A Lovely Day in the Neighbourhood

Cheers friends! It's sunny and 20 degrees here in Brum today making spirits bright! Before you start feeling sorry for me, remember that the Brits monitor temps in Celsius, meaning it's a warm and pleasant 68 F today.  June is expected to be the hottest in Birmingham's history with highs reaching a whopping 82 F later in the month... I say bring it on.  Speaking of things the Brits do differently, here's a link I shared on FB recently with some "common" British phrases.  To be honest, I haven't heard most of these, but I sure hope to soon, and hope even more to be able to use them to weird my friends out when visiting home.

In other news, we've been settling in nicely, making important purchases like a vacuum and a crock pot and are feeling especially domestic after we got some plants to brighten up the flat.  The weekend before last we made another trip to Wales for a hike (I mentioned the Black Country in a previous blog and was incorrect).  In case you missed the pictures on social media, below are a few.  These do not even begin to do the views justice.  I huffed and puffed the entire 8 miles up (feeling very out of shape after two months away from Pure Barre) as Adam basically sang his happy song the whole way, but it was worth it. If you ever come over this way, a trip to Wales is worth it... maybe even a hike in Brecon Beacons up Pen Y Fan.

Last weekend we did some much needed lazy lounging around the flat, but we also got to know our neighbourhood a little better! Per request, I'll take the time now to share a little more about the friendly community we live in known as the Jewellery Quarter. 

We're an easy 15 minute walk from City Centre and the Business District.  Much like Birmingham, AL, Birmingham, England has neighborhoods (some sort of suburb-ish) that make up the area.  One significant difference is that things here are much closer proximity wise than back home.  Brum has a little over 1 million residents, but unlike a comparably sized city in the US like Dallas, you can walk from one end of the city to the other in 40 min.  That seems far to natives, but feels easy and convenient to us.  

The Jewellery Quarter is known for exactly what it's named - Jewellery (British sp.).  40% of jewellery made in the UK comes from our neighborhood.  There are dozens of stores and shops across the quarter.  You can't walk 5 feet without passing one.  We're also blessed with dozens of restaurants, pubs, and culture all at our fingertips, some of which we made point to experience last weekend.

Saturday morning we lounged as we watched the annual Trooping the Colour. This tradition accompanies the Queen's birthday celebration, and even more exciting, it marked baby George's first public appearance! We then made a trip outside of the neighborhood to Edgbaston Golf Club for a tour.  Those of you who know us know that Adam loves golf.  This is a course smack in the middle of the city, which seems weird, but it's beautiful.  It looks like we're going to ship Adam's clubs and join.  I'll be taking some lessons and reaping the benefits of a "social membership" which I hope is just as classy as it sounds.  No worries, I packed my pearls.

Saturday night we tried a restaurant we've been eying that was recommended by a trusted source.  The Church has a classic English pub vibe while serving "traditional soul food" and oh do they serve amazing soul food.  I had the fried chicken and Adam had ribs - both some of the best we've ever had.  Just across the street was the Blue Orange Theatre.  It's a small theatre, boasting 90 or so seats.  We saw a musical manned by 8-10 actors and no props or set called The Coalition Kings.  The actors seemed about college age, and were enthusiastic.  I'll leave my review there as I'm no critic, but we'll be giving it another shot when Sweeney Todd premiers in the Fall.  Regardless of the caliber, it's a fun way to spend a Saturday night.

Sunday we visited St. Paul's evening Eucharist service, which we loved.  It's not our denomination, but it was a lovely service and the timing is nice because we can still make it after a weekend trip out of town.  Afterwards we went to the local chinese buffet and called it a night.

No big plans as of yet for this weekend, but next weekend is Taylor Swift at Hyde Park!!!! To say I'm excited is an understatement.  I'm almost certain this is where I'll spot Kate - I mean, it doesn't seem like an event she'd miss, especially now that she's out and about post the birth of Princess Charlotte.  I'll have my camera ready.  

The more we do, the more we love Brum.  I'm thankful daily for Adam. I know a lot of people who've braved moves like this alone, but as Mr. Rogers says - "It always helps to have people we love beside us when we have to do difficult things in life."