Madeira
To Madeira for a week 18-25 June. As BA flight left early from Gatwick we stayed at the Gatwick Hilton , where joy-of-joys we were upgraded to the exective floor. Free drinks and snacks in the evening and free breakfast in the executive room next morning. First sight of Madeira was of its mountains rising above cloud cover as the plane descended. We stayed in Funchal at the Vida Mar Hotel on a fully inclusive basis. Rooms were large with a seating area, balcony and full sea view. We were on the 8th floor. View from balcony, restaurant at left Included house wines were Fonseca JMF. We had red with dinner and white with lunch. Lunch was at the sea-level restaurant. There were also a sushi, Italian and Madeira restaurant we could dine at. We went to the Madeira restaurant on Thursday when they had folk singing and dancing. We ate espetata, chicken skewers cooked over charcoal. A visit to Blandy's Madeira Lodge, a 30 minute walk from the hotel, was a must. We took two guided tours
