Floral Display

I mentioned the other day that we were a little disappointed with the amount of flowers to be seen in Madeira, having had our expectations heightened before arriving.  Having said that, while we were there, Funchal had it's annual flower festival and, although not the most colourful event I have ever seen, it was, nevertheless rather colourful.  Flat, linear floral displays were made along the some of the roads and they looked rather nice.

The crowds made it a little tricky to get near some of the floral displays, but all the pushing and jostling was worth it.

At the end of these displays, a pair of large, white floral parrots stood guard, again, surrounded by people having their photos taken while posing beneath them.  You had to be quick to snap them in between posers.

As well as the floral displays, several wooden huts had been erected along the roadside, from which traders sold their flowers, plants, packets of seeds, etc.  These were rather attractive too.

There was a 'children's pageant' on one of the days, described as a procession of 'thousands of children carrying flowers' which they then put together to build a 'floral wall of peace'.  Anyone who knows me will know that the mention of children (let alone 'thousands' of them) was enough to send me in totally the opposite direction!