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Monday 26th October 2015 | 5thingstodotoday
Today was our last day on Madeira Island so as a result most of these ‘things’ are related to this. If you have not been to Madeira then I suggest you do. It’s hard to find a more beautiful island. Many good restaurants and many bananas!
Spend your last few hours around the pool soaking up the sun. We were staying at the Melia Madeira Mare hotel in the Lido area of Funchal. The outdoor area is beautiful with amazing views of the ocean. We had a final dip in the indoor pool which has been welcome this as a few days have been wet.
Pre order a taxi to the airport. A private taxi is a really convenient way to travel to and from the airport. They are not as expensive as you may think. We used A to B transfers which proved to be reasonable, friendly and more importantly ‘on time’. We were however surprised in the taxi from Funchal to our hotel that we had to share. This was apparently due to flight delays and cancellations earlier in the day.
Step outside onto the viewing platform at Funchal airport. At the moment they are doing considerable refurbishments to the airport and this area has been reduced somewhat in size. Nevertheless the platform has excellent views of the runway and you clearly see planes land and take off. Funchal is notoriously difficult to land so you may witness some scary moment. Have a look at these vidoes. The first one shows a perfect landing by a BA pilot and the other shows a recent scary landing in a cross wind.
Take the stress out of parking your car by using Meteor Park Meet and Greet. We have used this company quite a few times now and have found them to be consistently reliable. On arrival at your airport – in our case London Gatwick you just give them a call once through customs and they will bring your cat to meet you – all very easy.
Kill time on the flight by ordering a beverage. I had coffee on the flight (Kenco brand – with the labelling coffee vs gangs – see advert below). The coffee came with some semi skimmed milk ‘in a stick’. We flew with Monarch who proved to be really good. They allowed two bags in the hold free of charge on the way out from Gatwick and the way back. We had to ask for it on the return flight but were offered it freely from Gatwick.
If you would like us to publish 5 things that you have done then please e-mail them to 5thingstodotoday@gmail.com with a few images and we will do the rest.
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