Quinta Bela Vista, Madeira

Next Departure:  April 12 – 25 2012

Join Brenda and her husband Jon on this Lifestyle Luxury Tour of Portugal – our first with Vision2000 Travel Group, where you will feel the history as we visit medieval castles, baroque palaces, ancient monasteries, culture through art walks, music and dining experiences, partake in Afternoon Tea at the famous Reid’s Palace Hotel in Madeira, flowers through Madeira Island’s world-famous Flower Festival and wine through several special and privileged tastings.   We will stay in beautiful hotels, both contemporary and traditional, and our private Guides will share their in-depth knowledge of the different regions while your hosts will add their travel tips along the way.   Over a period of eight days, our small group will explore  mainland Portugal, spending the remaining 6 days on Madeira Island – Portugal’s semi-tropical garden in the Atlantic.  Your hosts will show you the island where they have set up their second home and welcome you to their home for a farewell evening of Fado and Food – a combination of traditional Portuguese music and locally sourced cheeses, seafood, meat, fruits and vegetables.

Tour price:  $4848 CAD per person sharing/1.393 Euro. Our route

Read more about our tour …

Porto Santo, a small island in the Atlantic, just about 25 miles northeast of Madeira and 62 miles from continental Portugal,  comprises about 16 square miles and has a natural landscape of arid hills in the north and a 6km long, flat sandy beach in the South.

A beach resort for residents of Funchal, Madeira – this non-touristy island also appeals to the well-heeled travellers of Italy, Germany, Holland and Lisbon.  To see why our friends travel for 2.5 hours by ferry from Funchal, Madeira to reach this island, with its 5,000 inhabitants, and to get a better idea of whether I should build this island into my itineraries, I decided it was on my must-see list.  I mentioned it to a friend and she immediately offered the keys to her family’s beach home for my exclusive use. It was going to happen. Another check mark on my list.  Nice.

First, I visited www.PortoSantoLine.com.pt and purchased walk-on tickets, First Class, for the ferry from Funchal.  Having asked my friends what was the difference between the two classes of travel, I quickly deduced that First Class was the only way to go:  a meal is included on both sailings (breakfast outbound, a dinner snack on return) there are complimentary espresso and other specialty coffees, wine and other alcohol beverages, free WiFi and a tastefully furnished, comfortable lounge setting.  Both classes also show a movie in a screening room shortly after departure.

Our ferry

Lobo Marinho left Funchal promptly at 7am. The oceanside views of Madeira were breathtaking, and places I had seen from the land looked even more spectacular.  Two minutes later, the buffet breakfast was ready:  scrambled eggs, bacon, frankfurters and beans, ham, cheese, fresh crusty rolls still warm, marmalade and, naturally, tea and coffee.  Basic, but tasty nonetheless.

Two and a half hours later the ferry docked at Porto Santo.  I told the taxi driver where ‘our’ place was, “close to a church”, he said he knew exactly but would show us another church first in case that was it.  It wasn’t, so we drove on for about another 3 kms and then he proclaimed that this was the church!  This was a lesson:  know the name of your church because all verbal directions are anchored by churches.

After settling in and a quick change of clothes, we walked to the beach and sat down at one of the many small cafes. Aromatic coffee, sea breeze, turquoise water, smiling faces. This was rustic heaven.

The boardwalk to the beach

We walked the long, flat sandy beach.  Not quite the 6kms it stretches, but definitely a couple!  The water was warm, about 23 degrees Celsius and adults and children frolicked in the shallow waters.  On the beach, families and lovers re-connected, laughing talking, hugging.  I didn’t see or hear anybody eating or drinking, other than a loud burp from a baby nursing beneath a large beach towel.  Cute.  On the whole, it seemed that beach time was separate from eating time.  Maybe this was why the beaches were completely litter-free.

Porto Santo beach

After a nap in the beautiful tropical garden of my friends’ house, we dressed for dinner and stepped outside the big gates of our home from home.  In the village, a huge round barbeque was alight with fragrant wood, obviously in its early stages, and in preparation for the night’s festivities celebrating the Festival of the Holy Spirit. I could hear the special service from the church, because the microphones were on and the doors were open.  Every so often a loud explosion would rock our silence – we later learned that these firecracker rockets were traditional and that some were single loud bangs, whereas others were seven smaller ones.  I never did learn the significance of either.  After the church service had ended, a procession formed outside the church, parallel with a beautiful pathway created from tropical flowers on the tarmac.  At the front, were parishioners wearing pale blue cotton shawls, men and women, and behind them was a brass band trying really hard to make music.  Then, the young priest, in a beautiful cream-coloured gilded outfit that reached the floor, was escorted at all sides as he walked under a ceremonial cover of sorts.  It reminded me of a carnival float without wheels.  Behind him, were many other parishioners wearing red satin capes.  Apparently, these were people who had reason to thank the Holy Spirit for something that had happened in their lives in the past twelve months.

The procession returns

The procession walked along the road for a while and then turned around.  As they returned, the procession was led by a little girl, about 11 years old, wearing all white and looking, to me, like a little angel.  Behind her, two choirboys shook incense as they walked either side of the road.  And, after the procession had ended, it was party time!  The village became a carnival with hot food vendors parking their wheels in an orderly fashion and offering all kinds of delights including bolo do caco, a traditional bread of Madeira with freshly made garlic butter, espiete, long skewers of lean, fresh beef – cut by the butcher in the van – which one would then cook on the wood-fired barbecue, and Coral beer at just 1 Euro a glass!  The music blared as young people took turns singing popular Portuguese songs with canned band accompaniment.   We performed cardio CPR with an ice-cream and then decided to go home to our Kindle.  There’s nothing like a good “book” to lure me to quieter places.

Cook your own espiete

Next morning we sourced a local caffe con leite and my favourite, pastis de nata (traditional egg custard tart), before setting off to visit the centre of Porto Santo.  Unfortunately, being Monday, the home of Christopher Colombus and his Porto Santo wife,  Filipa Moniz, was closed, but we took a peek through a door left open by gardeners, and the back yard was gorgeous and the stone house remarkably intact. Next time, I will time my visit for any day but a Monday.

The home of Christopher Colombus

As we walked around the area, my eye caught a chalk board with the words “pao d’uva grainha.”  Bread made with grape pits.  Curious, I wandered inside the freshly-decorated wine bar/restaurant.  The proprietor, a friendly woman called Fatima, made me feel at home right away.  We talked and she explained that she and her husband live in Funchal and also in Porto Santo and that they grow their own grapes, make their own wines, grow and cure their own olives as well as the lima beans they serve as petiscos, or tapas and which we were obliged to sample, along with the new, 10 year- and 20 year old wines she and her husband produce.  And we could not leave before we had finished our tastings with their own aguardente made from the wine sediment and liqueurs they make from white grapes, wine and black grapes.  My favourite was the wine liqueur, which had a distinct chocolate note.

After two hours of wining and petisco-dining, we bade our farewells and went home to pack.  Our 32 hours in Porto Santo were almost over and it was time to make our way to the Port. Sated and happy.

Despite a strong wine, our homebound sailing was smooth and we enjoyed our  included “snack” consisting of petiscos – croquettes of potato, fish and meat, fresh salad, olives, cheese, ham and again, those warm, fresh, crusty bread rolls.  And our travel companions at the next table?  Portuguese Canadians – from Toronto! Sharing stories, we agreed that Madeira and its neighbour, Porto Santo, are very special places with cultural experiences that more than compensate for what may be considered, by some, their lack of multiple historic sites.

There are several ways to get to Funchal.  From Vancouver, there are budget options via Gatwick and then direct to Funchal.  From Toronto, SATA and TAP, both Star Alliance members (so you can use and accumulate Aeroplan points) you can fly directly to Lisbon and readily connect to Funchal.  It is just 1.5 hours from Lisbon.  SATA

Personally, I have been very impressed with the service I have received from SATA in Portugal.  They speak perfect English, really understand what it means to give excellent customer service and their prices are excellent.  As a result I will always book directly with them in Portugal, and fly with them, given a choice.

We are currently building the itinerary but expect that it will include Northern Portugal, Lisbon and surrounding areas followed by a week on the Portuguese island of Madeira.  We will explore UNESCO World Heritage sites, taste wines from the famous regions of Douro and Alentejo, visit real, working fishing villages and markets, enjoy regional cuisines as well as the famous pastis de nata (custard tart),  hike along lush, beautiful levadas and witness one of the most beautiful Flower Festivals in the world.  And, because my groups usually comprise adventurous types, I will be sure to build in leisure time so that you can explore alone or with a companion.

Espetada - traditional skewered meat and seafood

I will assemble all the pieces together after meeting my Virtuoso partners at our annual conference next month but in the meantime, at least six people have expressed interest.  I will take 10 people, maximum, so if you may be interested, please contact me.

Fishing is still a way of life in Portugal

Funchal, Madeira at Sunset

]]> http://www.brendafarrell.com/escorted-cultural-tour-of-portugal-in-spring-2011/feed/ 0 http://www.brendafarrell.com/virtuoso-and-luxury-lifestyle-travel/ http://www.brendafarrell.com/virtuoso-and-luxury-lifestyle-travel/#comments Thu, 23 Jun 2011 08:30:09 +0000 brenda http://www.brendafarrell.com/?p=3262

Virtuoso welcome amenities at Four Seasons Lisbon

I haven’t had the time to write very much lately, other than a tweet here and there and a posting on my Facebook page.  I love blogging but I love my work even more, and add to a busy schedule a home move, it becomes obvious why I am writing this at 12.52 am PST!

I have just returned from a one month business trip that included Madeira, Lisbon, Barcelona, Istanbul, Dubai and Perth, Western Australia.  I visited and reviewed new hotels and restaurants and re-established contact with suppliers to the luxury travel industry.  The world is changing so fast that I have to stay up to date with my recommendations!

Whenever I travel, I continue to work just as I would at home, but in awe of the ability of my partner, technology, to keep my client communications seamless.

Upon my return to Vancouver, I finalized the seemingly endless documentation for my clients who are travelling at the moment, and every day starting new files for those who wish to travel later in the year.  At this time, I have clients in South Africa, Turkey, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Holland and each client expects and receives the personal attention that comes with my role as a Virtuoso Travel Advisor.  You see, in this role, I get to create and execute Dreams – your Dreams.  I love my work and actually feel as though I travel the world every day – from my computer – as I stay in touch with, and work with, colleagues all over the world through Skype, telephone, Email, Twitter and Facebook.   All this takes time.

Building Dreams takes time – lots of time – as well as a healthy cocktail of patience  and perfection to pull all the pieces together.  Only then, when the final itinerary is approved will I rest a little.  Virtuoso coined the phrase:  ‘Return on Life.’  My job is to make it happen!

One last point … having built a successful specialization in Turkey as a destination, I am now doing the same for Portugal.  So far, I have spent a total of four months touring this beautiful and diverse country that offers beautiful historic sites, divine cuisine and excellent value for money.  And, while I am still learning about this lesser-known destination, during frequent visits, I can honestly say that the people I work with in that country, including those on the spectacular island of Madeira are top-notch professionals who are proud of their country and all it has to offer.  So, if you like history, excellent wine, locally produced  foods, and accommodation that ranges from farmhouse to luxury on the mainland and charming Quintas to luxury on Madeira Island, you will love this destination.  And Madeira is the perfect destination for escaping a chilly winter because the temperature rarely dips below 18 degrees or rises above 24 degrees.  All year around!  With sub-tropical flora and fauna and beautiful blue skies and warm ocean, it is a perfect option for a long-stay.   Ask me about long-term rentals if you prefer to stay in a Villa, apartment or family-sized home rather than an hotel.

I hope you have a wonderful Summer!

However, given that I want to be well informed about all available options in Portugal, I decided that for my latest visit to Lisbon I would experience the much-touted Aero Bus.  After all, this experience would help me to better understand if and when to suggest this option to my clients.  What I learned was that you should know your airport transfer options in Lisbon relative to your hotel of choice – and I’m not just talking class of hotel, but more about its situation.

The service, accessible immediately upon exiting the arrivals building, offers three routes; one that transfers travellers to the Orient Train Station, one that  goes to the Financial District and the one I would take with a route that passed “close” to the many hotels of the city.  I waited about ten minutes for Route 1, City, paid my 3.5 Euros and took a seat in the comfortable, air-conditioned Mercedes bus.

A brochure clearly outlined which stop would be close to my hotel and the friendly yet professional driver announced each stop well in advance so I had plenty of time to gather my belongings before the bus stopped.  Alighting at Marques de Pombal Park, and feeling like Calamity Jane as I struggled down the steps with my two wheeled suitcases and shoulder tote, I looked up at the familiar large building overlooking the park – Lisbon’s Four Seasons Ritz - and felt relieved to be so close.  However, such feelings soon gave way to realization that before I could experience any comfort whatsoever I would have to walk up some steep hills trailing my wheeled luggage across those beautiful, but uneven  hand-laid white marble mosaic surfaces. And – to add a greater sense of drama – I was wearing business-style clothes and the temperature was 24 degrees! I huffed and puffed up the steep hill, stopping for a rest now and then while telling myself this was “good for me.”   Lululemon’s famous list of lifestyle musings came to mind, especially “sweat every day.”  Also, I felt good that I had obviously burned off those calories from my daily consumption of pastel de nata (custard tarts!) Self-talk (or is it CBT) can work wonders in situations such as these.

As I arrived outside the main entrance of my hotel, tired, hot and thirsty, the doorman – a kind man with a familiar face – immediately came to relieve me of my baggage, at the same time greeting and offering refreshment; a bottle of cooled water.  I had arrived “home.”

Yes, the AeroBus definitely provides an efficient service for the budget-conscious traveller to Lisbon, but in the future, this traveller will stick with the comfort of being driven door-to-door.  If you want to take the Aerobus – and it is definitely a choice that talks to conservation of both energy resources and money – then it would probably be wise to know the exact location of your hotel relative to the closest stop!  And, if you want the white glove treatment upon arrival, you can’t do better than Four Seasons!

Happy travels!