Birds, Breezes and Bagpipes
Today it is not raining but it is blowing a hooley. At least the wind is warmish. T shirts for us, anoraks and mufflers for the locals. We have barely gone two hundred yards before we hear, then see, a couple of kestrels perched high up on an apartment block.
We have opted for a walk out to the west side of Funchal, past the towering Raj style edifice of Reid's Palace Hotel, and on beyond the Lido. En route we pass the Conservatoire whence we hear the sound of aspiring musicians. R is greatly uplifted by this experience, D thought that he could hear Lisa Johnson practising.
As we descend towards the Lido it becomes apparent that there will be no sea paddling today. Whichever bit of the Atlantic Ocean hits land here is arriving in large wet chunks. We keep our distance and only get lightly sprinkled. Fortunately the cliff top path keeps us mainly out of range of the spray. As we round the headland the wind gets even stronger but it is still pleasantly warm to us. After a break for a coffee in the Magic Tearoom we navigate our way through the maze of hotels and apartments to find the bus stop for a trip back towards base. We leave the bus a bit early to take in the Chinese supermarket that we spotted on the way out. The prices are outrageous but we source noodles and miso for tonight's supper.
We adjourn to a nearby restaurant for a tasty late lunch of fish and salad. This is Espada, a bit of a Madeira speciality, but not the world's prettiest fish.
As we enjoyed our meal we heard bagpipes. We queried this with our waiter who confirmed that the chef was watching a you tube of a French Marine band playing the pipes. It takes all sorts.
The Espadas look like offsprings of “The Alien”
ReplyDeleteNot too sunny, till now ? If there is a Chinese supermarket, there must be a couple of containership Irish pubs too around ?
Sunshine has been deficient but it has been warm enough. The Alien must have spent quite some time in the ocean around here as there are plenty of espadas in the market.
ReplyDeleteeessshhhh unkaalchured phish :(
ReplyDelete