Bagpipes, Whisky and dreams of William Wallace

So, I think I've officially found my new favorite European city - Edinburgh Scotland. A country filled with thousands of years of prideful Scots, and a capital city lined with medieval castles and dark, dreary ghost stories. Forgive me for the bad blog entry on this one because I'm currently sitting in Istanbul, Turkey trying to write about my new favorite European city while I'm surrounded by such a new and different atmosphere - my attention span is suffering. I took a free walking tour of the city, which blessed me with three hours of tales of spirits roaming the streets of the "most haunted city in the world", history of all the famous names coming out of Scotland (Sir Walter Scott, David Hume the philosopher, the original Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, and so many more), and I even caught a site of Dolly the Sheep - the first cloned mammal, she was from Scotland! 

I also took a tour up to the highlands where I really felt the zeal and passion of William Wallace and his successor to FREEDOM! Robert the Bruce. The whole, panoramic, 360 view is shockingly green - the fluorescent colors make your eyes squint like the sun on a bright day. A visit to Loch Lomond and a hike up to the top of the hill in the rain really put me in the Scottish mind while I drove home with my tour guide, a native of the land, telling me all the years that have lead up to the current status of Scotland: a referendum vote soon to secede from the UK altogether and become their own, separate country! If I were able, I would vote, in remembrance of the thousands of names who have been vying for that independence for over 800 years. The Scottish hate the English, maybe even more than the Irish. 

Maybe I'll come back and edit this entry more later, but I just have to leave and go see the Hagia Sophia and the Palace of the Ottoman Sultans right now - my imagination can't wait any longer.