The Igloo Church

Possibly the Northwest Territories most iconic, most photographed structure, the Our Lady of Victory church in downtown Inuvik. Also known as the Igloo Church, it is a bleach-white cylinder capped by a silvery dome, imitating the Inuvialuit snow-houses of old and is truly unlike any other church on earth.

Our Lady of Victory Church
By Adam Jones, Ph.D. - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27739723

The round or igloo shape was chosen to mitigate possible structural damage that might be caused by frost heave. Its unique structural system, "a dome within a dome", further protects the church with a foundation consisting of a bowl-shaped concrete slab on a gravel bed atop the permafrost and, in the building itself, an intricate system of wooden arches to support the load.

Interior of Our Lady of Victory Church
By Adam Jones, Ph.D. - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27739723

Designed by Brother Maurice Larocque, a Catholic missionary to the Arctic who had previously been a carpenter, designed the church despite a lack of any formal architectural training, sketching it on two sheets of plywood that are prominently displayed in the building's upper storeys. Construction was started in the late 1950s  and completed by a group of volunteers in 1960. The church was then rebuilt in 2005. A trip north of the Artic Circle would no be complete without a photo in front of the Igloo Church.

What are 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

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Quebec Swear Words

I have often laughed at actors in movies portraying a frustrated French Canadian yelling out a loud "Tabernak!!" I laughed, but I never really understood the meaning behind the french curse words. This post is for those who have ever wondered why Quebec swear words have a religious tone to them.

photo from MTL Blog

Swear words are words that are meant to stick it to the man, whether it be the government or your boss, or in the case of early Quebec, the Catholic church. In Quebec's case, the church was in the driver's seat. The clergy governed nearly every aspect of society in 19th century Quebec, which naturally pissed off a lot of people. Quebecers converted these words that were deemed sacred by the church, turning the untouchable sayings into harsh profanities. Such as Tabarnak (the tabernacle) , calice (the chalice) or esti (the bread).  

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Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mont Royal

In 1904, Saint André Bessette (Brother Andre), began the construction of St. Joseph, a small chapel on the slopes of Mont Royal near Notre Dame College. Soon the growing number of the congregation made it too small. In 1917 a larger church was completed that had a seating capacity of 1,000. In 1924, the construction of the basilica of Saint Joseph's Oratory was commenced; it was finally completed in 1967, becoming Canada's largest church and welcoming over 2 million visitors annually.

The basilica is dedicated to Saint Joseph, to whom Brother André credited all his reported miracles. These were mostly related to some kind of healing power, and many pilgrims flooded into his Basilica, including many non-Catholics. On display in the basilica is a wall covered with thousands of crutches from those who came to the basilica and were believably healed. In 1982, Pope John Paul II deemed the miracles to be authentic and beatified Brother André and In October 2010 Pope Benedict XVI canonized him as a saint.

What is 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

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St.Patrick's Basilica - Ottawa

Saint Patrick's Basilica was known as Ottawa's first English speaking Roman Catholic church, most of the English population were of Irish descent, thus when the church was completed in 1875 it was dedicated to St.Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The church was appointed to basilica status on Saint Patrick's Day, March 1995.

What is 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

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2013 - Real Man Travels Year In Review

2013 was a roller coaster ride of a year, Its was a successful year and I have my friends to thank for it. I look forward to 2014 and I hope the year treats you well. I leave you with an Irish Cheers Sláinte!!

Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario: This Photo was taken on our way to the St. Mary's rapids to try our luck and new found skills at Fly Fishing. This was a great adventure that introduced me to some great people. Thanks Again to Soo North Fly Shop.

Bushplane Museum- Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario: This is my top mate Dylan in a small coin operated space shuttle. For those of you who do not know him, Dylan is 6'3. So you can Imagine how funny this would be in real life. 

Elmavale Zoo, Ontario Canada: This was at a school trip with my daughter's class and I will tell you that Giraffe tongues gross me out. However my daughter was not so squeamish as the Giraffe licked the food clean off her palm.

Bruce Peninsula National Park, Ontario Canada: I was lucky enough to be hosted by Parks Canada for a couple of days. We stayed in a Yurt which is an excellent way to camp. This photo was taken at Indian Head Cove right next to the grotto. 

Grundy Lake Provincial Park, Ontario Canada: The final shot of our homemade "Man Of The Year" competition where we compete in various outdoor events such as Fishing, Washer Toss and the Xtreme Challenge! 

 Brampton, Ontario Canada: This year we experienced Tree Top Trekking. It turned out to be quite the test of the mind and body. I remember feeling so proud of our group not one of us lost our balance and fell off during the whole course. This is not easy by any means.

Canadian Space and Aviation Museum - Ottawa, Ontario Canada: This past summer the kids and I took a road trip to Ottawa. When I look at this picture, it scares me a little. It actually looks like they know what they are doing...

Bon Echo Provincial Park Ontario, Canada: After hiking to the top of the cliffs, My hetero life mate Mike and I boarded the Mugwump Ferry and I captured this photo on our way back to the mainland. It was one of the best weather days of the year.

Dublin, Ireland: I went for a few walks in Dublin one was to the Temple Bar to drink beer and the other was an early morning stroll to St.Patrick's Cathedral.

Strandhill Beach, Sligo Ireland:  We were on our way for dinner and when we arrived this was the scene as 20 Travel Bloggers unloaded out of the bus and started taking pictures. The weather gods were smiling down on us the entire trip.

Streedagh Strand Sligo, Ireland: This photo was taken along a guided hike with SEATRAILS our guide was Auriel Robinson who is a Marine Archaeologist, While showing us amazing fossils along the shores, She told us many interesting stories of the unforgiving coastline.

Glenevin Waterfall, Ballyliffin Co. Donegal Ireland: This small but very picturesque waterfall can be found along a small pathway with sheep wandering free a few tiny bridges cross the stream along the way. We followed up this brisk fall walk with a stop at Nancy's Barn which we were served hot soup and coffee and delicious home-made treats.

Malin Head Donegal, Ireland: This was on a small hike at the most northern coastline of Ireland. Besides the swimming seals and breathtaking views of coastline, the wind also tried to take our breath away on many occasions.

Farren's Bar- Donegal, Ireland: This personalized pint was served up to us just after our hike at Malin Head at the end of our Ireland press trip. The location was Farren's Bar it is Ireland's most northerly pub I enjoyed unwinding with 20 new friends at the end of an amazing journey as we all posted our beer photos on instagram.

TCF Bank Stadium - Minneapolis, Minnesota: This photo was taken as a gag to re create an old Three Stooges photo. The representative of the Gophers stood there shaking his head like "you have got to be kidding me, are these guys for real?" But he took the picture and we love him for that.

Target Field - Minneapolis, Minnesota: The host of the 2014 MLB All Star game, The Twins have it all in this stadium. The tour of the stadium is one of the top rated tours in sports on ESPN.com. We were allowed to take a "special" tour and this is the view from the home dugout. Minneapolis is a great sports city.

TCF Bank Stadium - Minneapolis, Minnesota: Gopher Game Day, we were given 3 media passes to a Big Ten College football game so we showed up early to watch the players warm up and we were awarded with this photo. Yes I was laying on my stomach for this one.

Algonquin Provincial Park - Ontario, Canada: The girls and I took a fun little road trip to this picturesque little spot along the way we seen our very first Moose! When we reached this campground the sun was just setting over the lake as I started getting our supper ready on a camping stove on the tailgate of my truck.

Drysdale's Tree Farm - Utopia, Ontario: This was my last adventure of 2013, and one of my favorite because, it really shows off how happy I am making memories with my family.

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