Belfast Cathedral (St Anne's), BELFAST, IRELAND

Belfast Cathedral, also known as St Anne’s Cathedral, was built on the site of an older church dedicated to St Anne. The foundation stone was laid in 1899; the striking stainless steel Spire of Hope, which guides the eye to the heavens, was added in 2007.

Absolutely Romanesque, the cathedral's massive columns, thick walls, round arches, and high straight ceiling screams symmetry and is plain and stoic compared to the gothic style.

Mosaics. These took more than seven years to complete. The baptistery mosaic (below) contains more than 150,000 glass pieces.

The Titanic Funeral Pall. Indigo evokes image of the midnight sea where Titanic came to rest. The large central cross is fashioned from many tiny crosses, and hundreds more in different sizes and shapes fall away towards the velvet rimmed edges—symbolic of souls sinking into the ocean. The 1,517 crosses are hand-embroidered onto felt using gold silk and represent the people who lost their lives on Titanic.

Chapel of the Holy Spirit, the Baptistery, and kneelers. St Anne’s has some very fine needlework on display, especially the individually designed, hand-sewn, tapestry cushions and kneelers.

Cathedral of Santa Eulalia, BARCELONA, SPAIN

Cathedral of Santa Eulalia, in the heart of the Gothic Quarter.

A tired, shaky elevator takes visitors from the cathedral’s main floor to its rooftop, for a commanding view of the entire city as well as a close-up look at its delicate spires and impressive towers.

The main altar and the crypt below where Saint Eulalia, who suffered martyrdom at the age of only 13, rests. 

The lofty stonework interior  is mystical and dark, quiet and cold, spiritual and astounding.  

The intricately carved, dark wood of the choir box frames a view of the main altar.  The cavernous aisles and neck-bending arches  are simply astounding.

The cathedral’s garden, home to a gaggle of white geese whose ancestors have lived there for five centuries.

The Duomo−Santa Maria del Fiore, FLORENCE, ITALY

The Duomo−Santa Maria del Fiore. 
The ornate exterior is faced with vertical and horizontal  bands of white, green, and red marble from many Italian towns such as Siena.  Brunelleschi won the great competition to build the dome by simply making an egg stand on end.  The dome remains a dominating feature of Florence's landscape and identity.

Highlights of Edinburgh Castle, EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

Edinburgh Castle. From the 11th to 16th centuries, the castle was the seat of Scottish royalty. Built on volcanic rock, it towers over the Royal Mile and has witnessed the many long and complicated struggles between Scotland and England.

Crown Square (below). Several significant buildings frame the central square—the Royal Apartment of Mary Queen of Scots, imprisoned here for a time by her English cousin Elizabeth; the Great Hall, built as the ceremonial gathering place for the castle and later serving as soldiers’ barracks; the Scottish National War Memorial; and the tower protecting the crown jewels.

Beginning in the 1840s, the soldiers were allowed to bury their dogs and company mascots in this little cemetery overlooking Edinburgh’s New Town (below).

The tiny St Margaret's Chapel, Edinburgh's oldest building, dates from the 1100s (below).

Firing of the one o’clock gun—a daily tradition, except Sundays, since 1861 (below).

The Great Hall. Built as the castle’s ceremonial gathering place and later repurposed as soldier’ barracks, the hall sports a spectacular hammer beam ceiling constructed without a single nail (below).
 

The prison vaults recreate the experiences and living conditions of captives once held at the castle. During the 18th and 19th centuries, sailors from a variety of countries—including American crewmen—did time here. One of the heavy wooden prison doors illustrates some graffiti of a well-known icon—the American flag (below).

Pont des Arts and Jardin des Tuileries PARIS, FRANCE

Pont des Arts. Crossing the bridge from the Musée d'Orsay to the Jardin des Tuileries on a crisp February day, we met woofers little and large. A decades-long tradition, lovers commemorate their passion for each other and for the city by latching padlocks to the bridge’s ironwork.  Soon after our visit, Paris officials removed the 45 tons of “love locks” from the  bridge and banned the custom, saving the Pont des Artes from the strain of too much affection.

Jardin des Tuileries. Positioned between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde, this garden was created by Catherine de Medicis as part of the Tuileries Palace in 1564; it became a public park in 1667, after the French Revolution. In February, the park is winterized—the trees just branches, the flowers long gone, the grass brownish, and the air crisp.