Sunday, 16 February 2014

2014 - The Garden @ East Neuk

Dr Anne intends concentrating on East Neuk's Garden in 2014.
Today the sun was shining so Dr Anne donned her wells and headed to prune the roses which were not done at the end of the year.  She now feels a lot better.  

The snowdrops are beginning to go into bloom.  
There are a few crocuses and of course the hellebores are looking good.




Sunday, 5 January 2014

Last Day

The last day of the holidays came too quickly.

Dr Anne and JD headed back into Funchal for a last walk around the harbour, the pier, the old village, the main street.


JD waiting for the 38 bus.

Wednesday, 1 January 2014

2014

Dr Anne and JD had a brilliant Hogmanay.


The liners came into the bay early in the morning.  A few moored in the harbour and some dropped anchor in the bay.  Dr Anne and JD had an amazing view from their apartment.


The sky was blue and the sun shone.


The city was busy with stalls and cafes.


The cars were gathering on the hillside outside the apartment and it was only 5pm.  It appeared to Dr Anne and JD that the flat might be a good vantage point for the fireworks.


From the apartment the sun set over the harbour.


Grilled lobster for supper in the old part of Funchal.

WELL….

The pair went to catch the bus home but there were no buses in the centre of the city so they sprinted up the hill and found the bus parked half way up.  (They wouldn't have been able to do that a couple of weeks ago!)

When the bus got half way up the hill…


The crowds were amazing.  They had their boots open and in there were cool boxes, tables, chairs.  There were even huge amplifiers.

Dr Anne and JD headed up the hill for a vantage spot. The boats were out in the bay.  


Eight liners were in the bay.  There were numerous small boats.


Midnight came.

Happy 2014.

Tuesday, 31 December 2013

Story of Madeira

The story of Madeira is a new visitor attraction.  

Dr Anne and JD really enjoyed the interactive experience and see possibilities for the Salmon Bothy in Portsoy.




Hogmanay, 2013

Last night, there was a beautiful sunset.  We viewed it from the balcony.



This morning the boats are coming in for the firework display. The day promises to be exciting.


The boats are in the bay at the moment.  There are eight liners in total.

Monday, 30 December 2013

Back to the Ritz Bar

Dr Anne and JD have taken up residency at the Ritz Bar.  

Tonight they had a couple of glasses of Madeira as they watched the world go by.

They are intrigued by the toadstools…



The view from the hills was brilliant today.



Orchid Gardens

200 metres downhill from the Botanical Gardens are the Orchid Gardens.

The family moved to Madeira in the 90s and set up the orchid garden.

















Awesome…