Copenhagen & Praesto – Denmark
Invited to a friend’s wedding in Praesto so decided to make a weekend of it doing 2 days in CPH then 1 day in Praesto/Tappernoje then another 2 days in CPH. Departed Heathrow at 0650 on BA812 on time going to CPH Kastrup Airport. Flight was uneventful 1 hour 25 minutes of flying with the usual 20 minutes of faffing around Heathrow and CPH. Pastrami croissant for breakfast on board. Cleared customs and retrieved baggage then headed to the train station. Google maps got us to the Copenhagen Island Hotel (albeit on the wrong side of a dual carriageway in the rain), we were 4 hours early. Paid 200 DKK to upgrade room to a harbour view that meant we could check in straight away!
Hotel is a nightmare for anyone scared of heights (like me) as the corridors from lift to the rooms are ‘jump offable.’ Restaurant and bar area are very comfortable with an outdoor area on the Harbour full of smokers. Food was excellent and beer was expensive at 80 DKK for half a litre of Kronenbourg (approx £9.14!!)
Off we went on our first excursion into the city. 15 minute walk and we were at Tivoli Gardens, a theme park in the centre of CPH. The main square, where City Hall is located, currently is undergoing renovations, so photo’s of the buildings were obscured by large cranes. There are lots of bars and restaurants (and those horrid fast food joints) with bars from around the world. English pub, Scottish Pub, the obligatory Irish Pub(s) and an Aussie pub, where, again beer was expensive.
Day 2 saw glorious sunshine and a day where we ventured into the heart of Copenhagen. There are 3 main squares, all quaint and filled with cafe’s and bars where you can sit and watch the world go by. Had a wonderful lunch, the Danes certainly know how to make a tasty sandwich. Picked up the car from Avis parked it at the hotel and went back to the centre.
Checked out of the hotel, and asked for a ground floor room for the reservation on Sunday. Drove to Tappernoje got there 3 hours too early and the hotel would not let us check in. So went to Praesto, the closest bit of civilisation, and walked straight into a Bric-a-Brac market day. Quickly found a pub and had some lunch. The hotel was the Hotel Fjordkroen that unsurprisingly overlooked Praesto Fjord, with stunning views. Coach picked us up, off to the wedding we went.
Woke up with a mouth like Ghandi’s flip flop and a sore head. Showered and headed back to CPH for the remaining 2 days. Got our ground floor room with a view of the road. Did the usual and always recommend to do, open top bus tour. Hopped off at Christiania the hippy commune that is supposed to be a state within a state. Overhyped! Stayed there for about 30 minutes and went for lunch. Hopped off at The Little Mermaid, and, my word, she is little too. Continued round and hopped off at other places that looked interesting, one in particular we almost missed, Nyhavn. A beautiful canal street with restaurants and bars filling the streets and al fresco dining. A really good atmosphere. This lead up to another square, again, undergoing redevelopment where the National Opera/Theatre was. Stunning buildings.
Last day was mostly faffing around the places we’d already seen, we were booked to leave on BA821 to Heathrow at 1950 where we picked up a Hertz car drove to the Holiday Inn Ariel and had a kip.
In summary: Well worth a visit, but be prepared to spend money like there’s no tomorrow!
Friday, 9 August 2013
Thursday, 20 June 2013
Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, China
Booked during the British Airways January Sale, flew into
Terminal 3 of Beijing airport from Heathrow on the oldest, most uncomfortable
747 anyone has ever flown on. Looked up the registration and it was 24 years
old. No sign of a refurb or re-covered
seats, terrible. Beijing airport T3 had
an unsurprising smell of wet cement. We landed at 0945 to a deserted terminal,
however, still too an age to get through the 3 open gates out of the 30
immigration gates and took forever to
get our luggage. Taxi tout HELL!!!!!!
They are relentless, our hotel was close to Tiananmen Square, 40kms from the
airport, and was advised not to get a licensed cab but an airport authorised
long distance cab. We did and paid
approx £50. Got to the hotel, weather
was approx 28C and very foggy, not smoggy, but foggy. Finally managed to check in and first thing
was to have a shower.
Hotel Beijing Shangda International was comfortable, had 2 restaurants and a bar. We had a 2 roomed suite with separate sitting area and wired internet. Facebook, Twitter and Google are banned from China, but there are plenty of Proxy websites that can get you access for not much money at all if you miss your social networking! The restaurants were very good, fresh tasty local food cooked to perfection. They even give you a knife and fork as a back up! One Chinese Restaurant and one Japanese, very nice. Breakfast was most excellent, flash cards so you could show the chef you wanted fried eggs x 2 and back bacon. There was also a vast selection of cold meats and cheeses, fruits and Chinese noodle dishes. One flash card said Chicken Feet! I made sure that never went in my hand.
We did a day out to the Great Wall using the travel desk in the hotel. £75 for your own personal guide with limo or £55 for a coach tour. No brainer really! Amazing is all I can say. Walking along the wall, you are walking on the shoulders of giants. People that died while building the wall were buried in it vertically, hence the saying. There is a stone with engraving by Mao Zedong saying you are not a man until you have walked on the Great Wall of China. Well we are men now, however, the gradients are sometimes as great as 65 degrees, very steep steps. On the way we stopped at Mingh Tombs. Very interesting, but, take a hat, it is very hot and exposed to sunshine. Word of warning, on the way back to the hotel, the guide gives the impression that the Jade Museum, Silk Museum, and Doctor Tea are all part of your tour. They are not, guides get paid for taking tourists there and get a commission on the hard sell too. Be very careful in the Tea Tasting, you get 4 free tastes and asked if you would like to try some better ones for a cost. A very expensive cost too.
As you do, and can, in China, we had an overnighter to Xi’an to view the Terracotta Army. Bullet train in business class at 300km/h was a very enjoyable experience. 5 hours to get there and just 4.5 to get back. Didn’t stop so many times on the return. We stayed at Sofitel on Renmin Square, exceptional hotel in exceptional grounds. We got there too late to go see the Army, so booked a private tour with the concierge (always worth their weight in gold) to pick us up at 0700 the following morning.
Spot on time our driver arrives and whisks us off to the museum, a drive of about 50 minutes. Once there our guide met us to take us on our tour of the 4 buildings housing the soldiers. This is a once in a lifetime event, to see this spectacular sight, therefore, I fully recommend to get a private tour. Ours including the car was just £90, we got there early, no crowds or queues and our guide had some special accesses to the site that large party/DIY guide would not get access to. We were there for about 3.5 hours. The driver dropped us back at the HST station and we boarded our train heading to Beijing.
Next we did an overnighter to Shanghai, again the first bullet train out of Beijing South station, of course business class, for the 5 hours trip at break neck speeds. To think 10 years ago there were 0 (zero) miles of high speed train track in China, now there are hundreds of thousands and still building. Arrrived Shanghai approx midday, got the underground to the hotel and had a shower. Here we stayed in the Sofitel Shanghai Hyland on the famous and very busy Nanjing Road. It was baking hot and we had loads to do. Started the afternoon going to the Oriental Pearl Tower across the river, where we had something to eat. Went to the Bund area and low and behold, we found an Irish Pub!!!
The next day, we were booked on the last train to Beijing (Bei = North and Jing = capital) so we got started on our day. Went to the Peoples Park where you could have ballroom dancing classes, then, just for a change and to say we did it, we went to Pudong Airport on the world’s fastest and longest Maglev train. It is capable of doing 554km/h however, it only goes to 300 km/h. Don’t know why. The nuisance on the streets are the locals shouting ‘you want watch? You want lady massage? You want shop?’ as if anyone will ever say yes, they are relentless and very annoying.
Back in North Capital we have just a few days left, so finished off our sightseeing and explored the ex-pat area of Sanlitun village. Full of very expensive designer shops, but very good restaurants and plenty of bars, well it is Expat area!
Airport express to Terminal 3, checked in, security checked 3 times and we’re in the lounge waiting for BA38 to depart. This is the flight number that landed short at Heathrow in 2007.
In summary: Well worth it, however, spend more time in Shanghai and Xi’an and less in Beijing.
Hotel Beijing Shangda International was comfortable, had 2 restaurants and a bar. We had a 2 roomed suite with separate sitting area and wired internet. Facebook, Twitter and Google are banned from China, but there are plenty of Proxy websites that can get you access for not much money at all if you miss your social networking! The restaurants were very good, fresh tasty local food cooked to perfection. They even give you a knife and fork as a back up! One Chinese Restaurant and one Japanese, very nice. Breakfast was most excellent, flash cards so you could show the chef you wanted fried eggs x 2 and back bacon. There was also a vast selection of cold meats and cheeses, fruits and Chinese noodle dishes. One flash card said Chicken Feet! I made sure that never went in my hand.
We did a day out to the Great Wall using the travel desk in the hotel. £75 for your own personal guide with limo or £55 for a coach tour. No brainer really! Amazing is all I can say. Walking along the wall, you are walking on the shoulders of giants. People that died while building the wall were buried in it vertically, hence the saying. There is a stone with engraving by Mao Zedong saying you are not a man until you have walked on the Great Wall of China. Well we are men now, however, the gradients are sometimes as great as 65 degrees, very steep steps. On the way we stopped at Mingh Tombs. Very interesting, but, take a hat, it is very hot and exposed to sunshine. Word of warning, on the way back to the hotel, the guide gives the impression that the Jade Museum, Silk Museum, and Doctor Tea are all part of your tour. They are not, guides get paid for taking tourists there and get a commission on the hard sell too. Be very careful in the Tea Tasting, you get 4 free tastes and asked if you would like to try some better ones for a cost. A very expensive cost too.
As you do, and can, in China, we had an overnighter to Xi’an to view the Terracotta Army. Bullet train in business class at 300km/h was a very enjoyable experience. 5 hours to get there and just 4.5 to get back. Didn’t stop so many times on the return. We stayed at Sofitel on Renmin Square, exceptional hotel in exceptional grounds. We got there too late to go see the Army, so booked a private tour with the concierge (always worth their weight in gold) to pick us up at 0700 the following morning.
Spot on time our driver arrives and whisks us off to the museum, a drive of about 50 minutes. Once there our guide met us to take us on our tour of the 4 buildings housing the soldiers. This is a once in a lifetime event, to see this spectacular sight, therefore, I fully recommend to get a private tour. Ours including the car was just £90, we got there early, no crowds or queues and our guide had some special accesses to the site that large party/DIY guide would not get access to. We were there for about 3.5 hours. The driver dropped us back at the HST station and we boarded our train heading to Beijing.
Next we did an overnighter to Shanghai, again the first bullet train out of Beijing South station, of course business class, for the 5 hours trip at break neck speeds. To think 10 years ago there were 0 (zero) miles of high speed train track in China, now there are hundreds of thousands and still building. Arrrived Shanghai approx midday, got the underground to the hotel and had a shower. Here we stayed in the Sofitel Shanghai Hyland on the famous and very busy Nanjing Road. It was baking hot and we had loads to do. Started the afternoon going to the Oriental Pearl Tower across the river, where we had something to eat. Went to the Bund area and low and behold, we found an Irish Pub!!!
The next day, we were booked on the last train to Beijing (Bei = North and Jing = capital) so we got started on our day. Went to the Peoples Park where you could have ballroom dancing classes, then, just for a change and to say we did it, we went to Pudong Airport on the world’s fastest and longest Maglev train. It is capable of doing 554km/h however, it only goes to 300 km/h. Don’t know why. The nuisance on the streets are the locals shouting ‘you want watch? You want lady massage? You want shop?’ as if anyone will ever say yes, they are relentless and very annoying.
Back in North Capital we have just a few days left, so finished off our sightseeing and explored the ex-pat area of Sanlitun village. Full of very expensive designer shops, but very good restaurants and plenty of bars, well it is Expat area!
Airport express to Terminal 3, checked in, security checked 3 times and we’re in the lounge waiting for BA38 to depart. This is the flight number that landed short at Heathrow in 2007.
In summary: Well worth it, however, spend more time in Shanghai and Xi’an and less in Beijing.
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Berlin, Germany
May 2013 saw us have a cheeky little weekend away (4 days)
here in Berlin. This time we flew direct
with British Airways A320 at 0720 in the morning. If I haven’t mentioned before, we always fly
on the first flight out and last flight back in order to get 4 full days of the
city. This does however, often involve
extra cost in the form of airport hotels, but with so many websites that cater
for these at knockdown prices, the cost is minimal.
Arrived at Tegel (TXL) airport, the favourite one of Berlin as it is only 15 minutes drive from anywhere in the centre of the city. This should have closed 2 years ago and replaced with the new Berlin (BER) airport at Schonefeld, but a problem with the fire alarm have caused a 3 – 4 year delay. There is no direct underground at TXL just buses and taxis in an abundance. Taxi to the hotel was quick and cheap and most importantly, on a very fairly priced meter that issued receipts for the amount it cost, not some fictional figure thought up by the scoundrel taxi driver to rip you off.
We stayed at Savoy Hotel in the vicinity of Kurfurstendamm, Savignyplatz, Kantstrasse and Berlin Zoo . The transport infrastructure is as you would expect it, German. Very clean, punctual plentiful and cheap. There is so much to see and do in this city, we decided to return, at least 3 times, as you cannot do it justice in just 4 days. We saw Berlin Wall, Potsdamer, Holocaust memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg gate ..... all the things you expect to see.
Food was like the transport, German, deep fried and containing pork or chicken. There are plenty of family run restaurants around that do very good affordable tasty German specialities, Schnitzel, Pork Knuckle, Saur Kraut etc. There was an Indian restaurant just down from Potsdamer before the Holocaust Memorial. Adise you give this a miss, the waiters are pestilence itself, trying to drag you in from the street then not giving you what you ordered. Very bad experience, we ended up just walking off and leaving money for the beers we drank but not paying for the food that went straight back.
May saw the temperatures in the late teens reaching mid 20’s by the middle of the day, when, cover was needed and refreshment sought. Cardigan and trouser were needed after 1900 as it got a trifle chilly.
The Hotel Savoy was exceptional, 1920’s decor and ambiance, the cinema over the road was playing The Great Gatsby, how apt! With its own cigar bar, renowned throughout Berlin, as people kept walking in to buy cigars, and a great selection of Whiskies, many a night could be had in there. Breakfast, however, was slapshod. Plenty of waiting staff, but no one doing anything. Therefore, we did what we love to do and ate locally. Again, the age old problem of Egg on Toast reared its ugly head again, even Google Translate didn’t help. I ended up with bacon and cheese omelette with a bread roll in a basket. Think next time I will take a picture of it.
In summary: Go, do it and return to do the bits you missed or forgot to do! One of our favourite cities J
Arrived at Tegel (TXL) airport, the favourite one of Berlin as it is only 15 minutes drive from anywhere in the centre of the city. This should have closed 2 years ago and replaced with the new Berlin (BER) airport at Schonefeld, but a problem with the fire alarm have caused a 3 – 4 year delay. There is no direct underground at TXL just buses and taxis in an abundance. Taxi to the hotel was quick and cheap and most importantly, on a very fairly priced meter that issued receipts for the amount it cost, not some fictional figure thought up by the scoundrel taxi driver to rip you off.
We stayed at Savoy Hotel in the vicinity of Kurfurstendamm, Savignyplatz, Kantstrasse and Berlin Zoo . The transport infrastructure is as you would expect it, German. Very clean, punctual plentiful and cheap. There is so much to see and do in this city, we decided to return, at least 3 times, as you cannot do it justice in just 4 days. We saw Berlin Wall, Potsdamer, Holocaust memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg gate ..... all the things you expect to see.
Food was like the transport, German, deep fried and containing pork or chicken. There are plenty of family run restaurants around that do very good affordable tasty German specialities, Schnitzel, Pork Knuckle, Saur Kraut etc. There was an Indian restaurant just down from Potsdamer before the Holocaust Memorial. Adise you give this a miss, the waiters are pestilence itself, trying to drag you in from the street then not giving you what you ordered. Very bad experience, we ended up just walking off and leaving money for the beers we drank but not paying for the food that went straight back.
May saw the temperatures in the late teens reaching mid 20’s by the middle of the day, when, cover was needed and refreshment sought. Cardigan and trouser were needed after 1900 as it got a trifle chilly.
The Hotel Savoy was exceptional, 1920’s decor and ambiance, the cinema over the road was playing The Great Gatsby, how apt! With its own cigar bar, renowned throughout Berlin, as people kept walking in to buy cigars, and a great selection of Whiskies, many a night could be had in there. Breakfast, however, was slapshod. Plenty of waiting staff, but no one doing anything. Therefore, we did what we love to do and ate locally. Again, the age old problem of Egg on Toast reared its ugly head again, even Google Translate didn’t help. I ended up with bacon and cheese omelette with a bread roll in a basket. Think next time I will take a picture of it.
In summary: Go, do it and return to do the bits you missed or forgot to do! One of our favourite cities J
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Valencia, Spain
This city was highly recommended to us by a couple of
friends, so we thought we’d give it a go in middle April 2013. As you do, we left Heathrow again at silly
o’clock in the morning, for Dusseldorf where we changed for Valencia (anything
to avoid that dreadful RyanAir airline!)
Arrived at 11.00 feeling brave we barged through all the resident taxi
touts, you see at every airport in the world offering to rip you off in an
uninsured unlicensed car, and caught the underground to what we thought was the
local station to the hotel. After
getting Google Maps to tell us we were miles away, decided to get in a cab and
travel in style.
Arrived at the Hotel Silken Puerto Valencia and got upgraded to a penthouse with a balcony as we are now Expedia VIP Access clients. Very well appointed hotel, great location in the city, close to all amenities and underground. Only problem with the room there were no drawers for underwear etc. Restaurant served great local food, and the breakfast was first class, however, we do like to have breakfast around the cities we visit. The egg on toast saga began. I got egg on a plate with the toast on another plate, Egg on a baguette, omelette, it really is never ending.
Temperature was late teens to mid twenties, shorts and tee shirt weather by day and a jumper required at nightfall.
Architecture in the Old Town is stunning along with all the medieval churches and of course the Cathedral. The City of Arts and Sciences is a testament to the complete lack of regard passed local authorities had for the local economy by spending vast amounts of money on something that is beautiful in its own way, but could still do the same job for 25% of the cost. Running through the city is the Turia Gardens. This lies on the old bed of the River Turia and goes for 9km. A really peaceful and tranquil walk in the middle of a bustling city.
The indoor food market is a must, all the different Chorizo and salamis hanging up in the midday heat that would simply not be allowed in the UK. Plaza del Virgen and the Cathedral Square are quite magnificent, 21 centuries of history spreading around you with plenty of bars and cafes to prevent those old nuisances called dehydration and exhaustion.
The airport is like any other European Airport, mainly Orange and Yellow (Easyjet and that awful Ryanair). We flew back via Zurich to Heathrow with the exceptional Swiss International, and as it was the day of Lufthansa industrial action, the planes were almost empty. The one from ZRH to LHR was only 2 weeks old, and there was no circling and queuing to land at Heathrow either.
In summary: Worth a visit once, but we wouldn’t go again to see things we missed.
Arrived at the Hotel Silken Puerto Valencia and got upgraded to a penthouse with a balcony as we are now Expedia VIP Access clients. Very well appointed hotel, great location in the city, close to all amenities and underground. Only problem with the room there were no drawers for underwear etc. Restaurant served great local food, and the breakfast was first class, however, we do like to have breakfast around the cities we visit. The egg on toast saga began. I got egg on a plate with the toast on another plate, Egg on a baguette, omelette, it really is never ending.
Temperature was late teens to mid twenties, shorts and tee shirt weather by day and a jumper required at nightfall.
Architecture in the Old Town is stunning along with all the medieval churches and of course the Cathedral. The City of Arts and Sciences is a testament to the complete lack of regard passed local authorities had for the local economy by spending vast amounts of money on something that is beautiful in its own way, but could still do the same job for 25% of the cost. Running through the city is the Turia Gardens. This lies on the old bed of the River Turia and goes for 9km. A really peaceful and tranquil walk in the middle of a bustling city.
The indoor food market is a must, all the different Chorizo and salamis hanging up in the midday heat that would simply not be allowed in the UK. Plaza del Virgen and the Cathedral Square are quite magnificent, 21 centuries of history spreading around you with plenty of bars and cafes to prevent those old nuisances called dehydration and exhaustion.
The airport is like any other European Airport, mainly Orange and Yellow (Easyjet and that awful Ryanair). We flew back via Zurich to Heathrow with the exceptional Swiss International, and as it was the day of Lufthansa industrial action, the planes were almost empty. The one from ZRH to LHR was only 2 weeks old, and there was no circling and queuing to land at Heathrow either.
In summary: Worth a visit once, but we wouldn’t go again to see things we missed.
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Funchal, Madeira
Just to get rid of any cobwebs from the Christmas travel embargo we set off on this cheeky little weekend away. Left Heathrow on TP371 at the ungodly hour of 0640, not even enough time to go to the lounge for a Bloody Mary!! We pushed back 7 minutes early, this is unheard of for Heathrow. Then after sitting in the middle of the apron for 45 minutes, delaying all the other flights stuck behind us, they finally got the right hand engine to start. Friends were joking when I said we were flying with TAP Portugal, saying, ‘You know what TAP means eh? ... Try Another Plane!!!’ How true!
After a wonderful flight landed at the precarious Funchal Airport on time, must have had nice wind. Our chariot was waiting for us to whisk us to the Pestana Casino Park Resort. Fantastic new motorway opened in 2001 reducing journey time from 90+ minutes to 15 minutes. The taxi driver was very proud of this.
Got to the hotel, from the outside it looked like something from a council estate in Smethwick in West Mids, concrete 1960’s nightmare, but the inside was luxurious. Checked in and sat on the veranda with a cold beer (Coral) and it was only 11.15 (had to move the yardarm on this occasion.) When we left Blighty, it was a whopping 1 degree celcius, Funchal was 23, so with our warm layers shed and tee shirts, shorts and flip flops on, we went to town.
My God, the hills are formidable, the average age of tourist here is 65+! God knows how those chariots cope with the steep inclines. Walking around the town and we noticed a lot of seats and railings being put up. It turned out we were there for the Mardi Gras of Madeira! (same weekend as Rio too.) Was a fantastic festival, colours and music and dancing and all the bars were full and exaggerated prices etc.
The timeshare sellers are a real pain in the proverbial, however, one did ask if we were busy the next day. Told her we were going to Porto Santo on the ship. She said not to as it’s North and cloudy, windy and rainy, and we’d waste our time. This story checked out with the hotel reception too. If she didn’t mention it, we would have gone and wasted a day!
One of the main problems for a staying tourist in Funchal, is the curse of the Cruise Ship. Everyday, there are 2 of them docked in Funchal harbour offloading upto 4,000 passengers each for 8 hours. They all have to get from the harbour to the town (coach) and then have a drink and eat. This puts a big strain on these small streets and small intimate cafes, however, they appear to cope and get rid of these people as quickly as they arrive!!
Just to the left of the Pestana is a really quaint restaurant with beautiful food called Casa Velha with a really lovely pub downstairs called Harry’s Bar with a real old character as a waiter. Cafe life lives well here, sitting Al Fresco on a February morning drinking coffee (not moving the yardarm today) has a really nice tone to it, when you realise friends at home are sitting in sub zero temperatures. It is almost too rude to send a picture of me in shorts and tee shirt enjoying my beverage at 0900.
There is a mountain of culture to explore too, Madeira is famous for stuff that you can Google, so I won’t bore you with it. There is also a cable car that goes somewhere I didn’t go. Cheaper than going to the top of the London Shard too (what isn’t.)
We said a fond farewell to Funchal after a carnival filled weekend to wait in the lounge with several large Gin & Tonics for our flight to Heathrow TP372 leaving at 1820 (we got to the lounge 3 hours before as you can!) arriving at 22.05. No additional starter motor was required for the journey back, and the free G&T’s kept rolling on Try Another Plane. Next trip is Valencia Spain. We change in Dusseldorf on the way there and Zurich on the way back.
In Summary: Give it a go, but make sure it’s off season.
After a wonderful flight landed at the precarious Funchal Airport on time, must have had nice wind. Our chariot was waiting for us to whisk us to the Pestana Casino Park Resort. Fantastic new motorway opened in 2001 reducing journey time from 90+ minutes to 15 minutes. The taxi driver was very proud of this.
Got to the hotel, from the outside it looked like something from a council estate in Smethwick in West Mids, concrete 1960’s nightmare, but the inside was luxurious. Checked in and sat on the veranda with a cold beer (Coral) and it was only 11.15 (had to move the yardarm on this occasion.) When we left Blighty, it was a whopping 1 degree celcius, Funchal was 23, so with our warm layers shed and tee shirts, shorts and flip flops on, we went to town.
My God, the hills are formidable, the average age of tourist here is 65+! God knows how those chariots cope with the steep inclines. Walking around the town and we noticed a lot of seats and railings being put up. It turned out we were there for the Mardi Gras of Madeira! (same weekend as Rio too.) Was a fantastic festival, colours and music and dancing and all the bars were full and exaggerated prices etc.
The timeshare sellers are a real pain in the proverbial, however, one did ask if we were busy the next day. Told her we were going to Porto Santo on the ship. She said not to as it’s North and cloudy, windy and rainy, and we’d waste our time. This story checked out with the hotel reception too. If she didn’t mention it, we would have gone and wasted a day!
One of the main problems for a staying tourist in Funchal, is the curse of the Cruise Ship. Everyday, there are 2 of them docked in Funchal harbour offloading upto 4,000 passengers each for 8 hours. They all have to get from the harbour to the town (coach) and then have a drink and eat. This puts a big strain on these small streets and small intimate cafes, however, they appear to cope and get rid of these people as quickly as they arrive!!
Just to the left of the Pestana is a really quaint restaurant with beautiful food called Casa Velha with a really lovely pub downstairs called Harry’s Bar with a real old character as a waiter. Cafe life lives well here, sitting Al Fresco on a February morning drinking coffee (not moving the yardarm today) has a really nice tone to it, when you realise friends at home are sitting in sub zero temperatures. It is almost too rude to send a picture of me in shorts and tee shirt enjoying my beverage at 0900.
There is a mountain of culture to explore too, Madeira is famous for stuff that you can Google, so I won’t bore you with it. There is also a cable car that goes somewhere I didn’t go. Cheaper than going to the top of the London Shard too (what isn’t.)
We said a fond farewell to Funchal after a carnival filled weekend to wait in the lounge with several large Gin & Tonics for our flight to Heathrow TP372 leaving at 1820 (we got to the lounge 3 hours before as you can!) arriving at 22.05. No additional starter motor was required for the journey back, and the free G&T’s kept rolling on Try Another Plane. Next trip is Valencia Spain. We change in Dusseldorf on the way there and Zurich on the way back.
In Summary: Give it a go, but make sure it’s off season.
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