Thank you. What did you especially like in Madeira and Nova Scotia?
Madeira is an island located off the coast of Morocco, but settled by the Portuguese in about 1420. It is about 15 miles wide and thirty miles long, and 5000 feet high in the center, which gives dramatic landscapes and great sea views. The weather is about 70 deg. F year round. Colder at elevation and warmer down at sea level. Much of the island is covered by the laurasilva forest.
The old town of Funchal, at which Columbus called at the beginning of his third voyage, has many interesting old buildings and sites, with innumerable cafes and little shops. We stayed at Reid's Palace Hotel, an elegant old English style grand hotel perched on a cliff over the harbor.
One of the most enjoyable things we did there was to walk the levadas. A levada is a small canal dug into the side of the mountains to direct water from the rainier north side of the island to the sunnier south side. There are many of them and they were dug by hand in the 15th century. They follow the contour of the land and have a pitch of no more than about 1%, so the water flows gently to the south. Along each levada is a footpath so that workers can go up and down the levada and clear any blockages. Those footpaths make great, easy walking trails through the laurasilva forest. You have fantastic views out over the mountains to the sea, as well as an intimate view of many houses that lie close to the levada (we have always enjoyed walking the back alleys of places and seeing how people really live). Some of the more popular levadas have English tea houses where you can stop and enjoy a cuppa and a sandwich.
https://blog.madeira.best/best-5-levada-walks-in-madeira-island
We also enjoyed a toboggan ride from Monte down the hill to the center of Funchal. The toboggans are made of wood and wicker, and are mounted on two large wooden skis. Two men, dressed all in white, with straw hats, guide the toboggan down the streets. It goes pretty fast.
https://matadornetwork.com/read/toboggan-madeira-portugal/
Finally, if you have no problem with heights, it is exhilarating to drive some of the old roads, especially the old north road, where you go under a waterfall and the cliff drops straight down to the ocean.
All of Nova Scotia is beautiful, but especially the Cape Breton Island part. The Cabot Trail is a spectacular drive along the northern coast, with ocean views the entire way.
https://www.cbisland.com/tourist-attractions/cabot-trail/
Some of the interesting things we found were
The Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck.
Parks Canada - Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site - Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site
The Glenora Whiskey distillery.
Whiskies — Glenora Distillery
A boat tour to see the Puffins.
Puffin Boat Tours Cape Breton Nova Scotia - Puffin Boat Tours Cape Breton Nova Scotia
A coal mine under the Atlantic Ocean in Glace Bay.
Miners Museum – Glace Bay Nova Scotia Canada
The historic Fortress of Louisbourg.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_of_Louisbourg
They still celebrate their Gaelic heritage in Nova Scotia and there are many related sites and activities.
https://www.novascotia.com/trip-ideas/stories/nova-scotias-gaelic-culture
If you're willing to drive a little off the beaten path on a clear day, you can go to one the little fishing villages perched precariously over the Atlantic up on the north shore and see the mountains of Newfoundland in the distance. You can also see where Guillermo Marconi set up his first trans-Atlantic wireless transmission station.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marconi_National_Historic_Sites_of_Canada