Madeira

The Queen Elizabeth 11 was waiting to show herself off to us and we were not disappointed, she was not quite as big as the MCS Music but she was certainly more stylish.  Our hotel Riu Palace Madeira is magnificent, our room really is the business.  For the first day we decided to walk the 10km to Funchal, capitol of Madeira, but what we failed to realise was the mountainous nature of that walk.  After about 1km were well and truly knackered, does not appear to say much for our fitness but in our defence it must have been 1km in elevation too!  Our salvation was in a local bus, so I thought, but the white knuckle ride had me feeling very queasy in no time flat.  I am not a good traveller at the best of times but in this rollercoaster with a racing driver of a bus driver was too much for my stomach.

I took a taxi back but that was not much better so there and then decided to rent a car so I would be in more control.

It's a Clio!  Lovely drive to the outlying villages and then into Funchal to book afternoon tea at Reid's.  Whilst in town we took in the Botanical Gardens:

I'm getting quite good at this picture stitching!  You can see the Gardens have been open for 46 years and well worth a visit.

Thursday already and today we have arranged one of the must do in Madeira items, and that is take afternoon tea in Reid's, the table is booked for 3pm and we must be in our best bib and tucker (whatever that means!).  Bit overcast but this allows me to get up to date on some of my personal administration.

Reid's was all it had been made up to be.  From the outside it did not look very grand, a bit like a tired hotel in Whitley Bay!  But once inside pure class.  The tea veranda has a perfect outlook across Funchal Harbour. Many blends to pick from, Jen went for Reid's own blend whereas I had a traditional English Breakfast blend.  The ubiquitous cucumber sandwiches, complete with the crusts trimmed off, and we were all set for an hour's culinary pleasure.  The similarities of Reid's afternoon tea and the same in Betty's (my favourite is in Northallerton High Street) are many but one thing that Betty's cannot compete with is the view:

After Tea, Sandwiches, Scones and Cakes it was time to explore the history of Reid's and the who's who of their famous guests.  I wondered when we'd be asked to join the list but of course discretion is the bye-word in an establishment built on Victorian values, so I managed to restrain myself.

Exploring West of Funchal along the coast there were more magnificent coastal views and some very hairy small road BIG incline driving.

Back in Funchal to get a taster of the Christmas lights we were treated to a fantastic unusual scene for these parts a Santa in his sleigh with Reindeers pulling him around town and SNOW - well not real SNOW but close enough for the 'WOW!' factor.   Whatever next!  The look on the youngsters faces was magic, I bet some of them had not seen snow before and with the added attraction of Santa it was too much.

Two more 'must do in Madeira' today, the Cable Car and the Toboggan Run.  Both lived up to their billing in spades.  I particularly liked the seven kilometre ride in the Cable Car, the views were spectacular and of course the weather matched the stunning scenery.  We had a bright bronzing morning on our balcony, and a swim, then into town.

You have to do the toboggans and it is fun.

Now for my one hour with Virginia!  Opps, 24 hours 10 minutes early!  Forgot me days whilst on holiday; which of course is a very good sign - just hope I remember the right day for the flight home!

So a day touring the island, the northern coast is a lot less developed and is the better for that.  We only did about 80 km but saw a lot and with the tourists at a low ebb had it all to ourselves.  Eventually kept my appointment with Virginia and it was well worth the wait, even got the hot volcanic stones on my back, very relaxing.  Another special meal in the special bar away from the hustle of the main restaurant and off into Funchal for the lights.  An effort to drag ourselves from the torpor that is a relaxing holiday but soon we realised the rightness of our decision.  Spectacular lights, our favourites being the angels:  a close second was the choir:

It was my idea to get a crypt scene of figures to make a display in a small corner of our garden back in South Shields, it would mean two things a constant reminder of our exceptional week in Madeira and more importantly remind us of the true meaning of Christmas.  Thing is will the check in girl see our purchase as a good idea!  You should see the size of the box; mind I hope our Platinum Status helps smooth the way of this obvious excess baggage!  It did!  Baby Jesus is safely tucked into the baggage hold whilst we sit in our comfortable, long leg roomed seats wafting our homeward way to South Shields.

I'll try to get the crypt scene set up today and a picture posted.

My work here is done; where to next?

Later

Dave

Postscript:

Baby Jesus made it but not such good news for some of the others.  Minor injury to the Donkey in losing his left ear, also Joseph was rushed into intensive care with a severed left arm, but worst of all Angel Gabrielle lost both wings!  Araldite, sorted and here they are in all their glory: