Europe....finally :)

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Hello all!!! I finally got off the ship!!! YAY!! After 7 very long sea days, yesterday I had the pleasure of disembarking on the Portugese island of Madeira. The name of the port was Funchal, and my friends and I left the gangway at noon and started my first European journey. The first thing we did was boarded a shuttle, which cost $5 US for passage to the city and back (a great deal, considering guests had to pay 10 euros for taxis). By the way, the current exchange rate for the US:Euro is 1.35:1....which isn't all that bad.

The ten minute shuttle ride took us to the edge of town. Remember, Madeira is an island off the coast of mainland Portugal, and this particular island has all of the homes that people live in built into a huge mountain. The sights I saw, needless to say, were breathtaking. As soon as you look inland, you see a forest-covered hill that reaches all the way up to the clouds. My appreciation of the marvelous views was interupted by the familiar sight of two beautiful golden arches.....McDonalds in Portugal!!! YES!! My friends and I ran in and grabbed some Portugese Mickey Ds. As I enjoyed my plain double cheese burger meal, I made a discovery that pleased me greatly. It turned out that they charged me extra for a sandwich I didn't buy, making me see and appreciate that no matter where you are in the world, McDonalds will ALWAYS find a way to screw up your order. (And I thought it was just an American thing)

After a pleasing meal, my friends Mike, DJ Dan, Amanda, and I started exploring the city, weaving in and out of the narrow streets. All the streets were paved with a kind of unpolished marble, which reminded me of a pretty cobblestone street only in white. The shops had anything from high end clothing to random nic-nacs that only old tourists would find appropriate for thier unappreciative grandchildren. We stopped at one of the cafes, where I enjoyed a Portugese Coke from the bottle, which I kept for my world collection. We bumped into Josh (a friend from the ship) and he joined us boys on an exploration of the city while Amanda continued shopping in town. We boys found ourselves in the middle of this very old building that was selling all sorts of things from crosses, to postcards, to dolls, to dresses, and even to walking canes. One cane caught my eye, as it had a black shaft with a white marble gripping. As soon as I saw it, I thought "Joe Kraut would love this cane for his pimp outfit". I immediately then thought "Once I buy this, how will I get it on the plane". I only thought this part too late, as I was already handing over the 21 euros in exchange. So, I proceeded to walk around Funchal, Portugal with a cane I didn't need, in the company of my friends who were teasing me consistantly (I got to split the shame because my friend Mike also purchased a cane. We were cane brothers for the rest of the trip).

We then found ourselves chasing a gandala route that ran to the top of the island's mountain. We found the terminal 10 minutes later, and decided that a 15 euro round trip was in order. The views on the way up were amazing (don't worry mom, I took lots of pictures). Once at the top, we enjoyed some food and a nice walk about the fantastic plant life that lives at the peak. Trees, flowers, and nature was completely devouring the buildings that were placed there, and I don't think I've ever seen such a magical place before in all my life. Mike and I agreed that we would want to bring our future significant others back to the place to appreciate it (without the canes, of course)

Once we got back down, we headed back to the shuttle to get back to the ship. However we bumped into a Pizza Hut and decided to have a quick slice and a beer before we headed back home. The beer we had was a type of lemon beer that tasted absolutely amazing. I forget the name of it...."Super 'something'"....I'll look it up later. Anywho, that was my first taste of Portugal.

Today was a busy sea day, lots of running around, and getting ready to try and pack up all my belongings before heading home in a week. I figure I better get a head start on it if I want to leave Europe on time.

Tomorrow is Lisbon, Portugal, followed by Seville, Barcelona, and Ibiza, Spain. Then Monte Carlo, and finally Rome. I'll try to take lots of pictures, but I don't know if I'll have time to write. I'll do my best.

Love you all tons. Miss you bunches.

---Charlie

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