Snowmen and Toboggans ... But No Snow

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We arrived to rain, so we opted for the hop on hop off bus tour and we decided on a seat undercover. It was a good option as we got to see a lot of the city, got our bearings, and allowed the rain Gods to finish up their gardening.

After the bus we jumped on the Gondola which took us to the top of the hill. The rain scared away most of the tourists so there were no lines and we got a Gondola to ourselves. We had great views all the way up. Most of our pictures don't do the place justice. This city would make San Francisco look like Saskatchewan. Every house has a view of the ocean cuz each one is higher than the next. We're hopeful the parking break technology in Funchal is much more advanced than other places on earth.

We explored the top of the hill and came across the toboggan run. This mode of transportation has been around in the area for a long, long time (or maybe they just never heard of a little invention called “the wheel”). Despite having no snow in winter they have found a way to utilize the toboggan...and the need to get down hill. We didn't brave the toboggan run as the lines were way too big. But the people who did seemed to enjoy it.

We made our way back down the hill and wandered the city. We came across city hall square (Praca do Municipio), which was a pretty spectacular spot. It was littered with Christmas decorations; so many of pictures didn't come out but we did manage a shot in the city hall courtyard which wasn't so bad.

We saw lots of tile work (both in the roads and on the walls), nice churches, a few local marching bands, Christmas decorations and we even came across Santa and a few snowmen. We tried the world famous Madeira wine from a street stall vendor, and while I enjoyed it, Andra will likely pass if another opportunity presents itself. Overall a good day despite the cold, wet start.

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