The Shopper's Mecca

I've just finished the first year of an English Literature degree that I'm doing at BCU. So I've been living in Birmingham for just under a year now, I know my way around quite well, but when I got here it wasn't that way. I come from Coventry which, in case you don't know, is just a few miles away from Birmingham. Even though I lived close I had rarely visited the city before I moved there, I didn't even know which direction the centre was from my accommodation, that's how little I knew about Birmingham. So I didn't know what to expect. I want to tell you about my first trip into the centre of Birmingham, The Shopper's Mecca.

I had been at university about three days before visiting the City Centre. It came about quite randomly. Me and the others from my flat didn't have any lectures and we'd managed to fight off any Fresher's Week hangovers that we'd been suffering from. Tom turned round and said, "Why don't we go for lunch in town?" It seemed like a good idea so we headed to the bus stop.  It is just a short bus journey into the centre (something you'll learn about Birmingham is that everything is just a short bus or train journey from everywhere else, a commuter's paradise).

As we got off the bus we were faced with a dilemma: did we have lunch first or do some shopping? Well, our student loans were burning holes in our pockets so we decided to shop. The first thing you notice as you enter the centre of Birmingham is the Bullring; its ultra modern design dominates the horizon. Its massive shape reminded me of an alien spaceship....you know, those aliens that come to earth to help with our consumer needs. The Bullring is the biggest shopping centre in Birmingham and to give it the credit that it's due you could go in there and buy anything you'd ever need without having to leave the building. There are however two other centres that are worth a visit. These are The Palisades and The Pavilion, both are less than five minutes walk from the Bullring (to be fair because of the size of the Bullring there isn't much that's not five minutes walk from it). The Pavilion has The Disney Store amongst other things and the small cafe on the ground floor does the best banana smoothie ever.

We had been looking round the places I've mentioned for a couple of hours when my flatmate Jamie suggested we go and look in the vintage shop which, of course, is five minutes away. Jamie is one of those people who for some unknown reason seem to know where everything is even if she has never visited a place before. It's spooky, built in sat-nav. To get to the vintage shop we had to go though a number of side streets. Now if you're looking for an outfit that a bit different, a bit funky, then you should really visit the vintage shop. There are so many cool things to buy in there. It is also very cheap; you could pick up a whole outfit for around twenty pounds. It is a second hand shop, so the clothes have been worn before but for students it is great.

It was during those walks through the side streets that I realised how good Birmingham City Centre was for shopping. Now in places like the Bullring and The Pavilion you've got your well-known retailers. High street names, but then that's the point. You can find those shops in any city centre in the country. The thing that makes Birmingham shopping heaven is the small, independent shops that populate the side streets. If you're willing to do a little bit of looking around you can find anything there and at a good price.

Tom and Jamie are music lovers; there was plenty to interest them. I love books; I could have easily spent my whole loan that first day in some of the book shops we visited. If clothes are your thing, forget about it! There are so many clothes shops in Birmingham, whether you're looking for everyday clothes or something special then you'll find it there. You really can buy anything in Birmingham.

The first time we went into the centre, they had the farmers' market on. There were stalls selling all kinds of fresh produce, vegetables, cuts of meat, even home-made cider. There always seems to be some kind of market in the centre. Farmers, organic, French and the Christmas German market, which was my favourite. Festive, fun and all the Bratwurst you can get your hands on.

There is always some kind of street entertainment or some kind of display to look at. If you're very lucky then they'll be giving away some free stuff. That's always a good thing to keep your eye out for. When we went in they had a display up for the Playstation 3, that would have been nearly £300 of my student loan gone right then but I managed to control myself. I'd already spent enough.

So we struggled home, weighed down by bags. It wasn't until we were on the bus that we remembered that we hadn't actually had any lunch. Tom said, "We'll just grab something back at the flat." That wasn't a great thing for me because after all I'd spent that day I could only afford beans on toast!