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.