Old Blandy's Wine Lodge & The Sacred Art Museum

Again, I know that I have been to both places on previous trips to Madeira, but they are two places that really make me smile. Blandys’ because every time I think of it, I always remember the group of Scandinavian tourists, sitting in the Max Romer Try & Buy bar, slowly getting more and more plastered.

On the way into the Blandy’s Wine lodge – more correctly known as Adega Sao Francisco (I think) there are a series of wooden plaques with descriptions of the various wines on it.

(Apologies for the slight blurring in the subsequent photos – my arm was starting to ache!) This is then followed by:

This is then followed by:

Followed by:

And finally:

The main wine lodge is up some steps, and as you approach, there is a large banner proclaiming that this building is the Blandy’s Wine lodge.

Then, it’s into the main building. There are several tours that run, depending on the time of year, as they run a harvest tour the end of August to the beginning of September. (Ok – when I was there, it was the Vintage tour for which you paid €25 to try old wine, or the normal wine lodge tour that told you about the production of Madeira wine, and that was €5. I opted for the standard tour, as I am not a wine enthusiast by any stretch of the imagination, so it would have been a waste of money for me.

Whilst I was waiting for the tour to start, I made the most of the peace and quiet to get some photographs of the vintage room.

This room is incredible. The wines are stored in cabinets that seem to be fronted by chicken wire, and the atmosphere is something else.

Storage in the Vintage room

Vintage wines (without the chicken wire in the way!)

Vintage Sercial in the Vintage room

The Vintage room

Then it was on to the main tour itself. The guide as per normal, was really enthusiastic, and made sure that the tour party was aware of the heritage of the building – it had been used as a hospital and a jail, as well as being a monastery.

The first room that we entered was the canteiro room. This is where the wines are kept in American Oak barrels for a number of years and are heated by the sun shining on the building. Some of the wines in the room had been in there longer than I am old!

Casks in the Canteiro room

The next room was the Vat room – where the previous year’s juice (or very young wine) was stored prior to going into the canteiro room. The vats were made from Brazilian Satinwood, as this didn’t impart any flavour to the juice / wine before it made its migration to the American Oak casks.

Brazilian Satinwood vats - the grape variety is stencilled onto the vat

If a wine is to be declared a vintage, it must remain in the barrel for a minimum of 20 years, and the master vintner must have agreed that it is a good year for the particular grape variety. Then, four bottles are sent to the Madeira wine institute, who give it the final say so (apparently one bottle is tested to ensure the quality of the wine, two bottles are put into the archives and the fourth bottle? The guide always jokes that it is drunk!)

The tour always ends in the Max Romer try and buy bar, where I was able to try a 5 year old Bual and 10 year old Malmsey. I have to admit, neither is to my taste, but it is interesting to see if my pallet has changed from the previous year (it never seems to!)

The sales area of the Max Romer Try & Buy bar

The other place that I adore is the Sacred Art Museum. Again, I know I’ve mentioned this when I’ve been posting about my trip last year, but it’s one of those museums that really makes an impact on you.

Unfortunately, I only managed one photograph this time (and that was because I was standing in the street to take it!)

But, despite this, the museum remains one of my favourite places to visit, as the collection of Flemish and Portuguese art is some of the best that I have seen, and I really wish that I could get a proper guide book that gave all the information about this fascinating museum.

Ah well, guess I should call this quits for now – I’m starting to fall asleep at my computer!

Back tomorrow, if I get the chance.

Karen

Now some things you hold on to - and some you just let go
Seems like the ones that you can't have
Are the ones that you want most

Another day in Funchal - visiting the Sé

As Funchal is the capital (or more to the point major town) in Madeira, Mum and I went there most days. Not necessarily to the same place, although the Sé was a different matter (but that was because my camera decided to start playing up, and refusing to save images, so I had to borrow Mum's camera, so the pictures in this post are a mixture of her camera and mine).

The Sé is one of those places that stick in my mind, simply because the interior is so spectacular. The outside is rather plain, and doesn't give any hint at the splendour that lies within.

Outside of the Sé

Can't remember who this is...

Inside the Sé, it's almost like entering another world. The workmanship is phenomenal, and the artefacts on display are something else.

The view from the left hand bank of pews

The main Altar

One of the side chapels - this is on the right hand side of the main altar.

Close up of the chapel

This is to the right of the chapel and the main Altar

Think this is an image of St Micheal the Defender

Part of me wishes that I had a really big flash on the camera, as the workmanship on the walls and altar was spectacular, and my poor little flash barely illuminated anything, so I guess that the true splendour will have to remain as a memory.

Ah well, guess I should call this quits – I need to go and sort out a few bit…

Back later

Karen

Now some things you hold on to - and some you just let go
Seems like the ones that you can't have
Are the ones that you want most

How do you parallel park a cruise liner?

With great care, especially when one of the liners in question is P&O’s Arcadia. There were supposed to be two cruise ships in, both of them were due to arrive about 08:00.

Well, as luck would have it, I was awake and fully dressed when I spotted Arcadia arriving. I expected her to move down towards the Sea Wolf’s berth, but for some reason, she stayed at the top of the harbour, near the end of the berth.

 The Sea Wolf (or more correctly Lobo Marinho) pulled out just after 08:00, and it brought home to me just how big Arcadia actually is.

Then it was the turn of the second cruise liner. I cannot remember for the life of me what it was called, but I do know that it was a German ship. It waited patiently for the Lobo Marinho to pull clear, and then started one of the most amazing manoeuvres I have ever seen with a cruise liner.

The manoeuvre started normally enough, with the pilot swinging the ship around, so that it could reverse into the harbour – no problems there.

Then, much to my amazement, it looked like the pilot was starting to parallel park the ship!

I’ll grant the pilot his due, he was very skilled, and to watch the way he parked the second liner was incredible, but I still don’t like boats (or ships!)

Ah well, time to call this quits – I’m back into the playpen tomorrow, so I’ll finish updating tomorrow night – if I can face looking at a computer screen again!

Karen

Now some things you hold on to - and some you just let go
Seems like the ones that you can't have
Are the ones that you want most

Jardim Orquídea and the Botanical Garden

Mum and I decided that one of the places that we really wanted to revisit was Jardim Orquídea. So, as it was quite a walk (it’s a fair way out of the city centre and is up some tremendously steep hills) we decided to take a taxi.

Now normally, this isn’t a problem, but the taxi driver seemed only too keen to wait for us, telling us that we wouldn’t be there that long, and that he would drive us to the Botanical Gardens.

We politely declined the offer, and walked into Jardim Orquídea, with me carefully taking my camera out, ready to start taking photographs of the fabulous plants. As per normal, Mum and I split up, meaning that we both got different photographs of the various orchids (most of which I cannot identify to save my life!)

I can recall that this one is Macropelata ...

Paphiopedilum (I think)

No idea - think it might be a Miltonia...

No idea.

Think this one is a Dendrobium

Cymbidium

Phalenopis (no idea of variety)

Vanda

Think this one is a Cattalaya

In total, Mum and I spent about 2 hours there, walking around, taking photographs (and I was cursing the fact that I don’t have the right environment to keep some of these beautiful plants.) However, Mum fell for a plant and bought it. I think it was a little Cattalaya, but I know that it was only €12.

It was then time to head to the Botanical Gardens, which is allegedly 500m from Jardim Orquídea. What the guide books don’t tell you is that you almost need a mountain climbing kit, and the agility of a mountain goat to get there.

Because Mum was (and still is) suffering from Sciatica, we stopped halfway there (ok – we sat on a wall) to get a brief break before making the final ascent to the Botanical Gardens.

Once there, it was a case of walking to the coffee shop / café, where I left Mum and made my escape around the gardens. I know it sounds awful that I left her on her own, but she was quite happy as she had a couple of guide books and the paper to read. Me? I escaped with my camera, spare batteries and a bottle of water as it was quite hot - I think it was about 27 degrees Celsius (no idea what that is in Fahrenheit)

So, it was off to explore, and in my case, head straight for the Cycads.

These plants are the remnants of the mighty plants that were munched by the plant eating dinosaurs in the Jurassic age. Me? I adore them, as I think that the actual structure of the plant makes for some really stunning photographs.

 

Aside from the Cycads, the Botanical gardens are a real treasure trove of plants and flowers – everything from the traditional endemic plants found on the island, to the commercially important crops (such as apples and Monstera delicosa) to flowers such as the Hibiscus and quite a wide range of cacti.

The flower of Monstera delicosa

 The one flower that I was really pleased to be able to finally get a photograph of, was the White Bird of Paradise:

 

Strelitzia nicolai

Other things that caught my eye weren’t actually the plants – they were animals. As I was photographing the Cycads, I spotted a white peacock. It was a true white, as opposed to an albino, as the eye was black.

 

But the one thing that really made me smile was a lizard. Yes, a lizard. I’d stopped for a drink, and was sitting on a wall when I spotted this lizard cautiously sitting near me. Because I found it hot, I let a couple of drops of water land near the lizard (I didn’t want to scare it off) and was rewarded with the lizard staying put, allowing me to photograph it.

The one thing that did make me go green with envy was the bougainvillea that was scampering up the walls near the coffee shop. The colours were superb, and seemed to glow.

Ah well, guess I should call this quits for now – I’ve still got stuff I need to sort out for tomorrow!

Back when I get the chance…

Karen

Now some things you hold on to - and some you just let go
Seems like the ones that you can't have
Are the ones that you want most

First Day in Funchal

The first full day in Funchal, Mum and I took our normal walk into town and both of us were unsure what we would see, after the devastating floods in February.  To be honest, at first glance, there wasn't much of a change.

Or at least, not until we got to the first of the two rivers that flow through the centre of Funchal.  Last year, they were covered in Bouganvilla:

This year, it was totally different:

The bouganvilla had been swept away, along with the netting that it relied upon for support and the walls that it was attached to.

The bridge itself was also damaged:

But, once we got into the centre of Funchal, you wouldn't have know that there had been any flooding at all.  It was incredible to think that less than five months ago, this city had been inundated by tonnes of muck and gallons of water. 

However, when we walked down to the sea front that the amount of rubbish that was removed from the city became apparent:

Despite this, the island (or rather Funchal) seemed to be back to normal.  However, what the water had done to other parts of the island remained to be seen.

Ah well, guess I should call this quits - I've got to sort some bits out before I can do any more to my blog.

Back later, if I get the chance.

Karen

Now some things you hold on to - and some you just let go
Seems like the ones that you can't have
Are the ones that you want most

Back to the blogging

Well, I’m back. And the reason for the lack of posts? I was on holiday in my favourite location - the beautiful island of Madeira.

Mum and I had decided to return to Madeira within about ten days of us returning from our previous holiday, as the pair of us were so relaxed (ok – Mum had metalwork in her leg that decided to make a break for freedom, but that wasn’t the fault of the holiday!)

As per normal, I’m going to group the posts into the memorable parts of my holiday – fourteen posts would be a little extreme, as there were a couple of days that were wasted (the first day – i.e. the day that we flew out – more on that in a moment) and a couple of days where the pair of us just did very little, apart from chill.

The fun started at 03:30 on the Monday morning. Simply because Mum and I were being picked up by the taxi at 04:30, so it was a case of manhandling both cases down stairs the night before, as I am not at my best first thing in the morning – and certainly not at that time (I’m out of practice because I don’t have to get up and tend to Flame anymore).

The trip to the airport was uneventful, and we arrived at Birmingham Airport at 05:30ish... Now the check-in desk didn’t open until 06:00, so it gave Mum and few minutes to kill (and I was praying that the scales we had been checking the weight of the cases with was reasonably accurate, as the weight limit was 20kg per case…)

The desk opened, and we were second in the queue. Not a problem, until the girl on the check-in desk spotted Mum’s walking stick, which was folded up in her flight bag. Now normally, this wouldn’t be a real concern, as Mum regards it as more of a “comfort blanket” than an actual necessity most of the time.

However, Mum and I had booked seats with extra leg room – i.e. ones right by the aircraft doors (we were by the doors that are just before the wing on the B757 – think it was row 12). This meant that we had to be seen by the flight crew (or cart tarts) as being fully mobile; otherwise they would refuse to allow us to sit in the seats, despite the fact that we had paid extra for the privilege of not being treated like cattle.

Once that little hassle was overcome, it was then time to head for the security checks that allowed us to go airside. As per normal, the queue was massive, and this certainly didn’t improve my mood, as I had someone who seemed determined to keep as close to me as was humanly possible – without climbing into my flight bag!

It was then a case of waiting for the flight to be called. Only there is one problem. Birmingham airport (in their “infinite wisdom”) don’t make announcements for the flights that are ready to board. The only time that a call is put out, is when they need to round up passengers from either the bar or the duty free area, as they haven’t been keeping an eye on the information boards. Thankfully, we found seats directly facing the board, so we were able to keep an eye on things, and make sure that we were ready to make a move when the flight was ready.

So Mum and I headed to the boarding gate, and got onto the aircraft. Now as we were sitting by the emergency exit, we had to put our flight bags in the overhead locker… I wasn’t happy about that, as it meant that I had to hold onto my book and MP3 player / headphones as there was no seat pocket I could put them into. Then, we got the passengers from hell behind us.

Now normally, I’m quite tolerant when I fly – I just plug my headphones in, and ignore the world. Not this time. The prat behind me seemed to have ants in his pants, and every time he moved, he grabbed the back of my seat which seemed to pull it back to a point where it would almost twang back, and clout me on the back of my head.

In previous flights, I’ve had a nut free meal, because of my allergy. Not this time. I got given a vegetarian meal, and about 15 min after I’d eaten, I started to get the dreaded tingle in my mouth, meaning my allergic capability had started to kick in. Now where were my antihistamines? That’s right. In my flight bag, which was in the overhead locker.

But that wasn’t the worst part. The selfish prat who kept twanging the back of my seat had pushed his crap into the locker, putting my flight bag well out of my reach! All I can say is thank God for the gentleman who helped me. He helped me remove the selfish prat’s flight bag (who glared at me – I was just waiting for him to say something, and he would have been told in no uncertain terms what I thought of him) and got both mine and Mum’s flight bags from the locker.

The cart tarts were doing the pre-landing checks (seat backs upright, tray tables stowed, and hand luggage in the right places) when they spotted our flight bags. The one started to get a bit snotty – we’d stowed them underneath the seats directly in front of us – and I doubt anything short of a small nuclear explosion could have shifted mine.

Or she did until I said that I’d had and allergic reaction, and needed to get my medication. Nothing like the risk of a medical emergency to shut them up… But, it was back in the overhead lockers with them, and this time, it was our flight bags that were at the front, and the prat had to wait for his. Poetic justice in a way I guess...

Then it was into the terminal, through passport control and down to the luggage reclaim area. Now Funchal airport has a wonderful system, where the cases slide down on to the luggage carousel. Good idea in theory… In practise, not so good, as there is this chest that advertises the Madeira Story Centre, and I’ve seen cases get stuck behind there on a regular basis! Thankfully, the two cases weren’t one that were affected, meaning that all I had to do was grab them and get them off the carousel.

Once grabbed, it was a case of seeing what the transfer arrangements were (mini bus as normal) and getting across to where it was parked. As Mum managed to get the last seat in the normal bit, I had the delight of sitting in the passenger seat.

This didn’t actually bother me, as it meant that I could have a good look around, and see if there were any obvious signs of damage from February’s devastating floods. There was no obvious damage that I could see en-route to the hotel, but I wasn’t sure how the rest of the island was recovering…

Ah well, guess I should call this quits – I’ve go stuff to finish off before I head into the playpen tomorrow.

Back when I get the chance…


Karen

Now some things you hold on to - and some you just let go
Seems like the ones that you can't have
Are the ones that you want most