Memories of My First Day in Oviedo ☁️😶‍🌫️🤍🩵 | My Entry for Phone Photography Contest #115

Hello, dear Hive community! Today I am feeling excited and motivated to participate once again in this mobile photography contest created by @untilwelearn. I absolutely love it, but I couldn't make it last week, so here we are, back again. I encourage you to join in if this activity resonates with you; I'll leave the link to the contest post right here.

Now, let me tell you a bit about it: I took these little pictures on my first day walking around Oviedo with my best friend. Actually, I arrived there the night before; my friend picked me up at the station, and before heading out for dinner, we walked around the downtown area for a bit. However, it had been a long day filled with emotions, so we went to get some rest shortly after. The next day, we started our adventure all over again. We walked down from her place to the city center so I could see everything along the way. I really missed those long walks that always feel so short when you're chatting with her.

We arrived at this lovely brunch spot she knew, with a wide variety of breakfasts to choose from, a very cozy atmosphere, and an equally pleasant service. We didn't know that the breakfast menus were ending in 25 minutes; even so, the girl who waited on us served us without any rush or impatience. She explained the options and invited us to choose a table and take a few minutes to think. I place a lot of emphasis on this because I know what it's like to work in a customer-facing role in the hospitality industry, with the fast pace you have to keep up to get orders out. When I'm on the other side, it fills me with admiration to see those who do it while maintaining a positive attitude and a kind treatment toward customers despite the time pressure.

We chose a nice spot where there weren't lights too close to us; the music was low, and the decor of the entire place was beautiful, with lots of details but nothing overwhelming... everything felt very cozy, to be honest.

And the food... Delicious! I will definitely go back there on my next trip to Oviedo.

After eating, we finally had the energy to keep walking. For me, cloudy days—even with a gentle drizzle—are just perfect. And if it rains harder and I can find shelter somewhere, that's still wonderful. That's exactly what we did for a moment: we went into an iconic shopping mall in the city (my friend tells me it's been around for many years), and I wanted to visit the El Corte Inglés store inside.

<img src="" alt="This is the photograph for my contest entry. I don't know the exact name of the building, but I fell in love with its rounded corner and that beautiful dome defying the gray sky. On the ground floor, there is a café called "La Cúpula" (The Dome), and it sits on one of the most iconic corners downtown. It perfectly captures the essence of that walk: clouds, history, and strolling without a rush, just looking up." />

The entire mall has that charm that teleports you straight back to the 90s. At least, that's what happens to me since I moved abroad: the shopping malls in Spain that look like they're from that era remind me of my hometown in Venezuela. They are very distinct both from the historical buildings where you might now find a Zara store, and from the more contemporary ones with their large glass windows. Those from the 90s could be considered modern, but we no longer see them that way—especially in cities where the architecture and spatial layout are defined by the contrast between two major extremes: historicism and current minimalism.

Ultimately, walking around and observing the different building styles in the streets is, for me, one of those things that reminds those of us in my generation that we are further into adulthood—that there was already an intermediate era for us, and that we are no longer today's youth.

But it doesn't matter: regardless of the age of the buildings, the streets, and our bodies, true youth is in the soul. Thank you for reading, until next time! 🌸✨