A Failed Coup and a Trip

Time flies, doesn't it? Many things have happened since my last post. Before saying anything, I would like to note the following date, July 15th 2016, the day a group in the military attempted a coup in Turkey against the selected government and most fortunately failed. May they and everyone involved(!) pay for what they have done.

I am not going to, however, talk about this shameful event, since I need a break from it.

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"I went on an adventure!" as Mr. Bilbo Bagging would have said. A trip to Edinburgh, Liverpool, Chester and then back to London. I absolutely loved Edinburgh from the moment I set my eyes on her. I definitely would have stayed longer, but sadly I had my return tickets booked beforehand.

I got rid of my bag as soon as possible and went on a stroll in the old town. No sooner had I walked for a couple of minutes than I was welcomed by a man in traditional Scottish outfit playing bagpipes. It was my first time hearing it in real life and I really liked it. I was filming him play of course with my phone, but after a while I just felt that maybe I was making him uncomfortable so I left reluctantly. The picture below is from the castle. It's amazing how new the old castle looks. 

I was feeling hungry after all the climbing to the castle as you might guess, so I found this lovely little restaurant. I had some bad experiences with some Turkish restaurants in London, so I had decided not to eat at them anymore. However, this particular one had excellent reviews on Trip Advisor, so I took my chances. I ordered lamb shish and was genuinely shocked after tasting it. It was the best lamb shish I had eaten in my life! (Also, all the bad images of animal farms in my head have suddenly vanished. I somehow convinced myself that this lamb I was eating had a peaceful life). After the meal, we had a nice chat with some of the staff and they were all lovely people. What a curious thing, isn't it? As a Turkish man, I had eaten the best lamb shish of my life in a Scottish city.

I like Harry Potter. I've read the books, watched the movies and now listening to the audio books by Stephen Fry -who does a fantastic job by the way. I knew some things about the author J. K. Rowling, like how she got the idea of the series during a train journey. What I didn't know was the books' relation to Edinburgh. There is a cafe named "Elephant House" in which she wrote parts of the first two books. There is a castle-like school for orphan kids which has four towers, hence Hogwarts and the four schools. And a graveyard where she took the names of some of the characters from. It was actually a bit weird to see the gravestones of the Potters, McGonagall and Moody. And below is the gravestone of Tom Riddle!

Let's finish with a selfie. I have selfies with David Hume and Adam Smith as well, but to be honest, the statue of Hume just looks ugly and with Adam Smith the picture was a bit dark. So we will have to do with the writer of Sherlock Holmes.

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I left Edinburgh after two days and arrived in Liverpool, but I simply didn't like it. That said, I have two good memories of the city. First, I've tried my first Fish&Chips at a restaurant called "Lobster Pot" and it was delicious. Second, my picture with Eleanor Rigby... I'm not a Beatles fan, I hadn't listened a single one of their songs when I saw her, I listened the song after that and still not a fan. Still, I like my picture with her. I won't share the picture, however. Sorry for that, 'all the lonely people' are a bit weird.

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I spent seven hours in Chester and it was beautiful. Especially the cathedral, oh and the city walls and the old houses and the old feeling in the town and of course the river.

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I also got accepted to a university in Japan for a Master's program. The funny thing is, I was feeling like 'once I get my acceptance everything will be perfect'. But now, suddenly, another thing has appeared out of nowhere and I'm feeling exactly the same way as I did before! I think there will never be an end to this. I need to change my perception if it's peace that I want.

Another thing is, when you travel, you're very conscious about what you have or carry. You never take things with you that you won't need. You know that they would only be a burden. You think about the journey, the destination. You don't spend precious time with the unworthy and you don't linger when there is so much to see. I think I will live my life better if I keep these things in mind. And to do that, I shall travel more often!