winter wonderland......or slippery nightmare???

Winter seems to have arrived in the Midlands and shockingly Swadlincote seems to have developed its own micro climate!! When and how did this happen? The past week has been a challenge, with plans changing or being cancelled. Its just made me remember how much I hate snow!

On Friday we found ourselves trapped in Gresley after unexpected snow fell over night which froze over very wet roads. Nothing had been gritted, not even the main roads so on Friday morning - death trap -  just about sums it up. Roads looked like polished glass! With buses stuck on the hill, and cars trying to turn around and sliding everywhere it soon became apparent we weren't going anywhere. Thankfully no more snow fell and by late morning the roads were looking much better.

We did on Saturday manage to get to East Midlands Outlet Centre, the furthest we'd been in a couple of weeks! It was nice to have a wonder around the shops. We actually came away with a few purchase, so definitely worth the drive. I love the Sketchers and Gap stores there, and of course I came home with more books (please no one tell Melissa!!). On the way home we decided to stop at the Merry Monk in Burton for lunch. Nice lunch, but not many staff on and they were somewhat overwhelmed by the unexpected number of diners!

Sunday was a relatively quiet day for us, a wonder around Burton and then lunch at the Lord Burton with a friend. A chance to catch up and exchange Christmas presents. As always the week end flew by.  I do believe we're ready for Christmas now, only one week away. Almost unbelievable, and I am still waiting for the Christmassy feeling  to arrive - so far it hasn't! Now you all know how much I love Christmas, but this year I am just not feeling it!

Anyway if I don't get another chance, let me wish you all a very Happy Christmas. I have no idea who's reading this, but thank you for taking the time to do so. I've recently been excited to see page views from Peru!! Whoever you are - Feliz Navidad!

 

And winter arrived......

All week the weather men have been forecasting bad weather for the week end, so it was with trepidation I awaited the end of the week. On Friday Paul collected me from work and we headed over to Lichfield. There had been no snow in Ashby, or Swadlincote but in Lichfield there had been an inch or two and it was already looking very wintry. But we parked and made our way to the Bengal Indian restaurant for dinner. Its located upstairs over a row of shops, it was the first time we'd been there even though we used to live in Lichfield (a long time ago). We had a table booked for 6.30pm, the restaurant was empty when we arrived. I have to say though the waiter who took our order was a miserable old bugger, apparently we didn't order enough - grump grump - obviously way better to order way more than you can eat and either become obese  or throw food away. We stood are ground and got what we wanted, I was at this point happy to get up and walk out. But the food was excellent, and a young waiter came in while we were eating and he was absolutely lovely, talk about night and day! They also did really good coffee, so it all turned out ok in the end. What a shame one person can give such a bad impression.

Then it was off to the Garrick to see Crimes on the Christmas Express, a comedy similar to the 39 Steps. It was in a small theatre which I really think enhanced the experience. It was hilarious - 4 performers, a few props and handfuls of fake snow. What more do you need? We laughed so much, and the time flew by. We enjoyed it so much, we may well go back and see it again weather permitting and if there are still tickets available. They have another play coming up in march which we will definitely go and see too.

We were still laughing on the way home, it was such a cold night, but once out of Lichfield there was no snow or ice anywhere so we decided to stop at Tesco's and do our grocery shopping. I actually love late night shopping, the supermarket was quiet and calm.

We were supposed to be away this week end, but I panic at the mere mention of snow so decided it was better to stay closer to home. So, on Saturday we headed back to Lichfield for their Christmas food fair. We had a great time looking around, it was very well attended and the city was crammed full of people (and pushchairs!) We had lunch at the Faro Lounge, somewhere I had been wanting to try for a while. The place was packed but luckily we found a table. Great service, lovely food and quirky atmosphere. We'll definitely be going back there again.  There was a constant stream of people coming and going, obviously a popular place.

We had a quiet afternoon at home, I was glad we hadn't gone up to Stoke as planned. Especially as when we woke up on Sunday morning it was to find that several centimetres of snow had fallen in the early hours. I know some people see snow as pretty, I just see it as cold, wet and slippery. For once the Ivans had a quiet day at home, I had no desire to go outside into this Narnia like world. Even if I thought Mr Tumnus would be wandering down the street umbrella in his hand and song in his heart!

Go west!

Better late than never! At last a chance to finish the Madeira adventure. On our last day we went on a tour of the West of Madeira. Having packed so much into the week already we found we had no plans for Friday and decided to get out of Funchal and see a bit of the island. Great move, we had a wonderful day. We were picked up from our hotel in the morning by Bruno, great guide! It was a small group which made it really nice.

Our first stop was a short one at Camaro do Lobos, we had already been here earlier in the week, but it was nice to have another look around. Our next stop was Caro Giro where there is a glass floored observation deck overlooking a cliff. Not for the faint hearted, but the views are stunning. I am glad we got the chance to go here, Bruno told us that from the new year they will be charging entry to the observation desk. The turnstiles are already in place, so you can see they are getting ready.

Next stop was Riberia Brava (Wild River) a small costal town where we had a longer stop. Alas, it was raining lightly when we got here. But we found a café and had coffee, then went to look around the beautiful church. I wish we had longer to explore, and this is the only problem with any organised coach trip. Its a trade off, you get to see places you wouldn't otherwise visit but there is never really enough time. We liked Riberia Brava, somewhere I would like to go back too.

From here we travelled to Porto Moniz on the north west coast. Another lovely coastal town, everywhere is so pretty. It was wonderful being able to see all these places. We stopped for lunch in Seixal, a tiny little place with a restaurant and a harbour and little else. Apparently all the tour companies stop here so the restaurant was buzzing. Lunch was 3 courses and all the wine you could drink and coffee for 10euros. Excellent value and delicious food - total bargain! It was nice chatting with the other couples, all very friendly and chatty. Made for a lovely lunch. After lunch we had time to walk down to the harbour and enjoy the view, chat with the other people from the tour and walk off lunch.

Our final stop was Sao Vicente before heading back to Funchal. Luckily it only rained that one time and the rest of the day was pretty good. When we got back to the hotel, it was with sad hearts we did our packing before heading out to the Indian restaurant for dinner. We were going to sit outside but sadly it started raining (again!) so we had to carry our dinner inside.  

Really cannot believe how quickly the week flew by. On Saturday after breakfast we just stayed near the hotel as we were being picked up at lunch time. We went for a walk, went to the Sunseterrace one last time and then returned to the hotel. We were soon on our way back to the airport and then homeward bound. We landed back in Gatwick around 9pm, by the time we had collected our car and driven back it was after 2am when we walked into the house. Oh my god, we were so tired. Gatwick is a nice airport, but I hope we never have to fly from there again!!

So the Madeira chapter is over, but the next chapter is soon to begin.......

 

 

Ship Ahoy!

Thursday was another showery day, but after breakfast we headed off to the harbour as we had booked to go out on a 3 hour trip on the Santa Maria - a replica of the boat that Christopher Columbus set sail in on his first voyage. Its an impressive looking ship, very pirate looking. There were high hopes of Captain Jack Sparrow putting in an appearance. Alas, he did not! Paul had warned me to take travel sick tablets in the morning which I had. In fact he had made me quite nervous of boarding with his tales of sea sickness. I have to say I am glad I did take them, for the first hour I could barely move. The sea was choppy and the ship was being tossed across the water. Luckily though I felt a little unwell, it wasn't too terrible and by sitting still I managed to keep it under control. After a while we stopped in calmer waters and by then I was able to emerge from where I had been sheltering from the drizzle and sit where there was a better view. And the view was amazing, as was the experience of being on this ship. But you have to ask the question, how did men cross oceans in these vessels!? The crew came around at this point with Madeiran wine and cake, which was nice. Traditional Madeiran cake is nothing like what we have here in the UK. Its like a drier fruit cake, without the fruit, ha ha! Nice, but not what you would expect. It looked like quite a few people didn't care for it. One German threw his overboard, probably killing a fish in the process. Paul went for  a little walk around the upper deck, I wasn't feeling brave enough to go very far. When he came back he said a lot of people were really suffering badly from sea sickness. I mean lying flat out on the deck, or throwing up (possibly both!!) What a shame, the trip wasn't cheap and they would have gotten little from it at all! The return journey was much smoother, thank god! When we got off the ship, the crew were washing the lower deck down - guess that says it all.

When we were back on dry land, we headed to the Ritz for scones and tea, a very civilised way to spend an hour. The weather really wasn't very nice, and there were some very heavy showers. Its a shame that the weather let us down, but not much you can do about that. Between showers we explored the side streets, and found some interesting shops (including an Ale Hop - woo hoo) and another little shopping centre. So all was not lost. I cannot tell you how much we love Madeira, and just being there wandering around the streets.

We had an early dinner at Sao Jose again, Paul liked it there as they'd make him something specially. I once again had the scabbard fish, which I had really taken a liking too. After dinner we took the bus back to our hotel, and from there had a walk over to the Mall. One last look around, before we finished the packing. Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse, it absolutely poured. Water was cascading down the main road like it had become a river! Paul and I had no option but to be brave and make our way back to the hotel. We were drenched when we got back. I was unable to wear my trainers the next day as they were still soaked through. Luckily I was able to dry out my fleece, but we were really glad to get back to the hotel and get out of the wet clothes and shoes.  When they have rain, they really have rain!

 

 

In the footsteps of Nuns....

 

Imagine being on a teeny island in the Atlantic Ocean, with nothing else around you for miles. And a storm blows in, howling winds, wild rain and crashing waves. That's where we found ourselves on the Wednesday of our holiday. After breakfast, which we had to eat indoors along with everyone else including the cat due to the weather we headed back to our room. The rain did ease for a while and we had a walk around the hotel gardens and then took a walk to a local tour operator in the hopes of booking a coach trip. Alas they were closed so we headed back to the hotel, just in time cause the rain started again! We took shelter in our room and watched the storm from out balcony for a while. Boy did it pour!!

We were booked to go on a tour that afternoon and were starting to worry that it would be cancelled, but the tour bus turned up and off we went. Madeira has several micro-climates due to the mountains and different altitudes, so by the time we had got under way and started heading to higher ground the rain eased off and eventually disappeared. The first stop of the day was Camara do Lobos, which is just along the coast from Funchal. Winston Churchill came here many years ago to holiday, and the stop where he liked to sit and paint has been marked. It was a short stop, but given the weather probably not a bad thing. We had time to visit the church and have a walk around the small havbour before leaving.

Our next stop was Eira do Serrado, a viewing point high up in the mountains where you can look down on the village in the valley below. The view is stunning, in fact we were above cloud level, and it was amazing to watch the clouds rise up to greet us. This area is known as Nun's Valley, many years ago a group of nuns fled inland to escape marauding pirates. They knew of this valley and journey over treacherous mountains to reach it and set up a new dwelling. On arriving at the view point the bus parked and we had to walk the rest of the way along a fairly narrow path. In parts there had been minor rock falls which was a little worrying, but you know when your time comes, it won't matter where you are - so on we went! It was worth it! We could see for miles, and were able to look down on a rainbow!  From here we headed down (and down) into the valley to the village itself. We had some time to explore, so we visited the church and looked around the few shops that were there. I found a lovely blanket, decorated with scenes of Madeira, which I bought along with a little back pack. The lady in the shop was rather excited by two purchases within w few minutes of each other! The town was quiet and I am guessing  business was slow!

On leaving the village we headed back to Funchal stopping a couple of times to admire the views. When we got back we decided to get off in the Old Town and we had an early dinner at Sao Jose. A lovely little restaurant with a 3 course for 10euro menu! And they were able to cater to Paul's newly embraced vegetarianism! Most places did actually, Madeira is clearly a country where being a vegetarian isn't common, yet restaurants were willing to prepare something for Paul specially! Our dinner was lovely, and this is where I tried a local dish of scabbard fish served with flambéed banana. Sounds weird, but does actually work! It was lovely being able to sit outside (the rain had stopped and we were under a canopy) and watch the world go by.

It was another lovely day, which ended in a little wander over to the Mall before calling it a night. It just looked so pretty with all the lights and Christmas decorations.