Just back from the U.S.! 

When we got back to Portugal, I had a friend here text me to say, “Nice to be home right? Back to just a simple Portuguese life.” And, you know, “simple” is the right word here. 

Simple in that Portugal feels more peaceful and promotes a laid back life style… quite a contrast off the bat – given the divisions and acrimony going on in the United States. Of course, what I’m going to share is my recent experience in Florida, where we used to live before we moved. So, Florida – can be far different than other states we might have visited. 

But having said that, there were a lot of little things, that add up. For instance, we spent a lot of time in traffic… getting from one place to another. 

And in that traffic, there are a lot of menacing bumper sticker messages and images that are disturbing. 

Like this one, which I think is making fun of identifying as queer. The implication being, what? I have an automatic rifle and I’m aiming it at you. 

If you have a better understanding of that, please drop down to the comments section and let me know. Here’s another one. 

In Florida, guns appear to be a particular fascination with other bumper stickers like this one: pro-life, pro-god, pro-gun ….  and this one, a gun shaped like Florida.  

In Portugal, no bumper stickers … in 18 months and driving all over, we haven’t seen one outside a parking sticker or something like that. Apparently, no-one feels a need to make their preferences known. 

Speaking of driving, we were surprised to see a roundabout or two on the roads where we were in Florida. It’s a new thing and we’re quite surprised.  

Now in Portugal nearly all intersection are roundabouts. It’s a rarity to find a 4-way intersection with stop signs. It’s not unusual in Europe but really rare in the U.S. roundabouts take some time to get used to, but once you understand them, they are so much safer and more efficient than coming to a complete stop or trusting that somebody is going to come to a full stop at a 4-way intersection.  If there’s an accident in a roundabout, it’s usually a side hit at a very low speed. 

In some of my other observations, interestingly, there’s a lot of olive oil produced in Portugal. It’s a main ag product in the country … and olives and olive oil are everywhere. In restaurants, olive oil is usually on the table, and you use it with everything … it’s a big part of the Mediterranean diet. But in the U.S., nobody’s going to serve it without you asking for it. And olives! Olives are everywhere in Portugal. 

In fact, one of the gifts we took to the states to give our friends were these little olive dishes. Ceramics are huge in Portugal … and these are handprinted. Our friends liked them. 

And another thing we brought as gifts, were cork items like these little bags. Cork is another big product in this country. 

Anything and everything you can think are offered in cork… here’s some placements we also gifted some friends we were staying with. 

We ate out a lot during our visit to Florida, and we were jaw-dropped at the prices. Seriously, we couldn’t get out of a fairly nice restaurant for less than $100 bucks. In Portugal, it’d cost about 60 bucks and that includes a glass of wine or two. 

And wine, it’s crazy, a glass of nice wine in Portugal is about the equivalent of 3 or 4 dollars a glass (we use Euros over here). In the states, what?! Anywhere from 8 to 12 dollars for a glass of wine? So, there was some sticker shock. 

Also, every restaurant and business in Portugal has wi-fi. And they invite you to use it. I sure could have used that in the states because I needed wifi because I didn’t make arrangements to use data in the states. But most waiters looked at me crossed-eyes when I asked for their wifi password. Other than coffee shops. It’s an interesting difference. 

Of course, before we wrap up, I have to mention cannabis … 

In Florida, it’s an interesting situation because it’s medical only right now and you have to have a med card.  

It’s all kind of a farce … because you simply make up some health issue – and go to a “pot doc” to get a med card. The state and the doctors are making money hand-over-fist, because they charge you for the medical card, the doctors charge you $100 bucks for the visit. 

It’s actually a crying shame in Florida because people who really need this medicine and are living on the edge of… have a hard time affording it. It just not fair. 

In Portugal, all drugs were decriminalized in 2001. And they really don’t stop anybody for the most part. But there’s no place to purchase cannabis legally in the country, so there’s a huge underground market for it. 

So that’s my little overview of what my new “normal” looks like here in Portugal. 

Anyway, if you want to come and visit Portugal, think about joining me this October 2024 for my retreat here in beautiful southern Portugal. I will put a link below so that you can click through and see all the information. 

There will be plant medicine and you will be in excellent hands with me supporting and guiding you. So check it out and if you have questions, let me know. I’d love to see you over here.

I’m Becca Williams, and want you to lead your most magnificent life and I want to help you do that.