Here I am in Madeira, sun shining, light breeze, temperature in the early 70s which is just about right and sitting here in my apartment watching Die Meistersinger. And if that sounds surprising, then it is. I have discovered a channel called Mezzo which broadcasts concerts and operas. Last night I watched an old back and white film of a concert with a very young Carlo Maria Guilini, in the afternoon a production of Billy Budd and now this Meistersinger which, seems to come from Gly dbourne. Gerald Finley is Hans Sachs and we are nearly at the end of the second act when Beckmesser is singing much to the annoyance of the neighbours and all hell is about to be let loose. On Saturday night they are broadcasting Rheingold with Bryn. So an unexpected bonus.
Went into Funchal town this morning and caught the tail end of the Flower Festival which was last week. The flower displays are drooping a bit now but are still lovely and there was a small exhibition of prize winning exhibits which are all quite beautiful and a lot of photographs have been taken. Here is a collage of the stunning flowers on display,
Then after all this exertion we needed a coffee and a sit down and after that a stroll to the local market for the purchase of the largest most succulent strawberries I have ever seen, and a look at the fish section which had some scary looking fish on display.
By this time it was lunch so up the stairs to the top of the market where there was a shady restaurant with comfortable chairs just asking us to sit down. So we did.Another twelve days ahead which we intend to spend in similar fashion, Bliss.
Three days later and I am so chilled it is ridiculous so this morning I agreed to catch the No 48 bus to Monte, up on top of the hill aka mountain, as Jude and Wes said it was something I should experience. Yeh right. I am a veteran of the Amalfi Coast ride and a user of Malta's buses so I thought this would be a doddle. Blimey is all I can say. I could say more but I try not to swear on Random. Hurtling down roads which I would be crawling along at 20 mph as there are blind bends all the way, cars parked on both sides of the already narrow road, missing houses by inches and people who leapt out of the way like panicked fauns, I spent most of the trip clutching the seat in front of me and closing my eyes as I tried not to shriek F**k. By the time we got to the top and exited and my bro in law said 'Well, what did you think of that Elaine' I could not answer and could only gasp Cup of Tea please.
And here is my sis, Judith et moi
After recovery time we went to the Botanical Gardens at Monte and oh they were lovely. Winding paths, gentle streams and waterfalls, green and shady and peaceful and restful to the spirit. Beautifully designed and though not all the flowers are out yet I hope that the one or two photos I have put on here give you an idea of what they were like. An awful lot of down so we got a little buggy to take us back to the entrance of the gardens and to head for home.
We got the cable car back...............
