You can tell how much money I have by the fact I went to Birmingham for a holiday!
A few weeks ago, my mum, brother and I went to Birmingham for 4 days. Jono had booked a room in the Birmingham IBIS Budget Hotel which had a double bed and a bunk bed, so me and mum decided to come along. The date he booked his trip for also coincided with the War of the Worlds stage show tour in the West End so we booked tickets to watch it. Jeff Wayne's Musical War of the Worlds is a fantastic stage show which I've seen about 4 times now - and seeing as the cast had been changed and it was being shown in the West End I couldn't resist going.
A few weeks ago, my mum, brother and I went to Birmingham for 4 days. Jono had booked a room in the Birmingham IBIS Budget Hotel which had a double bed and a bunk bed, so me and mum decided to come along. The date he booked his trip for also coincided with the War of the Worlds stage show tour in the West End so we booked tickets to watch it. Jeff Wayne's Musical War of the Worlds is a fantastic stage show which I've seen about 4 times now - and seeing as the cast had been changed and it was being shown in the West End I couldn't resist going.
We flew out on the Friday and decided to do a spot of shopping, seeing as we arrived relatively early. The place we stayed in was a short walk from the Bullring shopping centre which I was really excited about as I'd never been to the Bullring before. I made a shopping plan (because I'm boring and a Virgo) for Sunday, when I'd have the whole day to shop. After all the travelling and traipsing round a few shops we were ravenous, so we decided to have a quick bite at Wagamama.
After our meal we went to check in to the hotel. I use the word 'hotel' quite loosely, as when we went up to our room it was literally like a prison cell. The window opened about an inch, the shower and sink were in the middle of the room and the toilet was like a closet. The beds were alright, not the most comfortable I've ever slept in but sure a bed is a bed. The room was unbearably hot though, I practically melted into the bedsheet.
We had an early start the next morning as we booked the 8:50 a.m. train to London. I grabbed a veggie samosa, a smoothie, a jelly and some dark chocolate and nuts from M&S as my breakfast for the train. Birmingham to London is about a 2 and a half hour train trip, and with no WiFi or anything else to do as you can imagine it was a long trip! I tried my hardest not to fall asleep on the train as I sleep with my mouth open and look like a dying whale.
We arrived in London at about 11 a.m. - plenty of time to get the Tube to Camden Market. I LOVE Camden, it's incredible, but mum had never been so I decided to show her around. I got a few gifts from the market and also a top for myself.
Now on to the important bit: The food. Camden is absolutely buzzing full of food stalls - from Jamaican to Chinese to Italian and Spanish and Bolivian and everything in between! I was dying to check out Cookies & Scream, a famous vegan bakery and shake shack. I ordered a peanut butter brownie and an ice cream sandwich. It was so nice to not have to ask if the food contained dairy! The cookies were so chunky and gorgeously melt in the mouth. I was so full after my sweet treats I didn't want anything savoury for my lunch, but mum got a falafel box which looked gorgeous.
After our yummy food we got the Tube to Tottenham Court Road, as the Dominion Theatre is just across from the Tube station. We still had some time to kill before the War of the Worlds matinee so we went to Oxford Street to look at the massive Primark. I got a few things but the selection wasn't that great this time. Probably a good job because Primark makes your purse about 10 times lighter and your suitcase 10 times heavier!
It was finally time to watch the stage show. There was a really funny guy on the door checking everyone's bags. When it came to mine he said "What are you hiding?" to which I replied "What am I not hiding!" He responded with "Well, it's you, so whatever is in your bag is gonna be fabulous". There's a person who enjoys their job!
I have to say, the show wasn't as good as previous years. It's such a classic but they've tried to jazz it up too much in my opinion. If it ain't broke don't fix it as they say! The new cast were quite good, Heidi from the Sugababes starred and Daniel Bedingfield was meant to be in it but he wasn't in this showing for some reason. All in all it was a good day out but unfortunately the show was not as good as we'd hoped. For the atmosphere alone though it was worth it.
We were knackered after our long day so after another quick look at the shops we decided to have a bite to eat. We found a Mexican place called Wahaca. I got a bean burrito with some tortilla chips and guacamole on the side and mum chose tostadas. Both of our dishes were scrumptious and we waddled back to get the train back to Birmingham - and I fell asleep this time. My sympathies to anyone who had to witness that.
The next day was my designated shopping day. I rarely go shopping so I decided to buy myself a few nice bits while I had the money saved up. I spent the best part of 4 hours shopping and found a few tops, some PJs, dresses and also got some underwear from Victoria's Secret because I wanted the pretty paper bag (and I think I may have to sell a limb now). I also got loads of stuff from Holland & Barrett that we can't get over here, mainly meat and cheese substitutes, that I hid with some clothes and hoped customs wouldn't penalise me for 'importing' vegetarian bacon. How awkward that would've been.
I met up with mum and we went for lunch at Three Three's Café in Birmingham, just up from the Bullring. It's a vegetarian and vegan café who do sandwiches, soup, cakes, ice cream and hot dogs. Yum! I got a soup and a slice of cake, as well as a hot chocolate. We actually went there twice and the second time I got a 'chicken' and 'cheese' ciabatta, a slice of Oreo cake, some vegan ice cream and a 'ham' and 'cheese' ciabatta for the plane trip home. The food was all amazing, I'd imagine all types of eaters would enjoy this place. I was a bit gutted I didn't get a hot dog in the end but I didn't want to make too much of a pig of myself.
After a looong day of shopping mum, Jono and I met up for dinner to celebrate our last night there. We went to Jamie's Italian because I've heard great things about the restaurant. I have to say, I was so disappointed. Never again will I go back there. I was served what was basically a bowl of brown slop on pasta which I could have made myself at home in 5 minutes. I complained to Jamie's Italian and they offered me a free dish next time I go to one of their branches, which is unlikely seeing as the closest one is 3 hours away!
All in all we had a lovely weekend. It wasn't the most relaxing seeing as we were rushing around so much but it was such a nice change. A bonus point was the fact I had bought a pair of shoes in Dublin Airport and arranged to collect them when I flew back home. It was like getting an extra birthday present, except, y'know, I had to pay for it.
Hope you enjoyed this blog and stay tuned!
After our meal we went to check in to the hotel. I use the word 'hotel' quite loosely, as when we went up to our room it was literally like a prison cell. The window opened about an inch, the shower and sink were in the middle of the room and the toilet was like a closet. The beds were alright, not the most comfortable I've ever slept in but sure a bed is a bed. The room was unbearably hot though, I practically melted into the bedsheet.
We had an early start the next morning as we booked the 8:50 a.m. train to London. I grabbed a veggie samosa, a smoothie, a jelly and some dark chocolate and nuts from M&S as my breakfast for the train. Birmingham to London is about a 2 and a half hour train trip, and with no WiFi or anything else to do as you can imagine it was a long trip! I tried my hardest not to fall asleep on the train as I sleep with my mouth open and look like a dying whale.
We arrived in London at about 11 a.m. - plenty of time to get the Tube to Camden Market. I LOVE Camden, it's incredible, but mum had never been so I decided to show her around. I got a few gifts from the market and also a top for myself.
Now on to the important bit: The food. Camden is absolutely buzzing full of food stalls - from Jamaican to Chinese to Italian and Spanish and Bolivian and everything in between! I was dying to check out Cookies & Scream, a famous vegan bakery and shake shack. I ordered a peanut butter brownie and an ice cream sandwich. It was so nice to not have to ask if the food contained dairy! The cookies were so chunky and gorgeously melt in the mouth. I was so full after my sweet treats I didn't want anything savoury for my lunch, but mum got a falafel box which looked gorgeous.
After our yummy food we got the Tube to Tottenham Court Road, as the Dominion Theatre is just across from the Tube station. We still had some time to kill before the War of the Worlds matinee so we went to Oxford Street to look at the massive Primark. I got a few things but the selection wasn't that great this time. Probably a good job because Primark makes your purse about 10 times lighter and your suitcase 10 times heavier!
It was finally time to watch the stage show. There was a really funny guy on the door checking everyone's bags. When it came to mine he said "What are you hiding?" to which I replied "What am I not hiding!" He responded with "Well, it's you, so whatever is in your bag is gonna be fabulous". There's a person who enjoys their job!
I have to say, the show wasn't as good as previous years. It's such a classic but they've tried to jazz it up too much in my opinion. If it ain't broke don't fix it as they say! The new cast were quite good, Heidi from the Sugababes starred and Daniel Bedingfield was meant to be in it but he wasn't in this showing for some reason. All in all it was a good day out but unfortunately the show was not as good as we'd hoped. For the atmosphere alone though it was worth it.
We were knackered after our long day so after another quick look at the shops we decided to have a bite to eat. We found a Mexican place called Wahaca. I got a bean burrito with some tortilla chips and guacamole on the side and mum chose tostadas. Both of our dishes were scrumptious and we waddled back to get the train back to Birmingham - and I fell asleep this time. My sympathies to anyone who had to witness that.
The next day was my designated shopping day. I rarely go shopping so I decided to buy myself a few nice bits while I had the money saved up. I spent the best part of 4 hours shopping and found a few tops, some PJs, dresses and also got some underwear from Victoria's Secret because I wanted the pretty paper bag (and I think I may have to sell a limb now). I also got loads of stuff from Holland & Barrett that we can't get over here, mainly meat and cheese substitutes, that I hid with some clothes and hoped customs wouldn't penalise me for 'importing' vegetarian bacon. How awkward that would've been.
I met up with mum and we went for lunch at Three Three's Café in Birmingham, just up from the Bullring. It's a vegetarian and vegan café who do sandwiches, soup, cakes, ice cream and hot dogs. Yum! I got a soup and a slice of cake, as well as a hot chocolate. We actually went there twice and the second time I got a 'chicken' and 'cheese' ciabatta, a slice of Oreo cake, some vegan ice cream and a 'ham' and 'cheese' ciabatta for the plane trip home. The food was all amazing, I'd imagine all types of eaters would enjoy this place. I was a bit gutted I didn't get a hot dog in the end but I didn't want to make too much of a pig of myself.
After a looong day of shopping mum, Jono and I met up for dinner to celebrate our last night there. We went to Jamie's Italian because I've heard great things about the restaurant. I have to say, I was so disappointed. Never again will I go back there. I was served what was basically a bowl of brown slop on pasta which I could have made myself at home in 5 minutes. I complained to Jamie's Italian and they offered me a free dish next time I go to one of their branches, which is unlikely seeing as the closest one is 3 hours away!
All in all we had a lovely weekend. It wasn't the most relaxing seeing as we were rushing around so much but it was such a nice change. A bonus point was the fact I had bought a pair of shoes in Dublin Airport and arranged to collect them when I flew back home. It was like getting an extra birthday present, except, y'know, I had to pay for it.
Hope you enjoyed this blog and stay tuned!
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