Getting Acquainted

We made it! We are in Birmingham now after a quick plane change in Dublin. We were going to have an 8-hour layover in Dublin and had planned to go into the city for a couple of hours to see what we could see, but a 3 1/2 hour delay out of Chicago changed our plans. Instead, we spent a couple hours in the Dublin airport. Can we still say we visited Ireland? Our passports have a Dublin stamp in them! We were sad about not getting out into the city, but we were so glad that the delay did not cause us to miss our connecting flight to Birmingham.

Friday afternoon we walked around our hotel neighborhood to get a feel for the area. We came across an International Food Festival, and decided that is where we would find dinner. I had Spanish cuisine and Brian had Indian. Ollie had a little of both and loved it all. (Seriously, this boy will eat anything and is just gung-ho about food in general.)

The food festival

Saturday morning we all slept in and didn't get out and about until lunch time. We had lunch at Pret a Manger, a sandwich shop we first discovered in London a few years back. They had an awesome play corner which Oliver loved. This may just become our regular lunch spot for the next week.

Oliver playing at Pret

Brian and Ollie at The University of Birmingham

After lunch we set out for The University of Birmingham, where Brian will be teaching this week. He wanted to make sure he knew where he was going. We found it pretty easily - just a short train ride and a short walk and we were there.

We visited Winterbourne Botanic Garden, which is on the University campus. It's a gorgeous place full of open grass areas (great for Oliver to run around in) and beautiful flower gardens.

Brian and Ollie at the Botanic Garden

Eyeing up the chickens at the Garden

Walking through the lavender

Oliver has really taken off with his walking. He still crawls, but definitely prefers walking now. It's amazing how fast that happens. He's been cutting trails around our apartment here. Good thing we have a place to stay with a lot of space!

Enjoying the Botanic Garden

Lost in the flowers

The old meets the new

While wandering we found this interesting combination. St. Martins church along side a very modern-looking restaurant/club. We've been told that Birmingham, especially city center, has undergone a lot of change over the past 15 or so years. I would say this is evidence of that change!

We'll post more throughout the week as we get a chance. For more pictures, click here!