Introducing Madeira to Kim

Our first few days together were so fun as we got out a little each day. That meant eating tasty food, walking through parks, enjoying roasted chestnuts, climbing stairs and hills for views, introducing her to Bolo do Caco (the yummy regional garlic bread) stopping for coffee and tea, trying to identify cool plants and lots of smiling. We spent time walking around town to share our favorite things in Funchal as she worked to get adjusted to the time difference.

A Favorite Rooftop Terrace

One day we relaxed at a stunning rooftop bar - Galáxia Skyfood | Skybar. It's on the top of a very tall building with panoramic vistas and an incredible pool (that we wished we could jump in but is only for hotel guests). It's open to the public (we just paid a fee to ride the elevator up to the top and that was deducted from our food and drink bill so that they don't have hoards of tourists just going up to gawk at the view).

Madeira Wine Tasting

Another time we visited Blandy's Wine Lodge to sample a couple of their old Madeira wines which is a type of wine that's produced here. It's similar to port which is another fortified wine we had in Portugal, but this is a little bit different in that port is aged in barrels or vats and this wine is aged using a heating process (typically gently over three months which results in the sugar caramelizing which gives it a unique flavor & amber color). Another difference is typically port uses red grapes and this is produced with mostly white varieties. It was fun to sit in their old tasting room where we could sample the wines ages 10+ years. We had two varieties of 15 year - dry and semi dry. They were both really good and had a very nice sipping quality to them. They are enjoyed in small quantities typically after dinner as a dessert wine.

Santa Cruz

We had fun wandering around a nearby small village called Santa Cruz. They have a nice walking path along the water and we found a small stretch of the beautiful black sand as well as a wonderful vegetarian coffee shop called Pimpinelas that served yummy inexpensive food.