Today was our first day in Birmingham! To get here we had to take two flights, one from Pittsburgh to Washington Dulles and then from there to London. The first flight was on the smallest plane I have ever been in. It made me feel claustrophobic and everyone kept hitting their heads off of the top of the plane when trying to get out of their seats. As for the second flight, the plane was way bigger, but the seating was not as spacious as I had hoped. My goal for the flight was to try and get some sleep but there was not enough room to get comfortable. On the flight to London, they served dinner and breakfast. For my dinner I got the pasta which was okay but for some reason it had a spiciness to it that I did not like. I only ended up taking a few bites and then ate the roll and brownie. As for breakfast, you had to option of a sandwich, I chose the turkey ham sandwich, and it was disgusting. They put the sandwich on asiago bread which made the cheese far too overwhelming for my liking but thankfully I was able to wash down the bad taste with some orange juice. Eventually we landed in London at about six in the morning and after leaving the plane we went to wait for our bus that would take us to Birmingham. However, the bus driver did not show up to the right spot and we waited over an hour to be picked up. In the first ten minutes of getting on the bus I ended up falling asleep for the whole two-hour bus ride.

Then, we finally arrived at Birmingham. As soon as we stepped out of the bus we were thrown right into the city and navigated through to end up at our hotel. Our rooms were not ready yet, so we ended up putting our luggage into a room which they locked for us and freshened up to go and explore the city. First, we walked down Broad St. which is the street our hotel is located. There were various restaurants, pubs, and small stores. We ended up going to an Irish pub called O’Neill’s on Broad St. to grab a bite to eat. The pub had a good atmosphere with many great food options. I went with something simple that I knew would fill my stomach, mac n’ cheese. I like to consider myself a mac n’ cheese connoisseur of sorts and thought that it was pretty good. They used a good variety of cheeses which made it not only tasty but creamy as well and I thought their choice of noodle was perfect. Then, to go along with my meal I got a Coke which I went up to the bar area to get and it came in a fancy glass bottle. I honestly think it tasted better than the Coke we have in the states.

Next, we began exploring the city of Birmingham with Dr. Marks as our tour guide. The first place we walked to was Brindley place which had a lot of canals and shops. I thought the sights of this area were beautiful and just by skimming over the shops they seemed to have a good variety like the Lego store. Dr. Marks pointed out to us that on the side of the water were houseboats. I could not imagine living in something so small, but I understand the convenience of it for travelling via the water. In this area you can even get boat tours of the canals which I am considering looking into. There seems to be a lot of history behind these canals and going around these waters would be a fun experience. Overall, this was the first area that we went to that made me realize how beautiful Birmingham really was. I am excited to be able to explore the shops in this area and check out what the Lego store has.

After, we walked over to another area that had a stunning library. It was ginormous and had the coolest textured design on the building. Right in the center of that area was also a carnival that had a ferris wheel, small coaster ride, maze, and so much more. I am hoping that at some point on this trip I can go there. Then we continued walking further to an art museum. I thought that the outside of the building looked timeless with an eye-catching clock and its structural detailing. We agreed to go inside and explore it further to check out the cafe they have towards the back of the museum. The art displayed itself was interesting. There was a variety of art from paintings to sculptures. I personally do not care too much for art museums, but it was cool to see. Then when we made it to the cafe area, I was very impressed. I thought it had a great atmosphere, and the seating had unique colors and seemed comfortable. I definitely would go back to see if the coffee tastes as good as the place looks.

Then, we continued exploring the area and saw many interesting sights such as a gothic church. The outside of the building was stunning but the glass art on the inside was what was the most eye-catching. It was cool to see this giant church stick out like a sore thumb being surrounded by modern shops. I also thought it was interesting to see how many fast-food stores they have that we do as well like Popeyes and Wing-Stop. We continued to explore even more of the area before we headed back towards the hotel. At this point I was exhausted, and my legs were ready to give out. We stopped in a convenient store to grab a drink, and I got a Dr. Pepper which I must say is not as good here. Then, we finally made it back to the hotel after what felt like an eternity. All I wanted to do was shower and lay down. As soon as I got back, I showered but instead of laying down I decided to go out for dinner. Some of the other girls and I went to a pub called Slug and Lettuce which despite the gross sounding name was really good. I got the nachos, and they were great and just enough so that I would still have room for dessert. We walked from there to a dessert place called Opulence. They had so many delicious options and I landed on the Dubai chocolate strawberries. They were the perfect sweet treat to wrap up my first day in Birmingham. I am excited to begin classes tomorrow and learn even more about what this wonderful city has to offer.