The Birmingham Canal Old Line
This is day one of my UK blog! Today was an extremely lengthy day, but we finally made it to Birmingham. To back track a bit, we left the University of Pittsburgh to head to the airport around 6:30 pm on Saturday. We arrived by a Coach bus and proceeded to check our bags in. Many of us struggled the night prior trying to get the weight of our bags under the 50 lb weight. Two of my friends even brought portable scales! Luckily, the chaos Friday night paid off as all of our bags were taken without a problem. We then proceeded through TSA and were off to board our flight with British Airways!
My friends and I at the Pittsburgh International Airport!
The flight was around 7 hours from Pittsburgh to London. The flight attendants had extremely thick British accents which took me by surprise! I assumed that our staff would be from Pittsburgh since we were taking off from the area. However, I was very pleased to have our flight attendants as they were very helpful and kind. They came around and served us tea with our breakfast on the plane! This was also my first time flying somewhere overnight. We were provided with a pillow, a blanket, dinner, and breakfast which was very different from my prior experiences.
Flying over my favorite place in the States
Once we landed in London, we grabbed our luggage and headed off to another bus for a two hour drive to Birmingham. I slept most of the drive, but when I was awake, the suburbs looked just like the movies (I’m thinking of Love, Rosie if you have ever seen that). The bus dropped us off at the Hilton Inn in which we are staying in for the remainder of our time in Birmingham. The hotel was not like the ones at home. It was almost hidden and had steps going up to the doors. When the doors are opened, there are four small elevators, but no lobby! The elevators take you up to the third floor where the lobby is located. I still do not know what is on the second floor yet. That may be something to check out tomorrow. The lobby was very small and thus packed with British people. I noticed many Brits drinking Guinness and raving about how “smashing” the taste is. We proceeded to take the elevator to the 15th floor which looked like a squashed and stretched out version of an American hotel hallway. We quickly shoved all of our bags into two rooms and fans out the door in order to make our lunch reservations.
For lunch, we ate at an amazing French restaurant called Bistrot Pierre which had a great view of the Birmingham Canal Old Line. I ordered butternut squash for my main course. It was extremely tasty and very well put together. My dessert was a “Caramel Toffee Madeline” with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. It was so delectable and melted in my mouth. Overall the restaurant was amazing, and I am convinced that Birmingham has good French food!
Dinner and Desert at the French restaurant.
After our lunch, Dr. Marks took us on a mini tour to familiarize the group with the surrounding area. We got to see the resin station that we will be heading to tomorrow. “Ozzy the Bull” was there to greet us at the station. I am looking forward to our trip tomorrow on the train! We also saw a defibrillator with a phone in a street box which I thought was really helpful and a great way to offer on the spot help for those who have a medical incident on the street. I would like to see the United States implement some of these around major cities and even in the countryside where hospitals may be out of reach.
Me with Ozzy the Bull
Finally, we went to Victoria’s Square which was made for Queen Victoria one week before she passed away. There is a statue of her place in the centers of the square to keep her in remembrance. Also located in the square is the Museum and Art Gallery in which I would love to visit before we leave! The architecture of the building is exquisite and had me in awe. Before arriving back at our hotel, we stumbled upon the classic red English street phones! It was the perfect end to our introduction to Boirmingham.
Queen Victoria’s statue
All in all, Birmingham has left a good impression on me so far. Today was a great day and I am looking forward to all the city has to offer!
Classic red English street telephones