Madeira - Day 35 - cont of Funchal from above

I spent today at home so am posting the remaining pictures from 2 days ago when I went to the Story Centre, Jesuit Church and City Hall.

When I came out of the church the City Hall doors were open and I was able to buy a ticket for the next tour which was in about 15 minutes.

I waited in the interior courtyard. The building had been a manor house and carriages would have come in through the front door and deposited their passengers in the foyer with its impressive staircases.

Beautiful tile work in the entrance way

and up on the staircase, where our guide explained the Funchal Coat of Arms (A cross made of piles of sugar, surrounded by shields with grapes around them and a crown with 5 towers)

I had seen it on the floor at the entrance too.

Its been the City Hall for quite a while, hallways and offices where once there was a family's home.

Our guide showed us the 2 big rooms that hadn't been changed much. This one was a ballroom and now is used for conventions and other large meetings. Through the door at the left a council meeting was going on and there was a lot of heated debate (shouting) going on, in Portuguese.

This had been a formal dining room and was now used for smaller meetings. Our guide told us who the people were in the paintings and photos but really didn't know much about the house and its history. Nor did she seem particularly curious.

Coat of Arms again, this time painted on the ceiling.

On our way to go up to the tower and the hallways were lined with tile.

This tower room had been created to be able to see the harbour, to keep track of the merchants own ships and his competitors. It was also a place for the family to get above the heat and crowds of the city. It was higher than were I had been on top of the right hand corner of the church.

I took a panoramic looking across the square and towards the harbour (SouthWestish I think)

One looking towards the mountains behind (NorthWestish)

And one looking SouthEast ish.

Finally, one down into the City Hall courtyard.

It was an interesting old building and I was glad I went in but I was disappointed in the guide. She was a student at the University and a volunteer but I didn't get the feeling that History was her major. She was from Sweden and although her English was good while on the memorized info she was not as proficient with the questions. However I shouldn't be critical as here she was studying in a foreign country, in one foreign language, and tour guiding in another.

I have been choosing my wine based on what was on sale at the Pingo Doce (Name of the grocery store I go to, translates to "Sweet Drop"). It has usually been under 3 Euro ($5) and I try and get Douro because it is the only region I recognize. It has been fine but not spectacular. So I have decided to start looking in the aisles, rather than the sales bins, and get a little more adventurous. This was picked entirely for its label and is quite nice (about $6.50) but not "the one".