A peek inside ~ courtesy photographer Ivo Meeus The St Michael's Church of Louvain Belgium is considered one of the seven wonders of Leuven.built in the period 1650-1671 ,, Tombs There are three gravestones in the church. Rear left in the baptistery is the bones of Leonard Lessius. Rear right is a white marble stone of the sisters Aldegondis and Anna Van Horenbeeck, who raised funds for the construction of the church. Front right is a broken black stone on which many coats of arms adorn the Jonker family Geeraert of Herckenrode and Anne Christine Coursel. info wiki

The Day of the Dead ~~~~ Child's Alter “On October 31, All Hallows Eve, the children make a children's altar to invite the angelitos (spirits of dead children) to come back for a visit. November 1 is All Saints Day, and the adult spirits will come to visit. November 2 is All Souls Day, when families go to the cemetery to decorate the graves and tombs of their relatives. The three-day fiesta filled with marigolds, the flowers of the dead; muertos (the bread of the dead); sugar skulls; cardboard skeletons; tissue paper decorations; fruit and nuts; incense, and other traditional foods and decorations. ” — Frances Ann Day, Latina and Latino Voices in Literature Originally, the Day of the Dead as such was not celebrated in northern Mexico, where it was even unknown until the 20th century; before that the people and the church rejected it in northeastern Mexico because they perceived the day was a result of syncretizing pagan elements with Catholicism. courtesy info wiki

Bodie is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States . Bodie began as a mining camp of little note following the discovery of gold in 1859 by a group of prospectors, including W. S. Bodey. Bodey perished in a blizzard the following November while making a supply trip to Monoville (near present-day Mono City, California), never getting to see the rise of the town that was named after him.The U.S. Department of the Interior recognizes it as a National Historic Landmark. info wiki

The Hall Of Mirrors ~~ As the principal and most remarkable feature of King Louis XIV of France's third building campaign of the Palace of Versailles (1678–1684), construction of the Hall of Mirrors began in 1678. In the 17th century, mirrors were among the most expensive items to possess at the time; the Venetian Republic held the monopoly on the manufacture of mirrors. In order to maintain the integrity of his philosophy of mercantilism, which required that all items used in the decoration of Versailles be made in France, Jean-Baptiste Colbert enticed several workers from Venice to make mirrors at the Manufacture royale de glaces de miroirs. According to legend, in order to keep its monopoly, the government of the Venetian Republic sent agents to France to poison the workers whom Colbert had brought to France info wiki , photographer James L Stanfield

Donegal Castle is a castle situated in the centre of Donegal town, County Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. Originating from a Viking fortress in1159,The elder Sir Hugh O’Donnell, wealthy chief of the O’Donnell clan, built the castle in 1474. For most of the last two centuries, the majority of the buildings lay in ruins but the castle was almost fully restored in the late 1990s , info wiki , photo by andrew mcmillan

The Immortal Bridge (Chinese: 仙人桥;pinyin: Xiānrén Qiáo), a natural landscape. Located in Mount Tai which is one of the "Five Great Mountains". It is associated with sunrise, birth, and renewal, and is often regarded the foremost of the five. Mount Tai has been a place of worship for at least 3,000 years and served as one of the most important ceremonial centers of China during large portions of this period. It is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an, in Shandongprovince, China. The tallest peak is the Jade Emperor Peak (simplified Chinese: 玉皇顶; traditional Chinese: 玉皇頂; pinyin: Yùhuáng Dǐng), which is commonly reported as 1,545 metres (5,069 ft) tall, but is described by the PRC government as 1,532.7 metres (5,029 ft). info wiki , photo Original By User:Pfctdayelise , edit by User:Capital photographer -

Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle in Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire.United Kingdom. Historical events dating back to 79 AD where there was a Roman fort built at Lancaster on a hill commanding a crossing over the River Lune. It is generally thought that Lancaster Castle was founded in the 1090s on the site of the Roman fort in a strategic location. The castle is the oldest standing building in Lancaster and one of the most important. The history of the structure is uncertain yet the events throughout its history is remarkable , from invasions, anarchy, civil wars , the known hangings and the gaol , yet, in the 18th century more people died from gaol fever than by hanging the castle remained a working prison until the spring of 2011. This was the place that held the notorious Pendle witches in 1612 . Of the eleven who went to trial – nine women and two men – ten were found guilty and executed by hanging; one was found not guilty. The ten other Pendle witches found guilty within the walls of Lancaster castle were hanged high on the moors nearby as a vast public affair. After 1800, the site of execution in Lancaster moved to the castle itself and people were hung publicly from the wall of the drop room to crowds sometimes exceeding 5,000. Public hanging remained in force until 1865, after which the death sentence was carried out within the hanging yard of the castle which still remains. info wiki and lancaster castle