Lillie Heise, Plus 3 United Kingdom Summer 2024
One of my favorite parts of my time abroad in Birmingham and London, United Kingdom was the diverse array of food I was able to try. Birmingham, being a very multicultural city, provided the opportunity to try all different types of new dishes. While abroad I ate a lot more than I would on a normal day in college. My eating habits were changed while abroad, I would say, but not in a bad way. Since I was in a new country I tried a lot more foods, therefore ate a lot more in a meal. Also, we always had a huge breakfast and normally I would just eat a granola bar at home. I think while traveling and experiencing a new country you should allow yourself to try new things and eat big authentic meals. This is because food really connects you with the country and it is almost always very delicious and an unforgettable meal.
In the first hotel there was always a huge English breakfast with tea and coffee. England is known for having beans on toast, tomatoes, and large sausages for breakfast. I tried all these items along with eggs and fruit. I was not a huge fan of the beans, but I did enjoy the roasted tomatoes and sausage. They also always had croissants and pastries, which I may have had too much of. In the second hotel we were served breakfast which included eggs, toast, mushrooms, oats, tomatoes, and spinach. This breakfast was my favorite. For lunch, most of the time we ate at the school. They always had jacket potatoes (baked potatoes) with beans and cheese, as well as meat pies. Both are staple items in England. I did not try the jacket potatoes, but I did try a meat and potatoes pie, which was good, but not my favorite. We also sometimes would have high tea. This consists of little sandwiches and pastries, along with English tea. I really enjoyed high tea because it was like a little afternoon pick me up that helped me get through the long day.
My favorite meals were at dinner where we indulged in all sorts of types of restaurants. Most of the dinners were reservations with our group and advisors. I was able to try new foods in almost every meal. The restaurants were Jamaican, Thai, Vietnamese, Greek, French, and Indian. England is very known for their curry and Indian food because when India was a British colony, the British bureaucrats wanted to continue eating the curries when they returned home. The curries were very delicious, but my favorite meals were French and Thai. At the French restaurant I had the best steak and fries (frites) I have ever eaten. And then at the Thai restaurant we had multiple courses that consisted of different noodles, spring rolls, curries, meats, and more. It was a very filling meal.
Of course, being in England, I could not leave without trying their fish and chips. I was able to have it twice. The first time I had it was in Black Country, and they served it wrapped up in paper with salt and vinegar on the chips. It was greasy, huge, and so delicious. I also had it at a restaurant in London. It was served with tartar sauce and a yellow curry. It was also very good. I am not sure which one I liked better because even though they were the same dish they were so different. I would say food is the window to the soul because it allows you to taste the culture and experience the restaurant representing the culture.
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