Day Two and we're feeling more refreshed . We did a heap of walking down through Funchal to the old town. We wandered through the now famous street of “ 100 doors “ where artists were invited to paint a door. This was a really great idea. It was a way of improving the old town and attracting visitors to the area. Each door is an artwork in it’s own right and there are so many different themes and styles. The old cobbled streets have colourful flags draped across in criss cross style, and there is a good choice of restaurants to choose from.
Street of 100 Doors
A Madeira Specialty
We thoroughly enjoyed local specialties for lunch. I had Espetata which is a very popular meat dish Tender, succulent marinated chunks of beef with laurel (bay ) leaves, are barbecued on a skewer ....sometimes metal with bay leaves between the chunks of meat, sometimes on a real laurel skewer, over charcoal and basted with butter. Espetada kebabs are served hanging on a special vertical stand with vegetables. Brian tried Piripiri Chicken.....hot as you choose - another traditional.dish., which he found equally good.
Monte Toboggans
Well satisfied, we caught the gondola up to Monte. It was a 20 minute ride up to the top platform with fantastic views over the houses and churches and out to sea. We first went along to see the basket toboggans that Madeira is known for. The Toboggans first originated in the early 19th century so people could get down the hill. "Carro de Cesto" are now a fun tourist attraction. Made of wicker with two wooden runners, the toboggans are "driven" .... by two men or "carreiros" Guys in gondola hats, white shirts and trousers and the all important rubber boots which are in fact used as brakes.
The ride starts off below the steps of Nossa Senhora do Monte - “Our Lady of the Mountain” Church. .....a fast 2km ride down steep and winding roads taking you to your finishing point at Livramento.
The ride starts off below the steps of Nossa Senhora do Monte - “Our Lady of the Mountain” Church. .....a fast 2km ride down steep and winding roads taking you to your finishing point at Livramento.
"Nossa Senhora do Monte" or "Our Lady of the Mountain" Church
We climbed the stairs up into the top of the church and could look down on the toboggans as they took off. The church built in 1741 was the final resting place for Emperor Charles I of Austria who was exiled to Madeira and lived by the church. at Quinta do Monte. There is a statue of the VIrgin Mary that is reveered by Catholics.
Monte Tropical Gardens
Next, we went through the UNESCO heritage Monte Tropical Gardens. They were beautiful, with themes of different countries for different gardens. Japanese, Chinese, tropical etc. They had an amazing rock collection which had been donated.......and many stone masks in two sections of mainly African themes.
Water features were numerous and the backdrops of blue and white traditional tiled walls gave a refreshing lift to the gardens. It was a quite unique garden and took us a good 2-3 hours to get around.I recommend this as a "must do"
After taking the gondola back down, we ambled along through the town enjoying the lovely traditional architecture, which I'll leave the pictures in the next blog post to best show.
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