Saturday, July 20, 2024, was the beginning of our first weekend on our study abroad in Cádiz, Spain. We had the weekend to ourselves, and we were free to explore the city as we pleased. With no obligations to attend to, everyone ended up doing their own thing on Saturday. From studying and doing homework to going to the beach, anything was possible.

My Saturday started when I woke up around 11:00am and got ready to head out at 12:00pm. I had created plans to explore the city with Alex, another student on the study abroad trip, the previous night. We had originally planned to head straight to the mall called El Corte Inglés Bahía de Cádiz, but we took a small detour before heading to the mall.

First, Alex and I stopped by a small fruit and vegetable stand that happened to sell freshly made fruit juice. I got zumo de piña for €2,00 and Alex got zumo de naranja for €2,00 as well. It was honestly one of the best juices I have ever had. Then, we began moving towards the bus stop necessary to reach the mall, but we got distracted by the most beautiful shop named El Atelier de Sara Ochoa. She is a local artist in Cádiz and just opened her shop about a year ago! She has many beautiful prints that make the most unique souvenir.

Finally, we reached the mall after wandering around aimlessly for an hour or so. This mall had five floors and sold and/or had anything and everything you could think of. Almost everything was on sale too! I actually bought dresses for my nieces which ended up totaling to about €34,00. We ended up leaving the mall after seven hours, but it was well worth the time spent. I had a great time seeing more of the city than I expected and discovering the absolute gem of a shop El Atelier de Sara Ochoa is.