For our last dinner together in Funchal on Madeira Island, we walked to the Mozart Restaurant, located on Rua de Santa Maria. This is one of the oldest streets in Funchal.
On our way down Rua de Santa Maria to the Mozart Restaurant.
It is a pedestrian-friendly cobblestone street, with some car traffic. It is lined with small restaurants, cafes and a small art gallery or two. It is also known for its painted doors.
The Painted Doors Project began in 2010 with the idea of revitalizing the Zona Velha (Old Town) area, specifically Rua de Santa Maria.
It invited artists to transform old doors into unique works of art. The project was successful and continues today. It features a diverse range of artistic styles on painted doors, creating a vibrant outdoor art gallery.
This public art form continues today, so the street art is ever-changing.
It seems to me that public art does promote community, and I personally, always like to see art in the public.
These photos are a sampling of the many painted doors along Rua de Santa Maria.
It was an entertaining walk to one of the quaint restaurants along this historical street.
The last island we visited on our two-week trip to “islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean” was Madeira, a separate archipelago consisting of four islands. Madeira island is southeast of the Azores and about 600 miles west of mainland Portugal.
The view over the infinity pool looking towards the Atlantic Ocean, on the roof top of our hotel in Funchal.
Funchal, the capital of Madeira, where we stayed in a lovely boutique hotel with a rooftop pool and fabulous view of the city and ocean, was winding down from a Flower Festival on the island…beautiful carpets made of flowers along the sidewalks, and stunning flower arrangements everywhere.
A carpet of flowers found on sidewalks and in hotel lobbies.
It was the last days of the festival.
One of many stunning flower arrangements.
We went on a grand driving tour to: Camara de Lobos, a fishing Village, Cabo Girão, a striking overlook of the sea (the cliff is 589 meters above sea level or 1,932 feet), and Serrado da Eira, a picturesque mountainous region of Madeira.
Interior views on Madeira Island.
Serrado da Eira Viewpoint.
Looking straight down from cliff overlook, 589 meters (1,932 feet) above sea level. photo gb
Another view looking down from the high cliff to the shoreline. photo gb
We went to a rum factory and a farmer’s market, walked down a historic street with unique painted doors, and went on a cetaceans-watching tour. We didn’t see any whales but we did see dolphins and a beautiful coastline. (I have no photos from our boat tour because I do not bring my camera/phone near any bodies of water after having lost electronics in lakes a couple of times!)
Camara de Lobos fishing village.
We ate at several fantastic restaurants on Madeira Island. A huge European breakfast buffet was offered at all our hotels, on all the islands, each morning. Lunch and dinners were a mixture of eating as a group in small, local restaurants, or visiting a quaint sidewalk café when dinner was “on our own.”
We ate lunch at Quinta do Furão, part of this lovely hotel complex.
In Madeira we ate together at several special restaurants but three stand out…lunch at Quinta do Furão on the outdoor patio with lovely views of the ocean,
The lunch view. photo gb
il Vildali, a Mediterranean Cuisine restaurant that was eloquently set for us at a huge table with luxury tablecloth and candelabras,
il Vivaldi Mediterranean Cuisine Restaurant.
and on our last night together we ate at Mozart Restaurant; with a fun wait staff and interesting bathrooms.
The Mozart restaurant was on the Rua de Santa Maria, one of the oldest streets in Madeira. It is a pedestrian-friendly cobblestone street, with some car traffic. It is lined with small restaurants, cafes and a small art gallery or two. It is also known for its painted doors.
Funny to say, but bathrooms can be very interesting. I have always liked to check out bathrooms in different places, but in the Mozart Restaurant we all checked out the bathrooms. The room was all mirrors, including floors and ceilings. It was unique!
The room of mirrors…the separate room with the toilet was the same; all mirrors.
It is here where we had to say good-bye to our new friends whom we shared so many wonderful adventures together over two weeks. We were so happy to have had our paths cross with these fine folks. It was sad to bid farewell.
These peace lilies were growing wild all over the islands.
São Miguel Island is the poster child for the Azores. When you see brochures for the Azores, you see a picture of a caldera on San Miguel Island. A caldera is a large, bowl-shaped depression formed by the inner collapse of a volcano’s summit. It’s distinct from a crater, which is a much smaller, depression typically formed by outward explosion of material during an eruption.
This is photo of a photo in an ad promoting the Azores, taken on Såo Miguel.
This is our photo of the famous caldera the day we saw it…still beautiful even with the cloud cover. photo gb
One of the jeeps in our caravan.
For this discovery adventure with OAT, we were divided into small groups, and rode over rough terrain in jeeps to the western part of the island to see this caldera. Although it was overcast, we enjoyed seeing the stunning landscapes along the way.
Mata Jardim José do Canto – one of the botanical gardens on São Miguel.
Also, on this island we went to a botanical garden (Mata Jardim José do Canto) with a thermal pool. The hot springs look muddy, but its minerals in the water that make it look that way.
The thermal pool, in the botanical garden. photo gb
We were told to bring an old swimsuit since they would get stained from the water. It felt good to be in the hot pools.
Inside one of the greenhouses on the pineapple plantation. photo gb
We visited a tea plantation (Henrique -our tour guide- worked there when he was younger), and we visited a pineapple plantation.
Cascada (Portuguese) = Cascade (English).
Full and lush and green. photo gb
We stopped at Ribeira dos Caldeirões Park, with beautiful waterfalls and more lush, green plants…São Miguel…aptly nicknamed the green island…Ihla Verde.
The green island.
On this island we experienced a local dairy farm, milking about 25 cows. It is run by a Gena and João, a couple dedicated to a small, self-sufficent, organic farming operation.
Gena and João, in the barn on their dairy farm. photo gb
As we stood out in the field with the dairy cows, one cow in particular kept nudging everyone. Later, back in the barn (which was connected to electricity just last year) we gathered around the milking stalls and took turns milking a cow by hand.
Gary milking a cow by hand.
Henrique at the head of the farm table. photo by Gena
Back in the soon-to-be remodeled stone outbuilding, a wonderful dinner was set for us and we ate their home-grown food. This type of farming reminded Gary of his grandparent’s farm…with their old-fashioned ways of doing things.
At the grocery store, with our assignments.
Earlier that morning Henrique divided us into groups and gave us some Euros and a short shopping list, in Portuguese, to buy a few items to bring to dinner at the farm later that day.
The local grocery store. (Decked out for the upcoming festival. Most store fronts are decorated for the special festival.)
He showed us which store to shop for local fare, and asked us to try and not speak English. That was a fun outing. We succeeded in finding the food…not sure about the not speaking English.
The lighting ceremony on the plaza in Ponta Delgado, on São Miguel Island. The ceremony marks the beginning of the festival “Festas do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres” (Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles).
On our last night on this island there was an opening ceremony for a huge annual religious festival. We were leaving the island the next day, but were able to walk to the main plaza after dinner to watch the lighting ceremony. It was a festive atmosphere and a pretty sight to see.
As I was walking in the cobblestone plaza, I tripped and fell into two women in the crowd. They kept me from falling…I said “Obrigada (thank you)”, and they replied, “that’s what we’re here for – to hold each other up!” Another fun interaction with strangers!
A very small village along the coast of São Miguel. photo gb
We enjoyed the natural wonders and beauty of São Miguel.
We had a nice trip to California, to visit our son and his family.
A bright, red California Poppy.
We took walks along the ocean and to parks, the grandkids rode their bikes, we went to the harbor, and enjoyed the ocean scenes.
Pacific Ocean
We made home-made cards and lemonade (from the lemons off their tree) with the grandkids. Later the grandkids had fun setting up a lemonade stand on their driveway in front of their house.
A lemon tree.
And, we took the grandchildren to a carnival. That’s where we watched the pig races. At the carnival we went on a few rides (including a pony ride) looked at animals in the animal barn, ate a picnic lunch and finished just in time for the Pig Races.
I am on the roller coaster with our granddaughter.
There was a race track set up for the pig race, and the show began. Eight adorable pigs (I don’t know what kind they were) were trained to run this horseshoe-shaped track. Four pigs at a time were let out to run from one end to the other where their reward of food awaited them. Spectators, young and old, gather all along the racetrack to watch and “squeal” with delight! There is a second race with four more pigs. The first-place winner and runner-up of the two races competed in the final race for the championship title. The spectators were broken into four cheering sections for the final race. I’m sad to say our pig, Strawberry, did not win.
Children loved to watch and cheer the pigs on, but I think adults enjoyed it too. Just maybe…we might enjoy the races most because we’re with the grandkids.
(Unfortunately, I was not in a good spot to take photos of the pig races.)
We took a second trip down to the Mall a few days later to complete the circle…to see the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial, April 2025.
All were impressive. The last time Gary and I were in Washington D.C., in 2019, we saw the Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jefferson memorials.
Side view of Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, April 2025.
I was happy to see them again. And, we were glad we could see the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial this time. We decided it was our favorite.
Among many wise, sensible, and profound FDR quotes etched into the granite (that I wish our current administration would read, believe, and act on) the monument itself was well designed with four series of waterfalls representing different periods of FDR’s life and presidency.
One of the falls created for the FDR Memorial, April 2025.
Apparently, water was a major part of FDR’s life…from his childhood upbringing on the Hudson River to using water as a therapy during his illnesses (polio). Franklin Delano Roosevelt was 32nd president of the US and served from 1933 to 1945. In 1921 he was paralyzed at 39 years old.
The bronze statues of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (in a wheelchair) and his dog, Fala. April 2025.
The first waterfall is a simple waterfall symbolizing the fresh energy FDR brought to the presidency. The second falls are a series of steps to represent the Tennessee Valley Authority project FDR founded. The TVA Act was part of Roosevelt’s broader “new Deal” initiative to address the Great Depression. The third falls has chaotic falls to represent the destruction from World War II. The fourth falls includes a still pool that symbolizes his death.
The bronze statue of Eleanor Roosevelt, April 2025.
The FDR memorial is the largest memorial on the Mall. A couple more unique features include it’s the only memorial that includes a sculpture of a First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the only one to include a sculpture of a dog, FDR’s dog named Fala. Because of FDR’s disabilities, the memorial was intentionally designed to be accessible to people of all abilities.
The Washington Monument, April 2025.
Once again we walked back to the Metro station and past the Washington Monument, which I remember climbing steps to the top, as a kid, when I was in Washington D.C. with my parents.
This was another fun day with the grandkids, walking several miles everyday, for each of our adventures.
We visited the exciting city of Washington, D.C. where there is an unlimited number of interesting things to see. We saw a fraction of them, yet we saw a lot.
First, we were visiting our son and his wife and their two children. That was the best part, and the reason for our visit to the area. They moved in January for our son’s training to become a Foreign Service Officer. It was great to see all of them. The kids were on spring break from school so, while the parents went to work during the week, we took the kids exploring.
The U. S. Capitol, April 2025.
We took two days to walk around the National Mall; the area with the reflecting pool surrounded by the domed U.S. Capital, the Whitehouse and many monuments and Smithsonian museums. We missed the peak of the famous cherry blossoms which were in full bloom one week prior to our visit. However, there were a few lingering trees in bloom near our son’s apartment.
Cherry Blossoms, April 2025.
Our first day on the Mall we began our walk past the Whitehouse.
The Whitehouse, April 2025.
The reflecting pool and the Washington Monument, April 2025.
Next, we walked towards the reflecting pool and the World War II Memorial, and on to the Vietnam War memorial.
Walking towards the long black marble Vietnam War Memorial, April 2025.
The Vietnam War memorial is an impressive, black marble wall with the names carved into it of all who died in the war, or from causes directly related to the war.
The Vietnam Women’s Memorial, April 2025.
Next to this memorial was the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, created to commemorate the 265,000 women that served in the Vietnam War, many of whom worked as nurses. It was significant to see because I had just finished reading Kristin Hannah’s book, The Women, a story about three nurses who served in Vietnam (a recommended read).
The Lincoln Memorial, April 2025.
After a snack lunch, we walked up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial. This is a very impressive monument that brought tears to my eyes. We stood in awe at the looming sculpture of Abraham Lincoln, with some of his quotes carved in the marble walls that surrounded his figure. And though there were many people crowding the area, it was a very poignant moment.
The Korean War Memorial, April 2025.
We made a quick stop at the Korean War Memorial, but by now, we were tired and started our walk back to the metro station. We passed the Washington monument on our way, which we could see throughout the day, towering above us from every angle on the Mall.
These monuments and memorials are a tribute to great men and women who served in leadership positions and the United States military service. It was good to see them.
We went up to the north shore to celebrate my birthday last week.
3/20/25, 7:17 am
There was a beautiful sunrise the morning of my birthday, and the sun continued to shine all day long.
We wanted to do a little hiking. We had tried hiking at Gooseberry Falls the day before, but we had to turn back due to a very icy trail. Although there was no snow on the ground anywhere, the shaded trails in the woods still had ice cover making it difficult to hike on them.
When we stopped for a specialty coffee at Vanilla Bean in Two Harbors, another customer joined our conversation with the waitress about places to hike in the area that might not be icy. The stranger asked us about the Gitchi-Gami bike trail. And it was one of those ah-ha moments; “I can’t believe we didn’t think about the wonderful paved bike trail with sections all along the north shore.”
An portion of the Gitchi-Gami Bike trail along Lake Superior.
So we found our safe place to hike along Lake Superior, and it was lovely.
Glistening waters.
Besides the sparkling lake, we saw different images on two different hikes. Do you see what I see?
A bat…a sheet of ice still clinging to a large rock in Lake Superior, facing south (no sun to melt it).
The head of a wolf (right), and a deer lying down looking out (left) in the hollow of a tree.
Several little bear cubs climbing up the tree.
It was a fun birthday; with hiking, cabin time, and watching the waves roll in. A great beginning to another trip around the sun.
Gary and I started a tradition of giving each other greeting cards when we were first married and continue to do so to this day, 47 years later. We exchange cards for Valentine’s Day, our birthdays, our anniversary, Easter and Christmas – that’s about 470 cards by now! And, as per usual, I kept them.
A few fun cards from the large assortment of cards in the box.
Now it was time to go through them…to enjoy re-reading them and then recycle them. We don’t want to store them in our new house.
A few more…
We were home alone on Christmas Eve, so we thought that would be a good time to go through the cards and reminisce. It was a lot of fun looking at all of them… the different style of cards and reading our hand-written notes, if we added any.
To me this captures the 1970-80’s era.
Sometimes we gave each other the same card on the same year, and sometimes we gave the same card a year or two later. It was interesting and entertaining.
Same years, same cards exchanged.
There are so many b e a u t i f u l cards. It’s hard to give them up, and I did keep a few. I think there are places that collect old cards to create new cards, and I thought about that, but it was overwhelming to think about in the midst of moving.
LOL…
i like this writing theme…there was bicycle themes, cats themes, birds and flowers…o my…
We also made cards for each other occasionally.
A few hand-made cards.
Hard to tell in the photo, but these cards are extra large.
Going through the cards Gary and I gave to each other was a lot of fun, and then I was ready to recycle most of them.
Multiple cards made for us from our sons.
But, it felt different going through all the cards I saved that our sons had made and given to us over the years. We encouraged their creativity and they made some imaginative cards over the years.
Another pile of creative cards made by our sons.
We had the good intention to look at them and then recycle them, but I couldn’t do it. We looked at them, and I put them in some semblance of order, and kept most of them… to look at again when we’re even older. And who knows – maybe someday their children will find the cards in a box and enjoy seeing how creative their daddies were.
A sampling of Thanksgiving cards the boys and I made to send out to our families.
We are moving one mile south of where we currently live. When we moved to Northfield in 1994, we moved into a house on the edge of town, with a cornfield in the backyard. The community grew and houses were built up all around us. Thirty years later we decided it was time to downsize and move into a smaller place. We are having a twin home built one mile south of us, and the backyard is the same cornfield view that was behind us 30 years ago. Only smaller.
So, moving into a smaller, one level space is exciting, but challenging. It is bittersweet to be leaving this beautiful green house on the corner, which I love. We have so many wonderful memories here. We were a happy family in this house. But now it’s time for a change, and to downsize.
In doing so there are many decisions to be made. It was easy to sell some stuff, donate some stuff, toss some stuff, but what about family heirlooms? Thankfully, family members wanted them. I cherish these items, but have no room for them in our new house. That they remain in the family brings me comfort!
My grandma’s desk: When my mother was given this wooden drop-front desk, she painted it. When she handed down the desk to me years later, I stripped off the paint and brought it back to its natural wood beauty (that was many years ago).
My grandmother’s china: My grandma’s beautiful, Noritake china set included more pieces than the average china set. The dishes were given to me by my beloved aunt because she knew I loved dishes. I thought of keeping part of the set, but when I knew it was to stay in the family, I gave it all away.
A military flag: The Department of Veterans Affairs provides a US flag to honor a deceased veteran’s military service. We framed this military flag that was given to my mother at my father’s funeral.
A cedar chest: My mother bought this cedar chest in 1947, the year she and my father were married. It cost $54.95 and included a 2-year moth insurance policy! Imagine that. It’s all recorded on papers inside the sweet-smelling chest.
A Norwegian painting: A 28”X38” print of the famous Bridal Procession on the Hardangerfjord is a framed print that my mother and father brought home from their trip to Norway in 1969. My mother had it hanging in her house for many years. It’s beautiful, but it’s large and we have no place for it.
A roasting pan: My mother made the best roast ever! Of course, when I asked for the recipe, she told me how she made it without any measurements. I tried to recreate it, but never got it right. So, when I brought her roasting pan home after her funeral, I thought roasting in that pan would be the secret…but it was not. My roast never did turn out the way hers did.
It would have been hard to part with these items, but it was made much easier to keep them all in the family. I am grateful.
