Study of Madeira wine

Madeira wine making – Madeira by British Pathé from You Tube

How would you like to spend your holiday?

Of course, you can have a late breakfast on the balcony of “Luxury Apartment Living Funchal”, looking over the Funchal harbor. 

H.M.Borges

Arriving at this building you can smell Madeira wine and begin to feel its ambience. Also the very important thing is the owner president of this Madeira wine company is very beautiful and very kind. 

This 15 and 30 year old wines are very good.

Praça do Município (City Hall Square)

Recognising the following places of interest will help you to familiarise yourself with Funchal’s city centre.

Palácio da Justiça do Funchal (Funchal Palace of Justice)

 Paços do Concelho do Funchal (City Hall) 

Museu de Arte Sacra (Sacred Art Museum Funchal)

 Igreja de São João Evangelista (Church of St. John the Evangelist)

Just behind this church…

 Pereira D’Oliveira

If you’re interested in buying an old, vintage wine, you’ll find a big choice here.

They give you some Bolo de mel (honey cake) too.

Farmacia Botica Inglesa

When you are travelling, of course we hope everything will go well. But, just in case of an emergency / ill-health, the staff of this pharmacy are very friendly and kind. They speak English too. You have to remember this pharmacy.

Estátua João Gonçalves Zarco

Episcopal Sé Cathedral

Restaurant “O Visconde”

There are so many restaurants in Funchal that its difficult to know which one to choose. Some are very touristy and some are very expensive too.  “O Visconde” is very close to the Sé Cathedral, is very good value and highly recommended.
The locals often eat here at lunch. The service of 2 waitress ladies are fast and friendly. They know what you need before you tell them. Probably by your second visit, they might even know your name. They speak English, French, Spanish, Germany and more languages as well. 
Get there before 12:30 if you want to eat the “Special of the Day’s fish”. Everything on the menu is good. 
There aren’t many restaurants that you want visit every day. Highly recommended.  

A little Coffee break

By the way, Do you know how to order a cup of coffee?
Here in Madeira, everyone drinks espresso coffee. So if you order coffee, you will get a cup of espresso coffee. 

There are many different Madeiran words for describing the coffee that you want.

Espresso black…………………..Bica
Espresso with milk…………….Garoto
Espresso with milk(more)….Galaõ
Long espresso black………….Chino
Long espresso with milk……Chinesa
Very weak coffee……………….Americano
Tea………………………………………Cha
Anyway, I recommend freshly-squeezed orange-juice. Normally the juice of 3 whole oranges is used………………..Sumo de laranja 

Marina Nova

Fancy a boat trip : there are many different boats to suit your itinerary – for example “Whale & Dolphin watching”, “Day cruising”, “Sun-set cruising”, “Desert Island tour”. There are 2 famous boats shows below (Click photo to open new window ) and many Catamarans.
Or you can hire a boat-trip privately.  If you want to see dolphins, some of the boat companies guarantee a 2nd day free in case you haven’t managed to see any dolphins on the first day.

Praça do Povo

Praça do Povo is a big space beside the Marina. Normally people watch the boat and harbor. Oftenly some events (concert, amusement park, exhibition, etc.)  are held at this place.
Also you can find the Funchal city tourist office that you saw on the video “Funchal, Cidade de Sonho” at Funchal page.  

Make sure you pick a nice day for a boat trip (definitely not a windy one).  Book your tour…but there’s one more place you have to visit for today’s study :

Palácio De São Lourenço

Blandy’s Wine Lodge

One thing we have to be sure of is :
If we’re coming to Madeira, we have to learn about Madeira wine.
We have to study and research.

We are not coming here to drink.
We just come here to study. 

This is like a Madeira Wine Museum.

Also, you have to pay like a museum.

Again, This is a place to learn about Madeira Wine.

If you learn, you taste better.