inSPIREed Sunday

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July 2005 - Dublin Ireland

We had never visited the Church of St. Michan in Dublin and thought it would be a good place to take our niece and nephew on their first trip in 2005. St. Michan's was first built in 1095, possibly on the site of an early church constructed by the Viking Danes - Michan was said to be an old Danish saint, though records in Christchurch Cathedral suggest that he was an "Irish saint and confessor", while other theories suggest he was a Dublin Norseman, thus incorporating both other ideas. on their first trip to Dublin.

We were the only visitors and our guide was extremely well-informed, and a bit of a character. You enter the vaults from outside and climb down through slanted metal doors into long corridors, with chambers on each side.

Our guide said the air in the vaults is extremely dry due to the consistency of the soil and the steady unvarying temperate.

This is my niece's face when I tell her she can touch a corpse and a great fortune would come to her.

I didn't take any photos inside, I think we were told "No photographs".
I did find some at another site and am posting one of his.
Four mummies are on view inside an inner chamber - with a few random skulls lying around beside them. 

InSPIREd Sunday

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January 2012 - Granada Nicaragua

This beautiful city has quite a few beautiful churches all within walking distance of the Central Park.
There are 6 main churches : the Cathedral, La Merced, Guadalupe, Xalteva, San Francisco and María Auxiliadora.

The Cathedral - The original cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1856. It was rebuilt in 1880 and renovated in 1905.

La Merced - This church was used by Mercedes people. Construction of this church began in 1871 and was finished in January 1783. Its structure is colonial and its doorways are baroque. I am trying to get more information on who the Mercedes people refer to.


The church has a tower which you can climb to have a great viewpoint of Granada.

Guadalupe - Founded in 1624-1626 by Benito de Baltodano monk.The church is situated in the Calzada street (Calle la Calzada) near Nicargua Lake and steps away from our B and;B we stayed in.

















Xalteva - this church takes its name from the indigenous settlement where it was built. It was one of the first churches that the Spanish built upon arriving in Central America and the subsequent city was founded around it. The church was reconstructed in 1890, but its exterior today is from 1895.
















San Francisco Convent and church - is attached to the church and both structures were first erected in 1525, along with the rest of the city of Granada. It is the oldest church in Central America. 
































María Auxiliadora - I only got a couple of photos of this church as we stopped outside it while on a buggy tour.

inSPIREd Sunday

Sally hosts inSPIREd Sundays.

February 2013 - Concordia, Mexico

Concordia is home to the enchanting San Sebastian Church which was founded in the late 1500's making it the oldest in the state of Sinaloa.

InSPIREd Sunday

As some of you know I am a big fan of Da Vinci Code and Dan Brown, not so much for the story lines as the historic places his books highlight. He also introduced me to the Templar history with Da Vinci Code and I went on to read many books about their history.
Cities feature walking tours of the sights he has written about in Paris, London, Rome and Washington.


 I had been on a mission to get into the Templar church in London which is highlighted at the end of Da Vinci Code. In 2005 it was closed the day we arrived, in 2009 I didn't get time to go. so it was definitely on the list for next trip.

And success was had finally in May 2010. 

The Temple Church is hidden in plain sight as it lies ‘off street’ between Fleet Street and the River Thames, in an ‘oasis’ of ancient buildings, courtyards and gardens.

It is famous for its effigy tombs and for being a round church. It was heavily damaged during the Second World War but has been largely restored. The area around the Temple Church is known as the Temple and nearby is Temple Bar and Temple tube station.

The church's website provides an excellent history timeline.


 It wasn't opened when we arrived around 11:30 but the sign said it would open between 1 and 4 that day. So we had lunch and then had our visit.


There are eight hundred years of history: from the Crusaders in the 12th century, through the turmoil of the Reformation and the founding father of Anglican theology.


The Knights Templar order was very powerful in England, with the Master of the Temple sitting in parliament as primus baro (the firs tbaron of the realm). The compound was regularly used as a residence by kings and by legates of the Pope. The Temple also served as an early depository bank, sometimes in defiance of the Crown's wishes to seize the funds of nobles who had entrusted their wealth there. The independence and wealth of the order throughout Europe is considered by most historians to have been the primary cause of its eventual downfall.

In January 1215 William Marshall (who is buried in the nave next to his sons, under one of the 9 marble effigies of medieval knights there) served as a negotiator during a meeting in the Temple between King John and the barons, who demanded that John uphold the rights enshrined in the Coronation Charter of his predecessor Richard I. William swore on behalf of the king that the grievances of the barons would be addressed in the summer, leading to John's signing of Magna Carta in June.

There are grotesques on the walls of the round portion of Temple Church, overlooking the effigies.