Under the Sea

We decided to visit the Sea life centre in Birmingham because who doesn't love seeing penguins and tropical fish and sharks in the middle of a city?

I kind of had my reservations because some of the online reviews said they didn't have very big habitats in the sealife centre and that seems quite cruel to me. Having been I have to sort of agree with this. I did feel quite sorry for the penguins swimming up and down in lines in a small enclosure but at the same time it was incredible to see all these beautiful creatures up close and gives you a real sense of appreciation for animal/fish kind.

 

 

There was  a whole habitat dedicated to the different fish in Finding Nemo which got me very excited. Dory can be seen above along with the blow fish further up. Some of the fish had such beautiful colours and markings but it was difficult to get decent photos on my iphone because they kept swimming around! I love the monochrome spots on the fish above and the bright vibrant colours of the pink and yellow fish below. Just beautiful. 

 

 


I have a lot of love for the giant sea turtle which was living in the tank surrounding the shark tunnel. They are truly such stunning creatures, and the giant size of them is not conveying in the photos at all. The fact that this beautiful species is endangered makes it even more poignant and the sea turtle in Birmingham was rescued apparently from a handbag before being bought to Birmingham and nurtured to health.

 

 

Above you can see our attempted selfies with both a shark and the penguins. These are just two shots of about 50 failed photos, due to a joint combination of poor lighting, speed and movement of penguins and sharks and also my poor photography skills. It was a try though, hey? 

If you want to see some stunning and interesting fish, jelly fish, sea horses, frogs, turtles, sharks, even otters then I would recommend the sea life centre, especially for a day out with kids, although we all know I am a big kid at heart so I guess that's why I enjoyed it so much.

Beautiful Birmingham

At the weekend I visited Birmingham, less than half an hour by train from Coventry and less than £3 return ticket. Birmingham is the second biggest city in the UK and whilst this wasn't the first time I had been, the last time was for the National Student Apprentice and I didn't have that much time to explore. 

The city, on a sunny blue sky day, is actually quite beautiful (even if the locals of Birmingham are not so beautiful). 

Here are the gorgeous regal buildings that I was in for the Apprentice Challenge, they look even better with the blue sky back drop: 

I believe they are the Town hall (first photo) and the Council House (second photo). When we were looking up things we could do in Birmingham one of the options google found us was a 'Council House Tour'. I was confused as to why anyone would want a tour of council housing, but now I realise it meant this beautiful building and it makes a lot more sense! 

Contrast these old buildings with those more new and architecturally interesting like this one below and Birmingham makes for a visually really exciting city. 

Here's my OOTD for this hot and sunny day, something of a rarity here in England, as you can tell by my lack of tan...

Top: Hollister 

Shorts: Forever 21

Shoes: Converse

Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs

Sunglasses: Stella McCartney