Have some Madeira, M'dear! and other Funchal, Portugal Local Custom Tips

Who doesn't know the Flanders and Swann song "Have some Madeira, M'dear"? It has even been translated into a dutch song as well! We do consider ourselves wine lovers and having Madeira wine of course was a must once we were at the island.

Madeira wine is a fortified wine made at the island with the same name, which is prized equally for drinking and cooking. The maturing of the wine is peculiar and characteristic, because the wine needed to survive long voyages over sea and was subjected in buildings called estufas. It's also deliberately exposed to air, causing to oxidize. Due to this practice the wine has a very characteristic flavour.

Usually Madeira wine is very stable, an opened bottle of Madeira wine will survive unharmed for a considerable time, up to one year. Not that we needed that as we finished all the bottles we opened! :-) We also did see some Madeira wines in the stores that were pushing the century mark.

Bu anyway, we liked the local wine and even took some bottles to the Netherlands. Enjoy!

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I guess we all agree on this on; there is nothing more exciting than going travelling - exploring another country, experiencing a different culture, travelling around in new ways, sampling the local cuisine and chatting to the local people for a different perspective on life.

However during our travels we learned that there is one certain thing that you should be aware of and prepared for to make sure that the trip is as easy and enjoyable as possible. We always try to see everything once we're there, but this is not always an act of responsible travelling. We always talk to the locals and we know that they have the information about just the right spots to visit and how to undertake them. It will not only enhance your experiences but also avoid any unnecessary hassles.

For us the travel tips we have written in this section made the most of our travel experience and we came home in the same happy, healthy state that we left.

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