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| Cristiano Ronaldo statue in the Funchal harbor |
We flew into Madeira's airport, which is a surprisingly big distance from the island's main city, Funchal. (The name "Funchal" is derived from the word "funcho," Portuguese for "fennel."
The Madeira airport is best known for its recently erected bust of its most famous native son, world football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo:
The bust, and I'm serious about this, is best known for the crazy eyes that the artist gave to Cristiano Ronaldo.
A 40 euro cab ride later and I was in Funchal, the Fun Capital of the Island of Madeira:
I arrived early in the morning in Funchal, so I had time to kill before my hotel room would be ready. And what better way to kill time than to take a walk to the Cristiano Ronaldo museum.
There are more heroes than Mr. Ronaldo honored by statuary in this town. Like this guy:
Once upon a time he may have enjoyed fame, perhaps even fame on the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo. But fame is fleeting. And Cristiano Ronaldo beckons. And soon the "CR7" museum is visible on the waterfront.
CR7 refers to Cristiano Ronaldo with the number 7, his jersey number. (You Pittsburghers could picture a Ben Roethlisberger "BR7" museum somewhere in the Golden Triangle.)
It's a whole complex. Museum. Hotel. Bar/restaurant. And:
Larger than life statue. With fans lined up to take pictures with it:
See. I wasn't the only one. Let's go into the museum:
I assume the above is a replica of the European Football Championship trophy that Portugal won in 2016. I assume. Maybe it's the real deal. This is Cristiano Ronaldo after all.
I think these are gifts he has received:
Lots of Cristiano Ronaldo representations available for your photographing needs.
Here's a jersey from his first football club, Sporting, a team based in Lisbon.
And here are the hotel and restaurant and bar:
Cristiano Ronaldo is revered in Madeira, which is where he was born and raised. He's now one of the most famous faces in the world.
Oh, and swans:
I couldn't think of a subtle way to transition from the museum tour to the town tour. I took lots more pictures inside the museums, such as the rhinestone-studded soccer shoes, but I figured I would forego posting those on the grounds that they would induce boredom.
Well, maybe not the rhinestone-encrusted soccer shoes:
Who could be bored with rhinestone-bedazzled soccer shoes?
After checking into the hotel and taking a brief nap, I did more exploration of the harbor area of Funchal. First stop: Zarco;
That is João Gonçalves Zarco, the Portuguese explorer who established the first settlement on Madeira in the early 1400s, decades before Columbus set sail. Decades before Columbus was even conceived. That's worth a statue, even in Cristiano Ronaldo's town.
Anyway, wandering the direction opposite the CR7 complex:
Lots of street life.
This next photo illustrates the danger of shooting a picture into direct sunlight:
Nice picture. Would've been even nicer in softer lighting.
This is the Zarco statue again, at the intersection of Avenida Arriaga and Avenida Zarco:
Not even Cristiano Ronaldo has an avenida named for him in this part of Funchal. Yet.
Lots of enormous shade trees here. And here is the marina:
Looks like a normal marina, huh? Then this pulls into the harbor:
It's a replica of Christopher Columbus's Santa Maria:
Why no Pinta or Nina, I don't know. It costs only 35 euro for a three-hour cruise. It's tempting for tomorrow.
This next statue is an honor of all those Madeirans who've lost their lives exploring the world:
After a break for supper -- the scabbard fish with banana was OK but only OK -- time to have fun walking through Funchal after dark.
I couldn't decide which of these two Santa Maria pictures was better, so I posted both.
You decide.
And what's my idea of fun nightlife after dark? Gelato!
It's not quite a beacon beckoning. But this was:
Besides, I like the ice cream cone shaped tables and chairs:
It wasn't the awesomely magnificent Gelatomania in Nazare, but what is?
That's a whole lot of Funchal fun for one day, especially given that the day started with waking up in the Grande Hotel de Paris in Porto at 3:15 a.m., to catch a 5:00 a.m. taxi cab to catch a 7:05 a.m. plane to Funchal. Boa noite.
The Madeira airport is best known for its recently erected bust of its most famous native son, world football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo:
The bust, and I'm serious about this, is best known for the crazy eyes that the artist gave to Cristiano Ronaldo.
A 40 euro cab ride later and I was in Funchal, the Fun Capital of the Island of Madeira:
I arrived early in the morning in Funchal, so I had time to kill before my hotel room would be ready. And what better way to kill time than to take a walk to the Cristiano Ronaldo museum.
There are more heroes than Mr. Ronaldo honored by statuary in this town. Like this guy:
Once upon a time he may have enjoyed fame, perhaps even fame on the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo. But fame is fleeting. And Cristiano Ronaldo beckons. And soon the "CR7" museum is visible on the waterfront.
CR7 refers to Cristiano Ronaldo with the number 7, his jersey number. (You Pittsburghers could picture a Ben Roethlisberger "BR7" museum somewhere in the Golden Triangle.)
It's a whole complex. Museum. Hotel. Bar/restaurant. And:
Larger than life statue. With fans lined up to take pictures with it:
See. I wasn't the only one. Let's go into the museum:
I assume the above is a replica of the European Football Championship trophy that Portugal won in 2016. I assume. Maybe it's the real deal. This is Cristiano Ronaldo after all.
I think these are gifts he has received:
Lots of Cristiano Ronaldo representations available for your photographing needs.
Here's a jersey from his first football club, Sporting, a team based in Lisbon.
And here are the hotel and restaurant and bar:
Cristiano Ronaldo is revered in Madeira, which is where he was born and raised. He's now one of the most famous faces in the world.
Oh, and swans:
I couldn't think of a subtle way to transition from the museum tour to the town tour. I took lots more pictures inside the museums, such as the rhinestone-studded soccer shoes, but I figured I would forego posting those on the grounds that they would induce boredom.
Well, maybe not the rhinestone-encrusted soccer shoes:
Who could be bored with rhinestone-bedazzled soccer shoes?
After checking into the hotel and taking a brief nap, I did more exploration of the harbor area of Funchal. First stop: Zarco;
That is João Gonçalves Zarco, the Portuguese explorer who established the first settlement on Madeira in the early 1400s, decades before Columbus set sail. Decades before Columbus was even conceived. That's worth a statue, even in Cristiano Ronaldo's town.
Anyway, wandering the direction opposite the CR7 complex:
Lots of street life.
This next photo illustrates the danger of shooting a picture into direct sunlight:
Nice picture. Would've been even nicer in softer lighting.
This is the Zarco statue again, at the intersection of Avenida Arriaga and Avenida Zarco:
Not even Cristiano Ronaldo has an avenida named for him in this part of Funchal. Yet.
Lots of enormous shade trees here. And here is the marina:
Looks like a normal marina, huh? Then this pulls into the harbor:
It's a replica of Christopher Columbus's Santa Maria:
Why no Pinta or Nina, I don't know. It costs only 35 euro for a three-hour cruise. It's tempting for tomorrow.
This next statue is an honor of all those Madeirans who've lost their lives exploring the world:
After a break for supper -- the scabbard fish with banana was OK but only OK -- time to have fun walking through Funchal after dark.
I couldn't decide which of these two Santa Maria pictures was better, so I posted both.
You decide.
And what's my idea of fun nightlife after dark? Gelato!
Besides, I like the ice cream cone shaped tables and chairs:
It wasn't the awesomely magnificent Gelatomania in Nazare, but what is?
That's a whole lot of Funchal fun for one day, especially given that the day started with waking up in the Grande Hotel de Paris in Porto at 3:15 a.m., to catch a 5:00 a.m. taxi cab to catch a 7:05 a.m. plane to Funchal. Boa noite.
The tour around islands was totally a worth. I will surely recommend it to my family & friends with Visa to Portugal, I enjoyed every minute of it highly suggested to travelers to explore the amazing scenery of this flamboyant Funchal by applying for Portugal visa online.
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