Our Year in the UK May 2016

I was lucky enough to have lived in the UK for 11 months, 6 of those months I was enrolled in an intensive culinary program but we did try to make the most of living in the uk. we tried to use as much of our time exploring and seeing as much as we could of this little but big island.

So this is what we did in the first month.

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The first day i had arrived the sun came out and was shining all day long. what a lucky and lovely day it was.   first stop some food then off to birmingham city to wander around.

First meal in the UK

Birmingham Library

Birmingham Town Hall

Birmingham New Street Station

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Next trip was down south to Brighton.  as we were so close to the sea, for lunch we had to try some seafood and it was delicious.  the whole area reminded me a bit of the santa monica pier and the venice boardwalk.  you walk down the pier which has small rides and carnival games and snacks or junk food (here that is fish and chips), then you walk down the boardwalk where you will find some funky shops and restaurants.  behind the main street you will also find more smaller shops and cafes on many little streets and alleyways.  although touristy i would still recommend going for a visit, even in may it was still a bit chilly.

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im not a big fan of gin, but was still interesting to learn how gin is made.  So we went to the bombay sapphire DISTILLERY at the laverstoke mill.  i actually learned quite a lot during the self guided tour, i never knew how gin was made and didn't know that it was made from juniper berries and other botanicals.  the last part of the tour you enter the LAboraTORY room where there are a variety of different aromas to smell and different ingredients to taste.   you then pick a few that you like and mark it on a sheet that you then pass onto the bartender.  Based on the aromas and ingredients you have chosen they will create a drink that you will hopefully like.  If you would like to go, please book ahead of time as they only have limited time slots per day.  well worth the trip if you like gin but if you dont like gin like me still worth a trip to learn something new.

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Busy first month and slowly adjusting to living in a new country and experiencing what its like to slow down after living in china for so many years.  but the hardest adjustment so far is learning to drive on the other side of the road and those roundabouts, guess will just take time and practice.