They say that in the late-nineteenth-century two cafés on Matheu Street, France and Paris, competed to attract the most customers. The manager of the first one came up with something simple to have more clientele despite the small size of the local: take out several tables into the street. The manager of the second café wasted no time in imitating him.

You’ll see if the initiative was successful walking through any street in Madrid on a hot summer’s day. A few meters on you will surely find a bar that has placed several tables and chairs on the sidewalk, inviting you to sit down and order a refreshment or a beer. You have reached one of the city’s many terraces.

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Trying to define or classify the terraces of Madrid is impossible. What we can say is that the terrace has the "philosophy" of the bar that owns it. There are ones that give you great tapas, others that only offer a small bowl of peanuts to accompany your drink, those in which a waiter saturated with orders can take a lifetime to bring you the check, ones in which the waiter treats you as if you were the only customer... and we have even come to know some where they’ll take the glass out of your hands if its past closing time.

What is usually common to all of them is an increase in the price. This hike may be a small percentage of the total amount or a fixed amount of cents per customer seated at the table.

Terrace in a historical monument atmosphere of old Madrid

Terraces are the ideal place to chat with friends or try the local specialties. But what happens when it comes to an ornately designed one? Until recently the terraces of the simpler bars and those with more class hardly differed: round, chromed chairs and tables. So, one couldn’t enjoy the atmosphere or decoration of a café or – say the gossiping tongues - justify the raise in prices.

These days many locales have turned their terraces into areas with a studied aesthetic and distinct decoration. Some good examples can be found in streets such as Ponzano and Paseo de la Castellana or neighborhoods like Chamberí, La Latina and Malasaña (the latter, by the way, very close to our Spanish school in Madrid).

Others have gone a step further and have adapted patios, rooftops and even gardens creating the concept of a "secret terrace", successful because it unites the best of several worlds: the intimacy of an interior space, the design as an extension of the locale and the pure taste for exclusivity. Some are in places as atypical as the top floor of an accessories’ shop (Tienda Salvador Bachiller, Calle Montera, 37), in the headquarters of the Official College of Architects of Madrid (Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid, Calle Hortaleza, 63) or the rooftop of the Fine Arts Circle (Círculo de Bellas Artes, Calle Alcalá, 42). Although our favorite "atypical" terrace is still the garden of the Romantic Museum (Museo Romántico, Calle San Mateo, 13), a true jewel of the 19th century!

However, if you want to have a little of each - good prices and a designed environment - we recommend you walk around and remember the names of the squares. It's for sure that one, two or more bars have established their terrace there. Good examples of this? La Plaza del Dos de Mayo, la Plaza de Olavide, la Plaza de la Platería de Martínez and the Plaza de Santa Ana.

As you can see, there are terraces for all tastes, budgets and even for all types of conversations. And it’s no exaggeration. We can guarantee that during your stay you will be able to have something in one - or several - different terraces every day.

“Every curious traveler keeps Granada in his heart, even without having visited”. That’s what William Shakespeare had to say about this enchanting city.

That vision of the famous Alhambra, majestically poised on the hill, glowing in the evening light is something we all have in our mind’s eye, having been to Granada or not. And everyone should visit this treasure, but today we are going in search of some lesser known spots.

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Carmen de los Mártires

Our first one is a “secret” garden, a hidden treasure nestled in a neighboring hill near the Alhambra. A great place to take a break and cool off on a hot day. It’s called the Carmen de los Mártires, and because it’s tucked away there aren’t so many people. This two-level garden has amazing fountains and a beautiful house, open to the public. A perfect place to get away from the crowds and enjoy the tranquility. (You didn’t forget your camera, did you?)

The word Carmen is used in Granada to describe more than a garden. It’s a typical style of a granadina house, surrounded by walls around two meters high, which hide the pleasures of the garden with vegetables, trees, fountains…a paradise in the heart of the city.

For our next spot, let’s walk down the hill and along the river Darro to the Albaicín neighborhood.  Here we can look for another oft passed-by gem. It’s a convent, near the end of the street which has a sweet surprise for you. The sign on the door says “Dulces”, and they sure are a welcome pause in our search. Dulce means sweet, and these delicious, powdered sugar covered donut-like confections sure hit the spot. The intriguing part is that they are sold through a rotating door, so that the cloistered nuns who make and sell them can’t be seen by the public.

Rio Darro

Now that we have rested and refilled a bit, it’s time to search for our next hidden spot in the Albaicín. The Carmen de la Victoria (Cuesta del Chapiz, 9), even more secret than the last.

To get in, you must ring a bell by the door. Maintained by the University of Granada, you will find a wonderful garden with a spectacular view of the Alhambra that you can take in while having something to drink at the pleasant café.

Ok, we’ve hidden ourselves away in some fabulously relaxing gardens, so now it’s time to come out into the light. Since you are in the Albaicín, the best way to take advantage of being in this UNESCO World Heritage site, is to wander around its winding cobblestone streets, and just get lost! You will come across many beautiful sights, and glimpses of the Alhambra again through the buildings clinging to the hills. As you wind your way around these charming streets, you can start asking for the Mirador de San Cristóbal, an inspiring, lesser known lookout at the Alhambra across the valley from you.

Plaza Nueva

Hungry after all that walking? What isn’t a secret in Granada is that the tapas are free with your drink almost everywhere! And one of the best places for that, also a non-secret, is the area around the Plaza Nueva and Elvira Street. Your legs will be happy to know it’s downhill from the Mirador de San Cristóbal.

And as you sit in one of the bars or terraces, now bustling with people, savoring the tapas and the busy atmosphere, you’ll look back at the varied experiences you’ve had in Granada, and keep them in your heart, as Shakespeare said…with the advantage that now you have been there.

Many cities in the world are described in superlatives with the intention of being grandiose, until they seem almost inaccessible: the tallest building, the largest stadium, the largest statue, the most extensive museum ... highlights that astound and overwhelm us, make us feel small. Fortunately, however, there are other cities where those superlatives are cozier, more welcoming, make life easier for us and make us yet another citizen. One of these cities is Quito.

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For example, do you know that Quito has the most pleasant temperature in the world? With an average of 20ºC during the year, it has earned the nickname "city of eternal spring".

This temperature invites you to go for a walk ... and why not do it in the best preserved historic center of America? And that’s according to UNESCO.

In addition, to reinforce this idea of cozy grandeur, we must tell you that you will find low, multicolored houses, wide and shady streets, refreshing and charming gardens ... The only building that dares to defy the sky is the neo-Gothic Basilica of The National Vow; and does it with humility, at only 115 tall.

Quito is the second most populated city in Ecuador, with 2,671,191 inhabitants. Think of other cities like Mexico City or Bogota that have more than 8 million. So you will find the dynamism of a great capital without the agglomerations of a megalopolis.

But Quito has that flavor of the big cities, especially at night. It’s a festive city, full of places to have a good time, of joyful hubbub, of a great diversity in which we find venues specializing in Latin rhythms next to others where rock is a religion, restaurants that range from traditional Ecuadorian cuisine to that of Mongolia... a tapestry that filters the many vivid colors of light and delicately illuminates the monuments we pass.

Quito is at the center of the world, and knows it. Maybe that's why it does not make the fuss that other so-called "world" cities do. It does not need skyscrapers or disproportionate monuments ... only a road that leads precisely to the center of the world.

We have talked about Quito as the center of the world and so we would have to talk about what the true center of Quito is, and perhaps of all Latin America, its Independence square. The place to see and to be seen, the place of the cry that gave provenance to independence... was a square in which there was a humble fountain. It’s food for thought, a David and Goliath, but a David faithful to his roots, a square in which the Goddess of Freedom is always close, and accessible.

As you can see everything in Quito is pure simplicity, hospitality, warmth ... a place where a Spanish class is as close as a chat between friends.