Day 11 - Day 13: Madeira From April 29 2025 to May 01 2025
Day 12 April 30 2025 - Madeira Portugal
We're on our own. After breakfast we Uber to the market and who should be our driver, but Luis, from our first day!
$17.90
This commercial space was inaugurated on 24 November 1940. Since then, the Mercado dos Lavradores has been part of the everyday life of the people of Funchal. It has also become a must for visitors to the island, who immerse themselves in an atmosphere dominated by bustle and joy.
The building, whose design is by Edmundo Tavares, presents a typical Estado Novo architecture. Its size and positioning immediately reflected the intention to make the Mercado dos Lavradores the great supply point of the city. The façade, the main door and the fishmonger's shop are decorated with large tile panels from 1940, from the Faience Battistini factory, of Maria de Portugal, painted with regional themes by João Rodrigues.
It beats me how this fruit comes from the Swiss cheese plant!
Monstera Deliciosa, also referred to as the Swiss cheese plant, Mexican breadfruit, and fruit salad plant, is a popular houseplant native to warm climates in Central America such as Guatemala, Panama, and Southern Mexico.
The taste profile of a ripe Monstera fruit is said to be a delectable blend of pineapple, banana, mango, guava, passion fruit, and strawberry.
The flower women wear traditional costumes.
It is a lovely market with plenty of tourists roaming around.
All I want to take home is tomatoes and bread, and maybe some pastries!!
We had hoped to find some cheeses and cold cuts to have for dinner tonight but didn't find any.
We sampled strawberry and chocolate figs.
The fish market, my favourite place to visit.
My dinner, last night, in the raw. Scabbard fish. This fish is a deep-sea fish and a local delicacy on the island of Madeira. It's fished primarily in the south coast of the island at depths of 800 to 1,200 meters.
Coffee break.
This sculpture is outside of the Michelin starred restaurant Akua of Chef Júlio Pereira on Rua de Santa Maria.
We had no set destination as we roamed. Funchal was getting ready for the flower festival May 1-25. Even our hotel had a display.
Stalls were being set up.
The subtropical climate in this region, with average temperatures of around 18°C in winter and 25°C in summer, provides the ideal conditions for the growth of an extensive array of flowers, plants and trees from all over the world.
Jardim Municipal do Funchal
With its excellent location, the Funchal Municipal Garden displays an exuberant flora that gives even more charm to this noble area. A pleasant natural refuge in the city centre, it is much frequented by locals and tourists alike.
Also known as the Dona Amélia Garden, in memory of the last queen of Portugal, this green space occupies an area of 8,300 m². On this site, located on the north side of Avenida Arriaga, opposite the Municipal Theatre, was once the Convent of São Francisco, of which the Pedra de Armas (Coat of Arms) still remains, which can be found on display on one of the lawns.
We returned to these gardens later in the day as well.
Like all green spaces in Portugal, there are washrooms and a kiosk where you can sit and enjoy a coffee or glass of wine.
The Santa Catarina Park overlooking the harbour in Funchal Portugal is a haven of shady trees, a lake and lawns in the centre of the city with Henry the Navigator at the entrance.
We were entertained as we had our afternoon dessert, I could get used to eating like this!
Back strolling around.
Júlio Dinis was the pseudonym used by the writer Joaquim Guilherme Gomes Coelho, born in Porto, in 1839, where he died, in 1871, at only 32 years of age with tuberculosis. Despite his early death, he left a series of literary works. He also collaborated in several Porto newspapers.
I recognized this immediately! The bronze bust of Robert Baden-Powell in Funchal, Madeira, stands as a tribute to the founder of the global Scouting movement. This monument, located on Rua João Tavira, commemorates a man whose vision and dedication have inspired millions of young people worldwide.
Back to Placa do Municipio.
It wasn't easy getting an Uber this evening. $20.78
Storms were swirling all around us. At one point it was raining so hard I thought we should just go back to the hotel. The driver insisted that it would stop so we carried on. There was no one out.
John had spaghetti and I had salmon.
Dining al fresco.
We ended up taking a cab back.
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