Not just a cake

I've just returned from our mini-holiday. The eventual winner was Madeira, which the PM typically informed me 'wasn't a place, but a cake'.

Well, it was a place and rather beautiful place at that. Very green, but also very craggy. The weather was perfect - warm, but not too hot. And it was very quiet.

We were slightly worried when at our departure gate, there was barely anyone under 65. It was like a scene from Cocoon. We had wanted somewhere quiet but certainly didn't want to be the only non-pensioners, just because we suddenly felt very self-conscious that we stood out from the rest of the people there. But it turned out to be fine as the place we were staying wasn't populated by such a grey-crowd, but it was thankfully bereft of the usual English tourists.

We did plenty of swimming, drinking (rediscovering Portugese lager, SuperBock) and exploring (the town being rather like an Escher painting with stairs & winding paths that didn't really go anywhere. And we went on a cable car, which I found absolutely terrifying on the way up (I was frozen to my seat for the whole 20 minute ride) but I quite enjoyed on the way back down - the calming beer at the top may have played a part.

Unfortunately, within an hour of being back at work, all the relaxation was undone and I'm back to feeling wrecked