Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh

Among Edinburgh's attractions is this wonderful garden space,and not to be missed. Its an easy 10 min stroll. From Princes St. at the Mound walk north along Hanover st past Queen st. gardens. In late spring the magenta and lavender rhododendrons ar particulary amazzing! Other sites equally as intriguing arethe old University,the view from Chanbers st. and So. Bridge is awesome and has quite a bit of historical significance. Two museums along the Royal mile, Tollbooth and Childhood each house memorabilia from past eras and worth exploring. Nearby at the So. Grey Close is a tiny country nook of a church,St. Patricks that merits a visit. For a modern day treat the Odean cinema at Lothian rd. is super and the concession area serving heaps of sweet and salted popcorn along with a myriad of gummy bears and other zoo animals is quite yummy.The movie "Angels and Demns" was debuting and was a fitting movie to see while in medieval Edinburgh.For a fresh market experience be sure to attend one at Kings Stables st. near St. Barbara,so-west end of the town castle.The concerts at St. Giles kirk in the old town are held often and quite rich in culture and musical sound.A few feet away is the Central library where internet and books can be had and one can rest a bit on the comfy chairs.While in Princes Gardens east,be sure to stay on til the 1pm Gun is fired. The best view is near the floral clock,one can actually see the castle cannon rising and taking its mark from a good pair of binoculars.At the present time Princes St. is undergoing urbanization in the form of a tramway system being built that will directly connect it to the airport in a matter of minutes. "Making tracks for the future" signs are posted all along Priincess st. as are pedestrian mazes that zig zag the east-west length of the once beautiful street.Along the north side of the street are stores and shops and bookvendors while the other side runs the lenght of green garden space. Its unfortunate that another location further away could not have been chosen for the tramway since the cultural character and beauty of the area are being compromised by the transport. Buses and cabs that were the main transport artery on the street will too be re-directed once the tram is completed in 2011.An alternative to walking the maze that is now Princess st. is going along Rose st. an alleywynd one street northward.The back entrances of stores such as Marks and Spen,Jenners,etc can be accessed and the alleyway is so behemian in nature as it is also lined with pubs serving San Miguel beer,tailor shops trendy restaurants and cafes from "Bad Esss" diner to the elegant "Dome garden" that run the price gamut.The cobblestone alleywynd has lovely mosaics every few paces in a circular and oval design.The best view of the castle is from Rose and Castle St. It is worth a photo op. Bonnie Scotland continues to shine since days of yore to prent time even despite the 2011 tramway system urbanization. Its one of the world's cities that has it all.