Slip Slidin’ Away!

Thankfully we were mainly doing the latter on our wonderful toboggan, courtesy of our pair of drivers.  Welcome to Madeira, an island of Portugal, where toboggans were used back in the day to transport people up and down the steep hills. Now, it’s a tourist attraction and what fun it is (and totally worth the wait)! But to do this, we had to first take a cable car ride to the top of the mountain to Monte. Check out this view along the way:

Once at the top, we lined up for our toboggan rides. I watched from a distance as other people set off down the winding streets aboard their toboggans and I was so excited for my turn! I was reminded of the alpine slides they used to have at a placed called Action Park in Vernon Valley, NJ. Some of my Jersey pals will remember it. You rode a sled down a cement track with questionable brakes and limited steering capabilities. Yeah, cause that sounds safe for teenagers! (Probably why it closed in the mid 90s.) Go to 3:40 to learn all about the skin ripping, sled malfunctioning terror of the alpine slide at Action Park: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x158v48

Annnnnyyyywaaaay, I digress. Luckily we had no mishaps on our sled, thanks to our very skillful drivers. The joyful photo of me and my mom on our wooden toboggan was actually captured by a professional photographer. No, even my selfie stick isn’t long enough to capture that kind of image! They have various photographers planted all along the route to make sure they get a “picture perfect” photo of you and your loved one. And then, of course, they are there as you exit your toboggan with your photo ALREADY printed AND in a beautiful folder to boot for your purchasing pleasure… and purchase it I did. (And so did everyone else in my tour group!)  And for 10 euro, who could blame us? 10 euro for a phenomenal photographic memory of your toboggan thrill ride? Now that’s what I call brilliant marketing.

If only the embroidery shop we stopped at next used the same marketing strategy. I gotta say, they didn’t do anything to inspire us to purchase their wares. That said, does anyone really want an embroidered tablecloth for $6,000? I sure don’t. Half the bus skipped the stop and hightailed it to the ice cream shop down the street. I was super jealous of their savvy. I’ve been craving a scoop of coffee ice cream the whole trip!

At least the Madeira wine shop gave us free wine samples. If you want me to buy alcohol, best way to do that is give me a complimentary taste. The best way to describe Madeira wine is to say that it reminds me of a sweet dessert wine. I don’t think I’ll be purchasing a bottle for personal consumption anytime soon, but I sure didn’t mind the giveaway. Cheers, everyone!