Funchal

Boa tarde!

After the adventures of April, I needed a few days of rest, before going on with the rest of the year, so here we are, in Madeira, for a short discovery of the island.
The weather is nice during the 2 flights, so I get a good glance at the French and Spanish coasts before landing for a short stop in Lisbon (just 2 hours for the connection).

And here are Lisbon and Funchal seen by Thomas Pesquet:

The weather forecast is not very optimistic for the week, every minute without rain will have to be appreciated.

This week, we are right in the middle of the Flower Festival, and the whole city is blooming with all sorts of flowers, it is absolutely beautiful.

The old market, called Mercado dos Lavradores:

In China, I struggled during 2 weeks because people didn't understand a word of what I was saying, regardless of the language I was using. Here, I am trying to practice the little bit of Portuguese I know, but the problem is that most of the people speak English, plus a good deal of French and Spanish, therefore each time they hear me struggling with Portuguese they switch to English.
As a result, the conversation sounds like:
- Bom dia, eu quereu um bolo do caco com chouriço, por favor
- Sure, to eat here or to take away?
- ... Well, to take away... Muito obrigada...

 

Below, sword fish cooked with banana and passion fruit (and a cold beer ;-)

The good news of the day: the Portuguese government has decided to suspend the Shenghen treaty, therefore from now on you need a passport to enter the country. The problem is that my passport is in Paris (at the Russian embassy, in order to be accurate), I only have my ID card with me.
I have the feeling that the check in at the airport is going to be very interesting on Saturday...
Let's hope that you don't need a passport to get out of the country!