me too Balcerak and sorry for getting a little testy about root bee ... argh my family fills up the fridge with is and nothing else has room .
Bratwurst with sauerkraut and mustard on a bun is my favorite. Cook the bratwurst in beer first, then grill them and then eat them. Yummm….
Good Day ROAD TRIPPERS!!! Off we go to Madeira. Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal, is an archipelago comprising 4 islands off the northwest coast of Africa. It is known for its namesake wine and warm, subtropical climate. The main island of Madeira is volcanic, green and rugged, with high cliffs, pebbly beaches and settlements on deltas of the Fajã River. Capital Funchal has botanic gardens and is known for its harbor and a large New Year's fireworks show. We will be checking in to the Royal Savoy Hotel in Funchal, I have booked all of the suites, we have 7 extra in case anybody wants to invite family or friends, let me know and I can put their names on the suites. I anticipate that we will be here for 4 days, perhaps 5. We can make this our base here and also do a runner over to the Azores. Its up to the group whether you wish to do that or not, and Casablanca is just a hop, skip, and a jump away as well. Ok, lets get a bit of adventuring in before just relaxing and checking out our new home!!! Our first stop will be the Monte Palace Madeira. This is a huge Museum and Botanical Garden. Here is a link to their website, its gorgeous: https://montepalacemadeira.com/desktop/ Our next stop will be the Palheiro Gardens. This is another large garden but it is a lot like an English Garden. Here is a link to their website: https://www.palheironatureestate.com/palheiro-gardens.html Our last stop of today, since we are settling in and these are all very large places will be the Madeira Botanical Garden. This garden has an Herbary, a Natural History Museum, and a Seed Bank as well. Here is a link to the government information site: https://ifcn.madeira.gov.pt/quintas-e-jardins/jardin-botanico-da-madeira-eng-rui-vieira.html We could easily spend 2-6 hours at each of these places and probably not see all of any of them. Good thing we have time delays!!!! Cocktail hour is 6 pm and dinner is 7 pm in Funchal at Ed's - Paixão Pela Comida. This restaurant has steak, burgers, barbeque, Portuguese, Spanish, English, and International food. They also have a full bar.
Portugal has always been an interesting place to me. Maybe because when I was a kid I met immigrants from Portugal who had made a town for themselves in California. Used barrels of Madeira are often used for aging spirits such as Scotch. They use Port as well. I'll be doing a lot of resting up tonight while I sort through the green balls that Schmet and Gero didn't know about.
dark green , forest green , lime green , moss green grass green , bluegrass green , algae green , emerald green , and some others , you don't really think you can hide treasures from a ratonga ?
lol I did not have to touch them to know , I's got many sneaky ways ha ha ha muaha muahaha And that little leaf green one you had in a very special place
Barq's has a bite to it. I only knew A&W root beer growing up. I have drunk around 5 to 10 different root beers. I now prefer Barq's. The diet version has no sugar and no caffeine.
Museums, castles, and gardens Oh my ! Souvenirs ! I like chocolate, I like photos of grotos, hurrah !
I remember as a kid, you could get a free kid's sized root beer at A&W. Tiny little mug. We did A&W for special family nights and the root beer was great. I've had Dad's, Hires, Mug, Barq's, and others including one that was made by a local beer brewery.
Good Day ROAD TRIPPERS!!! Today is our first full day exploring Funchal, Madeira. We started yesterday with three botanical gardens that were outstanding and huge. We will be mixing things up today with some more gardens, some other landmarks, some towns, and some other things along the way. Make sure you have comfortable shoes and clothing on, drinks/water and snacks in your backpack, a flashlight, your camera or make sure your phone is fully charged and hat/sunscreen in case you need them. As per usual the Cabana Boys will be on hand should anybody need assistance. So lets get going!! We will begin the day with a Premium Tour of Blandy's Wine Lodge. This is a huge winery and vineyard with wines still aging dating back to 1920. Here is a link to their website: https://www.blandyswinelodge.com/wine-lodge/history-of-the-wine-lodge.html Our next stop, as odd as it sounds is the Forum Madeira. Which is a shopping mall. It has a multiplex cinema, a Funlandia Entertainment Center which has an arcade/mini-golf/ski ball/etc, a Swarovski Crystal store (I love Swarovski Crystal Wizards and Dragons), a Stradivarious store, some book stores, and a couple of opticians, and I need new glasses!!! Our next stop is the Funchal Municipal Garden also known as the Dona Amélia Garden in honour of the former queen of Portugal. The Funchal Municipal Garden is located in the city centre, north of Avenida Arriaga, on the site where the São Francisco Convent once existed. The convent’s coat of arms has survived until today and is displayed on one of the lawns. The garden overflows with flora from Madeira and many other parts of the world. It covers an area of 8,300 m² and has a lake and stream populated with fish and birds.A large pond and fountain fill one corner and the park is shaded by huge, mature tropical trees. It has a small amphitheatre and a craft market. Next we are going to the La Vie Funchal Shopping Center. I know, another odd one, but this one has 2 chocolatiers, 3 computer/electronics stores, 2 bakeries, and a Hypermarket!!!! Moving on, we are off to the Madeira Story Centre. This is a museum that tells the history of Madeira. Here is a link to their website: http://www.madeirastorycentre.com/pt/ Ok fasten your seatbelts, we are off to the Pereira d’Oliveiras. This is a vineyard and winery owned and operated by the D’Oliveira family since 1850. Here is a link to their website: http://www.doliveiras.pt/ Next we will be visiting Quinta Vigia. Quinta Vigia, overlooking the port of Funchal, is currently the official residence of the Regional Government of Madeira. Well-kept public gardens can be found here, inviting visitors to enjoy a pleasant stroll. This space used to be known as Quinta das Angústias, as a chapel built in the 17th century used to stand on this site, dedicated to Nossa Senhora das Angústias (Our Lady of Anguish). Our next stop is the Quinta da Boa Vista Orchid Garden. This is a 16,000 square meter Orchid Garden in Funchal. Its magnificent. This estate is known for the wide variety of orchids cultivated there, a collection over 20 years in the making. Since the 1970s, the Cecil Garton family has owned the estate, which is currently managed by the granddaughter of Sir William Cooke, a famous orchid breeder. Today the estate is dedicated to preserving numerous species of plants, many of which are endangered species. The Quinta da Boa Vista prides itself on showing an outstanding collection of orchids and a collection of exotic plants from all over the world. I thought this one would be a bit of fun so we are off to the 3d Fun Art Museum. This is a museum of optical illusions where photographs are encouraged. Here is a link to their website: https://3dfunart.com/ Our next stop should be a fun one as well. It is the Museu do Brinquedo. This is a toy museum. It has over 20,000 toys in the collection. Created in 2003, from a collection of toys by Borges Pereira to which were added several deposits from other private collectors. The museum has a collection of about 20,000 pieces from England, France, Portugal and Germany. The collection consists of dolls, toy soldiers, miniature cars and games, dating from the late 19th century to the present day. Previously located in Barreiros, the Museum now has a new home, located in a building dating from the 19th century. Next we will be stopping at the Madeira Optics Museum. This museum has in its collection pieces from various branches of optics, from all over the world, collected from the 1960s to the present. In the 1960s, the passion for engineering and history led a person, Rui Aguilar, to start purchasing optical devices. Initially without the purpose of becoming part of a museum, the collection has continued to grow progressively until today. In 2014, the idea of creating the optical museum came up in conversation with his son, Sérgio Aguilar, who has been accompanying his father in the development and organization of the museum ever since. Currently, Rui and Sérgio Aguilar work together in the selection, acquisition, cataloging and preparation of the pieces and in the organization of the museum's physical space. About 2000 pieces are on permanent display at the museum's physical space. The most relevant categories are: Telescopes Binoculars Camcorders Film Projectors Photo cameras Medical devices Microscopes Military equipment Topographic equipment Currently the exhibition area is spread over two floors, a coffee area and a small antique shop with free access to the entrance of the building. Moving on, we will be going to the Museu de Electricidade - Casa da Luz. This is a museum on the history of Electricity on the Madeira Islands. Here is a link to a webpage: http://cultura.madeira-edu.pt/museu...sadaLuz/tabid/183/language/pt-PT/Default.aspx Our final stop of the day is HM Borges. This is a winery established in 1877 that has wines going back 30 years available for tasting. They purchase their grapes from a sharing partnership with local farmers. Here is a link to their website: https://www.hmborges.com/sobre-nos/historia-da-empresa.html Out of the 4 Islands in the Madeira chain, only 2 of them are inhabited the other 2 are deserted and can really only be viewed by boat. So our time in this chain will be split between the inhabited islands. Cocktail Hour is at 6 pm and dinner is at 7 pm at The Red Car. An acquaintence of mine recommended this place as a must stop and eat here!!! You should see the chocolate covered cheesecake, it looks like about a quarter of a cheesecake!!! I am going to make a stop at FOL Gourmet Popcorn and Sugar Cafe after dinner. Sugar Cafe to restock the airship with sweets as I am told it has the best Madeira Cake in the world along with a ton of other sweets and FOL Gourmet Popcorn as I love Caramel Popcorn!!!!
poem: summer time [ Copyright by me in the year 2020. ] Summer time, the heat is warm or miserable, it shines down, from 93 million miles away, it can blister your skin, or thaw you out. While the Southern hemisphere feels cold, maybe even some snow. Up north of the equator, storms are brewing, tropical depressions and hurricanes, bouncing around the Atlantic basin. The sun bounces off the water, in the summer time, glares off the sand and rocks. I would rather be, yes indeed, indoors in an air conditioned recliner. Summer time, makes me feel lazy, as my memories, glide down the river of my past, so don't be aghast, winter is on its way. Then we will long, for the Summer time !
I just love the toy museum!!!!!! I'm up for some of that gourmet popcorn too. My favorite is cashew lovers caramel popcorn.
Good Day ROAD TRIPPERS!!! I thought today we would jump over to Porto Santo, the other inhabited island of the Madeira Island chain. We will be spending most of our time on the main island so this will be a different adventure. Make sure you have comfortable shoes and clothing, drinks/water and snacks in your backpack, camera or phone fully charged, hat/sunscreen, and your swimming gear, you never know where we may end up!!! So lets get going!!! Porto Santo is a small island in the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira. It’s known for its warm waters, dive sites and the long, sandy Porto Santo Beach. In the capital, Vila Baleira, the Christopher Columbus House Museum has displays on maritime history in the Italian explorer's former home. Near the summit of Ana Ferreira peak, the Pedreira viewpoint has sweeping views and a towering rock face of multihued columns. Our first stop will be Praia do Porto Santo. On the south coast of the island of Porto Santo, 40 kilometres to the north-east of Madeira, is the only sandy beach in the whole of the archipelago, stretching uninterruptedly over a distance of 9 kilometres. Its soft, fine golden sand has made Porto Santo famous, particularly because of the therapeutic properties that it is known to have in the treatment of orthopaedic and circulatory problems. The Porto Santo Beach has several designations along its nine kilometres, including Penedo, Cabeço da Ponta, Calheta, Fontinha, Pedras Pretas or Ribeiro Salgado, offering conditions that allow everyone to enjoy the benefits of its waters and sands. Some of the concession areas were awarded a Blue Flag in recognition of their quality, and the accessibility for people with reduced mobility was not forgotten either, as proven by the “Accessible Beach” award in certain zones. The areas that boast these awards are: Blue Flag 2019 – Fontinha; Cabeço da Ponta; Ribeiro Salgado; Calheta Accessible Beach 2018 - Fontinha Next we will be going to Pico de Ana Ferreira. This is the highest point on the west end of the island at 283 meters above sea level. Here is a link to a geocache, just scroll down to the geocache description: https://www.geocaching.com/geocache...ira?guid=3657695f-9212-4971-9e4a-d044695308ec Our next stop is the Quinta das Palmeiras. Quinta das Palmeiras is a mini-zoo and mini-botanical garden that offers visitors some ornithological species and a variety of lush plants in a covered area of 5380 m2. This Quinta generates a sudden patch of green in a dry area west of the airport, and results from the vision of Carlos Alfonso, and 15 years of hard work. The garden was designed and planted by Alfonso. This oasis offers a haven of shade with roses, rockets, hibiscus and dates in abundance. Here you can find swans swimming around a fountain, cooing pigeons, stunning parrots and all kinds of other birds. Next stop is the A Casa Colombo - Museu de Porto Santo. This is a nautical history museum for mainly Madeira (Portugal) but also Spain and Dutch interests as well. Here is a link to the Madeira website: http://www.visitmadeira.pt/pt-pt/explorar/detalhe/casa-colombo-museu-do-porto-santo Next we are going to the Museu do Cardina. This is a museum of mainly historical agricultural and crafting items crafted or collected by a single man. Here is a link: https://acervo.publico.pt/fugas/not...inteiro-construido-por-um-unico-homem-1733150 Next we will make a quick stop at Loja do Profeta. This is a small, local craft shop, some interesting things here. Here is a link to their page: https://www.facebook.com/lojadoprofeta/photos Next we will make a quick stop at Gate01PXO. This is another retail therapy opportunity, less whimsical though than Loja do Profeta. Here is a link to their page: https://www.facebook.com/Gate01PXO-121215221410526/photos Believe it or not, we have explored this whole island. I thought we would have cocktails and dinner before we go back to Funchal, so I made us a booking at Porto Santo Beach Club. They serve Portuguese, Spanish, European and Pub food. When we get back to Funchal, we can utilize the spa facilities, have a walk about town, explore some of the night life, relax in the lounge at the resort, or whatever everybody wants to do.
geocaching is fun. I used to do a sport called orienteering where you were given a map and you used your compass and the map to find targets where you punched your card and moved on to the next one. Is Ana Ferreira where they make Ferrero Rocher?
Good Day ROAD TRIPPERS!!! Here we are back on the beautiful island of Funchal to continue our adventures here. We still can make a jump to the Azores and a jump to Casa Blanca if everybody wants to, just let me know. The Azores are also an island chain belonging to Portugal and Casa Blanca is a city in Morocco. Any way, we can plan those in if everybody wants to make those jumps, we will just keep our home base here at this resort and make day trips to those locations, for the Azores, we can even get a second villa there and explore those and then come back here before moving on. Well lets get on with our exploration of Funchal and the main island of Madeira. Our first stop of the day will be Fort São José. This is said to be the first fortification and landing site of the discoverers' of Madeira in 1419. It is now privately owned. Here is a link to a wiki page: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forte_São_José Next we are going to the Fortaleza-Palacio de Sao Lourenco. This is the official residence of the "governor" of Madeira on one end and a museum on the other end. Here is a link: http://www.visitfunchal.pt/en/cultu...nts/461-são-lourenço-fortress-and-palace.html Next we will be visiting The British Cemetery. Prior to approval from the government in Portugal in 1761, any non-Roman Catholics could not be buried on the island and were tossed from a cliff. This cemetary is the first that was approved, the remains here were moved from the original plot of land which now has a Volkswagon dealership on it. Here are a couple of links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Cemetery_of_Funchal http://www.holytrinitychurchmadeira.com/history/the-cemetery Next we are going to tour the Funchal Town Hall. This building was built in 1758 by the Count of Carvalhal to be his personal residence. Here is a link: http://www.visitmadeira.pt/en-gb/explore/detalhe/funchal-town-hall Our next visit is the Museum of Natural History (Municipal Museum of Funchal). This is a large museum housed in the old house of the Count of Carvalhal. This will include the Natural History Museum, the Municipal Aquarium, the Scientific Library, and the Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Garden, so this is a 4 in 1 stop. Here are a couple links: http://www.visitmadeira.pt/en-gb/explore/detalhe/funchal-municipal-museum-(natural-history) http://cultura.madeira-edu.pt/museu...History/tabid/239/language/en-US/Default.aspx Our next stop is the Jardim Orquídea. This 110 Orchid Garden was destroyed by a fire in 2016 and has been slowly being rebuilt by the family. Here is a link: http://www.visitmadeira.pt/pt-pt/explorar/detalhe/jardim-orquidea-encerrado Our last stop for today will be the Jardim Panorâmico. This is a multi-level garden that connects two green corridors and it has 12 MINI-GOLF COURSES. Here is a clip from a tourism website: Located in the heart of the tourist area, on the west side of Funchal, Jardim Panorâmico was opened to the public in April 2005, occupying an area of 5,400 m2. Offering a magnificent view over the ocean, and connecting two green corridors (the Passeio Público Marítimo and Estrada Monumental), this garden is spread over several levels, housing a variety of plants and flowers from all over the island, as well as a collection of tile panels by the artist Rigo, which represent the panoramic views that can be seen from this place. In this garden, 12 mini golf courses were installed, which take people to walk almost all platforms in this green area. There is also an area with five inflatables and two ball pools, in addition to several pedal cars to drive in open spaces and padel courts. Cocktail hour is 6 pm and dinner is 7 pm at Espettus in Funchal. Here is a link to their menu: http://www.espettus.com/espettus/ementa.pdf
I used to do orienteering as well in my younger days, my much, much younger days!!! When I was but a wee leprechaun, err Wood Elf.
