - it was much harder for Katie and I to pick up the lingo compared to Italy - it didn't make much sense and we could see items labeled, but the pronunciation didn't seem to correspond to the letters!  Again in Touristy areas, English was prevalent, so it wasn't really a problem.  I would say half of the shops/cafe's we visited in non-touristy areas could speak English....again, the locals would try to help us with pronunciation, which the kids picked-up quicker.  Everyone was nice and patient with us, we really didn't receive any condescending attitudes from people, even the locals were friendly with us.

Food - Well, we had such high level food in Italy, it was going to be hard to beat in France.  The food we did have in France was very good, as we expected.  The pastries and breads were better in France, but the coffee/cappuccinos were not nearly as good as Italy.

Scenery - again, we were in gorgeous locations easily accessible by car and walking.  Reminded us very much of areas in Italy and the walled towns in France were very similar to those in Tuscani.  Easy to get to Mediterranean. (beaches not as nice as Lake Michigan though!)

 Churches - numerous, old, and amazing, very reminiscent of churches in Italy

Portugal:
Money - Since we were really only in tourist areas, we really didn't use that much cash - some shops did have a minimum purchase amount to use a card, but it was usually 5-10 euros, so not too bad.  I would say most items were cheaper than in Michigan.

Driving - We didn't have a car in Portugal, which was fine as we really didn't have anywhere to park in Coimbra that was close to our flat.  Uber was king in Portugal and we used it a lot and it was really cheap (usually under 8 euros for a trip).  The train system was a little dated and somewhat cumbersome to use, but it did work for us and our ideas...we were able to get everywhere we wanted.

Language - A little easier to pick-up than French, it was mostly trying to keep straight what was Spanish and what was Portuguese (they both had a fair amount of overlap).  Everywhere we went there was English, so it really wasn't a problem....it was interesting to hear other international people speaking in English to the local shop keepers.  Everyone was pleasant and friendly.

Food - Well, after coming from France and Italy, we were excited for the Portuguese food...we mostly had good stuff, but it just didn't compare to France or Italy - pastries (my expertise) were not very impressive, unfortunately and we tried different shops, but just didn't find anything that worthwhile.  Pastries were worse than France and Italy, but the coffee was somewhat better than France but not as good as Italy.  We did have a fish dinner that was very good, but we never got to Porto to try some of their fish dishes.

Scenery - It was much more lush in Portugal than in Southern France.  The rural areas were very pretty and scenic.  We didn't really visit any rolling hills areas, but where we did visit it was lovely.  The Atlantic Beach town was amazing, the beach was beautiful and it was the nicest and biggest beach I have every visited!  The waves were just a little intimidating.  There did seem to be a lot of graffiti everywhere and most of the buildings were somewhat dingy - everything could have used a good cleaning!  France was by far the "cleanest" area we visited.

 Churches - Gorgeous old churches, beautiful and remarkable - very similar to the churches in France and Italy - just amazing, holy sites.