Cotto22 - Meeting up in Funchal?

[Leejnd4]

Hi! I too was considering the Transatlantic on Voyager prior to the Funchal-Civitavecchia intinerary I'm on. I would have liked to do both, but at the time I booked it, I was working and I didn't have enough vacation time. I've since quit my job and am taking some time off, and now I realize I COULD have booked it, but now it's too late. Bummer!

 

Anyway, we'll be arriving in Funchal 2 days early and renting a car so we can check out the island. Do you know what time you are disembarking? We're planning on boarding at about 2pm. Perhaps we can meet for a cup of coffee or lunch or some such thing? We can share with you our best discoveries and give you our maps and things like that.

 

Where are you staying in Funchal? We were originally going to stay in town, but then I found this amazing-looking place in the Nuns Valley, that looks fabulous in the pictures, and appears to have spectacular views over the valley. Check out the website:

 

http://www.madeira-island.com/hotels/inns/eiradoserrado

 

Since I now DO have the time available, at least we were able to add on a couple additional days at the end, so we'll be in Italy for 5 full days post-cruise. We're staying at the most amazing place -- it's a castle in a small, medieval hilltown called Proceno, which is in the Tuscia region about an hour or so north of Rome. Since our cruise is so port-intensive (twelve ports in 11 days!!! :eek: ) we're going to enjoy spending some time relaxing...at a CASTLE no less. :D

 

If you're interested in seeing it, here's the website:

 

http://www.castellodiproceno.it

 

I'd give you my email address, but now I'm afraid to post it, given certain happenings on this board... :(

 

LeeAnne

[cotto22]

LeeAnne,

 

We are staying the Palacio Hotel, which is about 10 minutes from Funchal. Since you will be arriving a few days early, I would love for the four of us to meet for coffee or lunch. (Your hotel looks beautiful, btw). My wonderful sister is treating me to this cruise, and I am really starting to look forward to it, although leaving my husband and 16 year old for an extended period of time is causing me some anxiety! I can afford the time since I am no longer working due to fatigue caused from RA. I don't have the joint pain or swelling that I did at first (great meds), and no one really knows I have it, but I do get tired if I don't rest during the day.

I have a great spam blocker on my email so I would be glad to post mine unless it is against the rules. Do you know if it is?

[Leejnd4]

Hi,

 

Sounds like we're in similar situations, in terms of leaving the hubby and kids home! I'm taking this cruise with my mother so we can have a really great mother-daughter experience. And it worked out quite well that it falls over Mother's Day as well...on that day we'll be taking a private tour in Provence, so I'm sure it will be very special. My kids are 13 & 14, and I'm also having some anxiety about leaving them for so long. I've been writing up a list of meals I want to make in advance and freeze for them, so that they won't eat popcorn, or Del Taco, every night for dinner! I've also made them promise to email me every day, so we can chat at least while I'm on the ship.

 

That's so wonderful that your sister is treating you! We're both going on real family bonding experiences. :)

 

I checked out the Palacio -- wow, spectacular!

 

It's not against the rules to post email addresses. (The only reason I'm not posting mine here is because I don't want to get any unpleasant emails from people who...um...well, you know. :rolleyes: ) But to avoid spam searchers, spell it out with the words "and" & "dot".

 

We'll be coming back down to Funchal and spending the day there before we embark, so we could easily meet for coffee after you disembark. Perhaps you'd like to check in to your hotel, and we can meet you there once you settle in...or whatever works for you. (We'll have a rental car.)

 

LeeAnne

[cotto22]

LeeAnne, my email is cotto22atsbcglobaldotcom. I started to answer your posting, but decided my response was just a little too personal for general view! I am looking forward to "talking" to you and getting together with you in Funchal.

 

Cathy

[JoAnne B]

LeeAnne

 

I'm still pouting that we arrive on the Diamond a day after you leave Funchal. I'm not sure exactly where your hotel is located (it's not unusual that the hotel website doesn't have a map), but it looks lovely. The mountains are truly breathtaking!

 

I hope you don't mind a hint about your rental car (hope this isn't a repeat)....unless you are really, really comfortable with a stick shift, consider renting an automatic. It'll cost extra (a lot extra) and locals will laugh at you, but I think it's worth it. The hilly terrain is difficult for even an accomplished driver familiar with the curvy, winding mountain roads. Also, don't rent the lower categories....go for the biggest engine you can afford. Trust me...you'll understand when you are behind the wheel. I only made that mistake once! Also try to collect some small euro coins in advance for parking in the "blue" zones. You have to obtain a ticket for the anticipated time from machines located near the parking and place it on the inside of your windshield. The machines only take certain coins (10, 20, and 50 coins usually do the job). Don't even think about parking in a no-parking zone even for a few minutes..the fines are outrageous.

 

I'd forgotten, but last spring I was in Madeira when the road races were on. These maniac drivers raced across the south of the island, including our local mountain roads, for an entire weekend. Talk about a challenge for this tenuous driver!

 

I think you are going to love Madeira!

[Leejnd4]

Cathy, I'll email you shortly. :)

 

JoAnne, I too am bummed we won't be able to connect! I have the directions to the hotel somewhere in my file of cruise stuff. I do know that it's in the hills looking down upon Curral das Freiras (or Nun's Valley). Thanks for the advice on the car! I'm going to go change my reservation to the next higher category. I'm not worried about the stick shift -- I drove a stick shift for years, and my first car was a Triumph TR-6, which I learned to drive in the hills of rural Connecticut. :)

 

I wish we could stay longer, but I just extended my post-cruise stay in Italy to 5 days, and DH would kill me if I tried to add anything on to the beginning too.

 

Your cruise is coming up soon! :D

 

LeeAnne

[JoAnne B]

"I'm not worried about the stick shift -- I drove a stick shift for years, and my first car was a Triumph TR-6, which I learned to drive in the hills of rural Connecticut."

 

Good for you, LeeAnne! I did locate your hotel's location on a map and I'm sure it will be really awesome!

 

I still chuckle about hubby's first driving experience in Madeira and first trip outside Funchal proper-in a really small car (compared to his truck) with a propensity to stall at intersections. As we tried to climb the hill to our house and I fumbled in my official role as navigator, he stalled out and almost got us creamed....at which point he yelled, "G** D*** it Jo, you're going to get us killed". WE took the car back the next day and traded it in for a bigger engine! But that's been our private joke as we wind through the mountains.

[cotto22]

LeeAnne, I haven't received an email from your if you have sent one off. We are still awaiting our travel documents for the 4/23 cruise. Think we should be getting them soon! I need to start planning what to pack.

[Leejnd4]

Yikes! I sent a long one the other day -- I figured you were just busy and hadn't had a chance to respond yet. I'll check to see if I got the address wrong, and try again.

 

LeeAnne

[cotto22]

LeeAnn, its net, not com. Sorry. :o I've only had this address for two years...

[Leejnd4]

aaaHA! Thanks for clearing that up. I'll forward to you the email I sent earlier. :)

 

LeeAnne