Tucson, AZ

After spending the morning at the Historical Society Museum, I decided to head over to Main Gate Square to have lunch and do some shopping. I’d never been before, but a friend convinced me it was worth going, so I wanted to see for myself. And I found out she was right; there were lots of clothing stores, restaurants, art, and the best part was that every other shop seemed to serve coffee. An aspect that was really exciting for me since I am a complete coffee addict.

What’s kind of surprised me about Main Gate Square is that despite the fact that mostly young college age students seem to hang out here, it’s one of the oldest shopping districts in Tucson. The first shop was built in 1922 by the first female professor at the University of Arizona, and students took to it. Today, there are more than 20 restaurants, and many shops such as salons, massage parlors, sportswear shops, and even places to buy original artwork.

I began my visit at FuKu Sushi, since I really love Japanese food, although I kind of had a tough decision as to where to go since there were so many types to choose from. When I sat down, I’m pretty sure I made a good choice since there was a large selection at a really reasonable price. I settled on a combination plate that had a California roll with a few pieces of sashimi that only cost me twelve bucks complete with soup and salad.

After I paid my bill, I headed over to the University of Arizona bookstore, which had more to offer than just text books. You could purchase any number of University of Arizona items such as clothing, notebooks, pens, pencils, etc. as well as things that didn’t have anything to do with U of A at all. There were magazines, cards, books of all kinds (not just text books), and even things for your home or dorm room like lamps and desk items.

When I finished at the U of A bookstore, I decided to do some window shopping, and went by a bunch of different shops, salons, and art stores. The coolest place I went was the Salud Spa bar, which was a place where you could actually blend your own lotions, perfume and that type of thing. I had actually never heard of such a place, but really found the concept exciting and cool.

After a a quick detour to Espresso Art, which is one of the many coffee shops at Main Gate, I decided I should head home. But the trip was totally worth it. I’ll probably go back soon though as the place had a really modern artistic vibe, lots of shops to check out, and more coffee shops to sample.