Today we touched down in London and took a very long bus ride to Birmingham. Once we got off the bus, I was so ecstatic to walk around the city and take in all of the gorgeous sites. Of course after that treacherous ride to the hotel, we were all exhausted and were hungry so we decided to find a bite to eat at the local pub O’Neals. I was feeling a little bit adventurous so I tried a spicy curry from the pub to start the trip off right. I could lie and say that I loved it, but personally the cauliflower curry was not for me. Although, it did have a wonderful taste to it, I just wasn’t a fan of the different textures within. It seemed to be a fan favorite spot, with a lot of business occurring while we were there for lunch. With our stomachs full and our hearts light, we took to the streets of Birmingham ready to take in the new wonders of the life around us.
From there we headed down to Brindley Place and viewed the statues and street life of this section of the city. I am very excited to head down there and check out their night-life, and listen to live music being played. After doing a little bit of exploring we ventured to Chamberlain Square and visited the Museum and Art Gallery. The building was a beautiful monument in the city that encompassed a lot of the history behind Birmingham. My favorite part of the museum was the cozy yet exquisite tearoom, which looked like it could host a grand ball. The large room was decorated lovely with different colored arm chairs and sofas for the guests to sit and enjoy while drinking their tea or eating a snack offered from the tearoom. I would love to sit in that room and read a book and drink some afternoon tea. Unfortunately we could not enjoy their amenities today, for we had to cover.
Next we went to the Bullring and Grand Central, and saw all of the stores that we can shop at while we are here learning. I think it’s great that there are so many stores that we all know and love located right in the center of town. I was upset to hear that in the past years the large bull actually moved and blew steam out of his nose. Sadly he was just standing there today. Hopefully before we leave they get him up and running again.
The next location we visited was the beautiful Saint Martin’s church. It was interesting to hear about how dated the church is in that exact location, especially with it being located right around the shopping centers. The church was magnificent and had a lot of stained glass images throughout the entire building. It is truly remarkable to see this giant church sitting right in the middle of the center. From here we were allowed to break loose and go our separate ways and get dinner if we wanted or to head back to the hotel to relax for a while before we went out to eat. My group and I decided to do the latter and allow ourselves to catch our breathes from the busy traveling we had just done. We all went to our different rooms and decomposed ourselves before heading back out for dinner.
For dinner we went to this stylish place in Brindley Place called Slug and Lettuce. It was a very cute restaurant that had a wide variety of meals they offered. It was nice to see all of the options available, which is definitely what made it more appealing to my friends and I when looking at the menus outside of the establishment. The other three girls ordered nachos and I ended up with a delicious bacon burger that was so large that it was sliding right off of the bun. It was a nice relaxing evening that we all deserved after hours on hours of running around airports and cities.
Overall it was a fantastic day filled with a lot of fun and new experiences for everyone including myself. I think my overall favorite part of the day was learning about the history behind the church that stands in the middle of the bullring center. I can not wait for more joyous days to come my way and to learn so much more about their culture and heritage,
