After a long day of travelling, day 1 in Birmingham was such a great day to start off the trip! Most of us barely got any sleep, but through the exhaustion, I think it finally hit us that we landed and that we were going to be spending a good chunk of time in Birmingham, getting to know the city and its culture!

As soon as we got off the bus and were walking to the hotel, of course, you noticed the driving on the other side of the road, the accents, and the liveliness of one of the biggest cities in the UK, but also a sense of calmness that was very endearing. We could tell we were getting strange looks every so often. but we also had people come up to us who were so interested in that we came from the States and were intrigued why we were walking around their city.

Our first stop was lunch, as we decided to go to this cute, small Irish pub called O’Neil’s. The vibes of a UK pub were definitely visible with the lighting, the soccer games being broadcast on the TV, and the overall atmosphere was very new and interesting. I got to try Fish and Chips for the first time, and it definitely was a good start to the food here in the UK!

After that, Dr. Marks eagerly took us on a tour of the big spots and areas around Birmingham. We first came up to Brindley Place, where you could see the many canals and bridges enhancing the city area. The bridges added a nice elegance to the city, and the small canals were something so different to see, as we don’t see that much in Pittsburgh. This spot was one of my favorites! I was also shocked to hear that Birmingham has more canals than Venice, who would’ve thought? The next thing we visited was the Art Museum, which had a beautiful, old architectural structure to it. We got to walk around a little inside, and it had some pretty eye-catching pieces that made you wonder how they came to be. As we walked along, we came upon the Town Hall, which also had a similar architectural structure to the Art Museum. You could tell the building has carried many stories and memories from centuries past. There was also a statue of Queen Victoria there as well which was amazing to see.

As we were walking around, I couldn’t help but notice the large diversity in cuisines. Every restaurant seemed to be serving something different, something not like the others. When they say Birmingham is one of the most diverse cities, you can really tell by not only observing the people walking around, but also the diversity in restaurants as you walk down each street. This is much different from Pittsburgh, as I feel we don’t see as much diversity in food options as we do here. This just makes me even more excited to continue trying all the different types of food Birmingham has to offer!

Another big thing I noticed was the diversity in architecture. There was always a good mix between seeing a modern, glass building and then seeing an older, cement building with intricate designs. One of these buildings that we got to see was the St. Martin’s Church, which had a Gothic architecture with high arches. Soon after, we approached the Bullring Shopping Center, which differed from the Gothic church, as it had metal detailing and a bull in the middle made of spare parts. The tour was such a great introduction to see what Birmingham had to offer, and I can’t wait to explore some more in the next couple of days!

After relaxing in the room, my roommate and I got some Chicken shawarma from this restaurant. Again, this restaurant had a wide variety, and our food was pretty good. We met up with a couple of the other girls from our group and decided to go get a sweet treat at Opulence. I got to eat strawberries with the pistachio kunafa and chocolate. It was one of the best desserts I’ve had and I would definitely recommend.

I can’t believe we got all this done in the span of one day. It was an exhausting day, but with great memories along the way. I know this is just the beginning, and I can’t wait to see what the next couple of days look like!