11-04 Funchal, Madeira Day 2

After our long tour of the island yesterday, we decided to just take a cab into the town center, walk around, catch up on Internet, and see some of what is there.  It was a beautiful sunny day with very mild temperatures.

Right outside their municipal theater were cafes – all Wi-Fi zoned!  So, we had a cappuccino and caught up on e-mails, etc.  We were finally able to check to see who won our Florida election races – and were sorely disappointed in the results.  Across the street from the cafe was the Sao Francisco garden which was beautiful – lots of flowers and green everywhere with water fountains and even a little outdoor amphitheater.

Continued to walk up the main avenue which was tree lined with a wide sidewalk area.  We were told to check out the Old Blandy Wine Lodge to taste the different Madeira wines made here.  We didn’t have time to do all the tasting, but went in to check it out. 

We continued up the avenue to the Se Cathedral which was built in 1514 and is the center of town. To the right of the cathedral was a charming little street lined with cafes and ended at the street running the length of the bay area.

We decided to have lunch there before heading back to the ship.  I wanted to have one last time their local fish (espada) after enjoying it so much at lunch yesterday.  What I learned was – ask for the filet!  It has no bones.  I got a piece that was grilled, but full of bones!  So, while it tasted wonderful, it was not as easy to eat.  Their beer was one of the best I’ve ever had – called “caneca.”  I don’t know if it’s local, but want to check when I get back home. 

We stopped and bought some Madeira wine before we strolled back to the place to catch the cab back to the ship.  We could have walked back, but we were running short on time.  We had to be back at the port to get all the paperwork done for VAT so we didn’t have to pay the European taxes on items we bought on the trip. 

As a side note, we bought lots of things on the World Cruise – and very little on this trip.  Doug’s big purchase was a watch and mine was a beautiful leather purse from Florence.  We didn’t have that much time in ports to shop, plus we didn’t really find a lot we wanted to buy.  SO, that will make it easy to get our things back home.

We would like to return to this town and island again.  We would spend more time in the town of Funchal because it is quite charming.  We would have liked to have walked through the market place which we were told is wonderful.  They also have a cable car that goes up to the little town of Monte and a big botanical garden.  So, we’ll save that for the next visit!

Back on the ship, we went up to the Lido deck to read on the lounge chairs as our ship left at 4 p.m.  As we passed by the island, we realized we could see it better from our deck, so we returned to our cabin and took lots of pictures of the island from the water. It is really obvious from that perspective how mountainous the island is – with lots of valleys – and all coming right down to the sea. 

We had a wonderful dinner in the Canaletto and thought about going to the show, but it was another hour to wait, so we went back to the cabin and just watched the movie Crimson Tide on our TV. 

It was a very relaxing and wonderful day – a great way to end the port segments of our trip.  Now we’re off to sea!