When You Breath, I want to be the air for you

I'll be out of commission for a week as we head off to a little cluster of islands formally referred to as The United Kingdom. That's right, a week with no Copeland blogging (you're devastated, I'm sure).

Since we'll be flying into Belfast and then off to Edinburgh I thought I should make a nice light post with a little history about the religiously and politically-torn country of Northern Ireland. And, no, it's not the north of Ireland. It's an entirely different country that is under British rule. They even use the slipping Great British Pound.

An interesting fact, however, is that North Irish citizens are given the option of having a North Irish passport or a Great British Passport. Belfast is also the birthplace of the Titanic in 1911. Coined "The Unsinkable" it sank on 15 April 1912 counting over 1,500 in the death toll.

Also home to "the most bombed hotel in Europe" the infamous four-star Europa Hotel, Belfast visitors still find it important to book a room here.

Ever thought of where the song, Brown Eyed Girl, was composed? It was in Belfast by the awesome Van Morrison.

Want a good bottle of single-malt Scotch? Follow us to Edinbugh, Scotland's capital city and founding land of Scotch Whiskey. Did you know that Edinburgh is considered by many, the most picturesque city in Europe? And it's commonly held that the city began 330 years before the birth of Christ.

And semi-related to the main topic of this post is this day - Halloween. Originally believed in the Celtic sects of Ireland, Halloween makes some wonder about the often-times misunderstood jack-o-lantern. Well, the carved pumpkin lit by a candle inside is one of Halloween's most prominent symbols in America and is commonly called a jack-o'-lantern. Originating in Europe, these lanterns were first carved from a turnip or rutabaga. Believing that the head was the most powerful part of the body, containing the spirit and the knowledge, the Celts used the "head" of the vegetable to frighten off any superstitions.

Wow! We're all a little smarter now.