The journalist Raquel Gonçalves doesn’t hesitate in affirming that in Madeira she finds a “kind of paradise”, which has to do with the probability of encountering, on the same day, rain, sunshine, stars and untouched places, like the laurel forest. Currently doing press/communication consultancy in the Santa Cruz city council, Raquel Gonçalves lives between Coimbra, Lisboa and Funchal, the city where she was born 46 years ago, and which she recommends to any visitor, due to the “unique way” it spreads from the sea to the mountains. When presenting her island, she always affirms that it is the second best in the world. “The second place is due to the necessity of leaving the first place open”, explains Raquel Gonçalves, currently concluding her PhD in Materiality in Literature, in the University of Coimbra.
AND HER BEST OF IS…
VISIT: Mudas, Igreja do Colégio, Caldeirão Verde, Levada das 25 Fontes, access to the sea near the Whale Museum; ACTIVITIES : Diving at Reserva Natural do Garajau, do the route from Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço to Cais da Sardinha; EAT: Il Gallo d’Oro, Casa Velha do Palheiro, Restaurante do Forte, O Lagar, Vila do Peixe, Kyoto na Ilha, Riso, Chá no Reid’s; NIGHT: Café do Teatro, Ritz, Vespas, Scat; SHOPPING: Gaudeamus, Armazém do Mercado, Blandy’s, Mercado dos Lavradores.
