A day in Angra

Angra do Heroismo is the capital of the capital of the island.  It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Last weekend we went down to spend a day enjoying what Angra has to offer.

We started off with a walk through the gardens on our way to the museum.
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We found this little greenhouse with some displays which we sadly could not read because they were not in English.
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At the far end of the gardens we looked out over the city towards Monte Brasil.
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Then we visited the museum, which has exhibits that change every few months.  I have to admit, this was our first visit there.
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There is a church attached and part of the museum.
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Lots of war medals.
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This is inside the church.
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Not sure what the original function of this was, but these are stairs into a dead end with a little cut out in the wall at the bottom.
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This is an explorer who came here.
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It seems Vasco da Gama stopped here in his exploration journeys, and while in Angra, his brother Paulo da Gama died.  He is buried in Angra.
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This is the courtyard.
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Not sure how comfortable this looks, but it seems to be a chair.
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This month they have an ivory exhibit.  These are made from ivory and painted whale teeth.
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This is the jaw of a sperm whale.
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These are elephant tusks.  I am guessing all of this is from before ivory trading was illegal.
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Chess set made from Ivory.
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Another display was of old animal pulled cars.  Some are from the mainland and others are local to the island.
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This is a price list for renting a car.
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Another room had these crazy paintings.
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Then a final display with stuff from World War II
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I guess Roosevelt was here.
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After the museum, we walked around a little and then stopped for lunch at Aqua Emotion.  We had fried cheese balls and tuna baguettes.
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It was a great day out exploring a town filled with culture and history.

QUESTIONS: Do you have any museums new you?  Do you sometimes forget to explore things in your “own backyard”?

3 comments:

Astra Libris said...

Your post is a great reminder to explore one's backyard! :-) We've lived in Atlanta for 4 years, and we still haven't visited the Atlanta History Museum! Largely because the admission fee is quite steep, but still... we should go eventually! :-)

Your photos are beautiful - I always love the windows into your Island! :-)

Unknown said...

mmm Fried Cheese! We always like to explore :)

Gina; The Candid RD said...

I definitely forget the history and amazing sites of Ohio, all the time. I need to start appreciating it more. This museum is so neat. I love going tot he Cincinnati museum because it's so eclectic, and not focused on just one thing. It's so neat!

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