Learning warm …

I’m writing this early - really early - because we’re going for posh nosh tonight in the original house of this hotel and there are paired wines and … Somehow I fear I may not be coherent.

Today was just lovely. The photo above was taken from the path back from breakfast, looking towards the low block of Garden Rooms, one of which is ours. The clouds over the mountains grew darker as the day went on, but the sun outpaced them, as it were, and now they’re retreating again. We’d just had a splendid breakfast (and we’ve done it again - not eaten anything much since) and I was able to do my Italian reclining on the sun lounger in hot sun until our friends arrived, having kindly decided to save us looking for where we were going.

We spent the time after that visiting Magnolia Gardens - a lovely public space in the middle of Funchal, a place we never found on previous visits, where exotic plants meet budgies chatting each other up in aviaries and the largest, hairiest rabbits looking warily - and I thought rather sadly - out of solitary kennels, and goldfish…and sculptures… and a lovely terrace restaurant where we had coffee and continued catching up since our last meeting, two years and a week ago!

When we parted, Himself and I did a bit of reorientating ourselves with a walk which convinced me that another hotel/apartment block has gone up since last time, assured a woman looking for public access to the shore that we had no more idea than she did, and climbed the steep hill back home before we were too legless to make it. We sat in the sun, marvelling at the warmth; we had some tea; we had a wander round our own grounds until common sense prevailed.

Now we’re relaxing until dinner - although DT is live on Sky News and it isn’t really conducive to rest. I think I shall mute him.

If only…