Geez...looks like my job will take me to Beijing, China, in November. Already getting a little scared of the humonguously long flight...but a little excited, too.
Loved it when lizards (well, basically just one who chased the other contenders off) came to feast on our banana scraps #madeiraholiday
I was happy to see my favorite dead president is still keepin' busy...on the island of Madeira, of all places.
I knew my day was shot the moment I opened the door...
Spent the day doing the annual "oiling our two balconies' wooden floors" ritual in lovely bright sunshine, then went out to donate blood...and all day I tried putting out of my mind the dread of returning the office on Monday. Blah! Why didn't I win the lottery or something by accident, so I wouldn't have to go back to that mind-numbing, spirit-sucking place? At least...
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Me high atop (well, almost) Madeira's 2nd highest mountain, the Pico do Arieiro (1,810 meters - the island's highest, the Pico do Ruivo, is only about 50 meters higher). Full disclosure - except for that rock, I didn't have to climb at all :-)
It probably is just my dirty mind, but I think if I were to cut and trim a bush like that around my home, someone would complain about it pretty quickly:
...statues and sculptures, that is. Here's a few I liked while visiting Madeira:
And I thought these two guys looked like something straight out of a Miyazaki film:
One thing I got a kick out of on our vacation was that nearly every sidewalk and every square in Funchal seemed to have its own pattern...here's just a few of them.
I know I wasn't exactly missed, but here I am, checking back in. Once I've sifted through the tons of pics, I may post some impressions of Madeira that are better than the crummy IG ones. For starters, here's me enjoying Murakami's "Kafka on the Shore" on the hotel terrace - managed to finish that one, great read!
And here's the view over the island
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