Festival City 2013 ........

....and welcome to the place where the streets are swollen with people from all over the World who come in their droves to see the sights and sounds of the annual Edinburgh International Festival and Fringe Society......

.......like this pretty lady juggler who had the crowd enthralled with her prowess at throwing her juggling thingy (I forget what you call them now!)high up in the air and catching it so expertly as it plummeted back to earth...

......or this brave (or really daft) fella who wrapped himself up in chains a la Houdini and then really struggled to set himself free amidst the shrieks and gasps of the admiring crowd....

 ....then off we go up some really steep steps (Edinburgh's full of them!)

 ........to the top of the Mound.....

......and upwards to the Royal Mile to watch more street entertainers doing their stuff in their weird and wacky ways.......

.....more juggling......

.....and a young lad who was advertising the play 'A Matter of Life and Death' - do you remember the film with David Niven? - a real tear-jerker ....

....passing St Giles Cathedral....

.....past the statue of Adam Smith, a former City Father and author of 'A Wealth of Nations'......

......I loved these open windows with their pretty pots of geraniums on show and wondered what it would be like to live up there (I have lived in the City a long time ago but in the New Town area - this is the Old Town we are in right now) - far removed from my quiet little idyllic village life, that's for sure!

........and then we pay a visit to the National Museum of Scotland to see .....

...Mary, before she got her head chopped off (no photography allowed at this exhibition so I can't show you some of the fabulous jewellery which she bedecked herself with or the replica of her tomb, which was really creepy)......

.......but I can show you this serene Buddha floating atop his lotus pad.....

....and this little Buddha floating on high.....

.....and these vintage sewing machines suspended in mid-air....

 ....then after a spot of lunch, a great way to get around the City and really take it all in.....

....the headquarters of the Bank of Scotland....

.....and last stop, Princes Street Gardens to take in the remnants of the evening sun before heading off for the train home and back to a very quiet life! 

A most enjoyable day........and lots more to see and do before the Festival ends its run at the end of the month, so until then...

Adieu and hope you enjoyed your little jaunt around the City. 

Come back soon.

xxx