Gardens are places that are full of sentiment, spaces that offer visitors the chance to collect their thoughts and to dream. Many of the amazing gardens in Spain also offer scenic aesthetic expression, where beauty is not only created by planting plants and trees, but also by harmonizing and maintaining a balance of all the elements found in nature such as water and air. Let’s take a tour of some of Spain’s most historical and most impressive gardens. 

The Gardens of Generalife, The Alhambra, Granada:

The magical gardens of the Alhambra, full of legends and mysteries, may take the visitor’s mind to the sublime atmosphere described in the tales of The One Thousand and One Nights. Built on a rocky hill and far-off peak of the Alhambra, the combination of light and green here creates a wealth of decoration that includes the landscape that lies beyond the palace walls, visible from strategic viewpoints. Paco de Lucia has a song called “Generalife bajo la luna” that celebrates the garden’s beauty.     

El Buen Retiro, Madrid

Buen Retiro Park was designed in 1640 and opened to the public during the time of Charles III. Today, El Retiro has become a symbol of Spain's capital city. The land is occupied by 15,000 different types of plants and trees including the French Parterre, Versailles-style, and the Rose Garden; it is also home to numerous varieties of flowers. The monument to King Alfonso XII situated alongside the pond is one of Retiro Park’s must-see attractions.

Real Alcazar, Seville

The delightful Real Alcazar of Seville is one of Spain’s great palace complexes, and perhaps the oldest. It is the original representation of Spanish style and Islamic expression adapted to the Christian world. This once was the official residence of the Kings of Spain during their visits to Seville and the palace is still acknowledged as a royal residence. The palace features extraordinary gardens. The Garden of Mercury, which has a beautiful bronze fountain with a statue of Mercury, the Garden of the Ladies and the Garden of the Prince are the most admired.

Laberinto Horta, Barcelona

This is the oldest garden in Barcelona and a magnificent example of 18^th century neoclassical style. The garden is most known for its exciting maze of hedges, yet it also features other aspects such as intriguing statues, arbors, numerous fountains, and incredible greenness that make these gardens an unforgettable place to visit. An important scene from the movie “The Perfume” takes place here as well.

The school year's kicking off soon, and if you're considering the possibility of taking a course in a Spanish university, it may help to have a little information on the most interesting university locations. Remember, university life is not just about classrooms and libraries. This is a time to get out, meet people and explore the "cultural" life the city has to offer...

The following is our list, in alphabetical order (so we don't hurt any sensibilities), of the top ten Spanish university destinations, where you can enjoy a productive year… on all different levels.

1. Barcelona

The cosmopolitan center is on Las Ramblas

Ever since the mythical Hercules founded this city, Barcelona has been a Mediterranean hub, and its wide variety of universities (public and private) covers all options imaginable. The city's cultural and animated social life speaks for itself: a stroll down Las Ramblas, a vistit to Parque Guell or a drink with friends in the Puerto Olímpico area will open up the doors to an enjoyable city and a unique atmosphere in which to study Spanish.

2. Granada

Incredible tapas

Considering the size of the city in which it's located, the University of Granada is among the top schools in Spain. The city itself is a giant campus, where the students, the monuments, and the places to hang out in all come together in a unique mix of life. Granada also offers something unusual: here you can go skiing in the morning (the Sierra Nevada ski station is just 40 minutes away), have tapas in the city (they're free!), and later that afternoon go down to the tropical coast (Motril, Almuñécar or Salobreña) to take a dip in the Mediterranean. The international flavor of Granada makes it a perfect place to learn Spanish, meet people and feel at home.

3. Tenerife

Endless salsa dancing

The old capital of the island of Tenerife is set on top of the depths of the old lagoon. This is a perfect city for taking relaxing walks along its colonial style streets, where you'll find plenty of spectacular monuments. The University of La Laguna brings together many students, who come not only from the Canary Islands, but also from the rest of Spain and Latin America. La Laguna is one of the most prestigious international astrophysics centers in the world. The permanent connection between the Canary Islands and the Caribbean produces the friendliness, the sweetness of the accent and the warm musical rhythms that all invite visitors to stay and learn Spanish while Salsa dancing in the bars of the Cuadrilatero neighborhood, right in the center of town.

4. Madrid

Terraces and monuments

The capital of Spain is in the geographic center of the peninsula. It's also a place where people from around the country come together to study in its many universities and other learning centers. The Complutense University, la Autónoma, la Politécnica... Madrid is a political, economic and cultural center. The Madrid of the Austrias invites us to explore this metropolis which still retains the characteristics of a small town, where going for walks through parks and neighborhoods is still an enjoyable experience. The fact that in Madrid, almost everyone comes from somewhere else, guarantees that Madrileños will make you feel comfortable and welcome to chat in Spanish with the "gatos" in its many historical and charming cafés.

5. Malaga

Internationality and pescaíto

One of the main Mediterranean port centers, Malaga has permanent connections to northern Africa, and a colorful population that joins the jet-set with less exclusive visitors. The University of Malaga offers a great variety of attractive options, most notably in marine science studies. This is the home of Picasso, whose imprint can be seen all over the city. A short walk up to the Alcazaba (Arab fortress) offers us views of the port, which gives us the perfect excuse to head right down to the port on Palo Beach to chat with Malagueños over a nice plate of fresh sea food. Later, hop over to Marbella (a drive away) to have coffee among the economic elite, and take a few Spanish classes in an international atmosphere.

6. Pamplona

Healthy and direct people

The University of Navarra is one of the most prestigious private centers in Spain for health sciences. The old town area, with the aura of Hemingway floating about its streets running ahead of a raging bull, and the good natured Pamploneses are features of this city. You'll also find a combination of studies and the perfect simplicity of the most delicious vegetables you can imagine (Lodosa peppers, asparagus, artichoke…) and wine that describes the nature of the people of Navarra: robust and tangy, with a memory not easily forgotten, like the magical beech trees of Irati.

7. Salamanca

Bars with style

Style, that's Salamanca. A city dressed in the elegance of the Villamayor stone. Here you'll find one of the most famous universities in the world, not only for its age, but also for its prestige, and its distinction of having been the home of Spanish as a second language studies that it is today. Imagine an enormous museum, where you can walk through and discover hidden gems within the surprising monumental city's detailed decoration, which remind us that we're in the city of the Tormes. Here, bars seem to have come right out of a decoration and design contest, where contact with Salmantinos is not only easy, but inevitable.

8. Santiago de Compostela

Seafood and albariño

If all roads lead to one place, that place is Santiago. For more than a thousand years, this wonderful city has been joining people on pilgrimages to different sights of interest: The Cathedral and the saint's tomb, the university and a jar of Ribeiro. The peacefulness here, along with the musical tone of the Galician way of speaking invite us to drift along the rúa Raíña and the Praza Roxa to meet these friendly people. After a long history of migration, they know how to take in outsiders better than anybody.

9. Seville

The very best flamenco and tapas

During spring time in Seville the aromas of incense and orange blossom speak of Holy Week, gardens in bloom and the Feria de abril. The University of Seville echoes the sounds of Carmen la cigarrera. The royal tobacco factory is one of the most evident buildings in the landscape of the capital of Andalusia. The benevolence of winter in Seville provides a great reason for studying Spanish in this city, which houses the Indias Archive and the main port connection with the New World. Flamenco music appears on every corner of the Triana neighborhood (almost an independent city) on the other side of the river, and in the bars in Santa Cruz. Here, cantaores fine tune their voices with a sip of fino or manzanilla while gazing out the window, taking in views of the Giralda, the magnificent bell tower of the biggest gothic cathedral in the world.

10. Valencia

The Mediterranean and modernity

This is the capital of the Turia, crossed because of the spectacular vision that R. Bofill had of the riverbed, now the heartbeat of the city and the center of a university known for its architectural and technical studies. We can admire the talent the university produces by exploring the works of Santiago Calatrava in the City of Arts and Sciences. By going to la Albufera, checking out la Malvarrosa or wandering about El Carmen we will get to know Valencia, a town that's always been open to the sea –and to other people-, where if there's anything more impressive than the raucous ringing of firecrackers during festivals, it's the friendliness and smiles of the people.

Take advantage of the options that a combination course offers Spanish students. don Quijote allows you, if you like, to enjoy an almost entirely complete panorama of the most important university cities, while experiencing the esthetic and cooking pleasures that a richly diverse country like Spain has to offer.

Talk about innovation in a time of crisis. Why didn't I think of it?

A new spa called "Cosquillarte" has opened in Madrid and is 100% dedicated to, you guessed it, tickling "massages".

The unique name is a play on words and can be translated as either "Tickle yourself" or "Tickle art".

The salon was the idea of Isabel Aires who claims that she has always loved being tickled softly as a way of relaxing. One day she realized that if she could pay someone to tickle her, she would.

So, she opened up her spa in December which has steadily built up a roster of loyal clients.

Since there is no school for the art of tickling, she worked with two trained massage therapists to develop different tickling treatments.

The small spa with 2 rooms is much like any other. Clients will be treated in a darkened and relaxing room with soothing music and nice aroma. The client will lie on a normal massage table and then the treatment will begin of light fingertip tickling along the body, and then with a feather.

The prices are reasonable, 25€ for 30 minutes and 45€ for an hour.

In the article I read about this, the reporter who visited the spa explained that she is not usually keen on being tickled. However, after a few minutes she noted how soothing the treatment was as all the "tension just flowed out of her".

The idea is to relax the client, not cause them to squirm.

Who goes to Cosquillarte? From teenagers to the elderly, men and women, it seems that there are lots of people who have been waiting for something new like this. They try it once, and they are hooked.

In fact, the idea is so new and interesting that Isabel Aires receives messages from Latin America and Russia, and also many inquiries about setting up franchises. In fact, she recently signed an agreement to give in-room treatments to a major Spanish hotel chain in Madrid.

Isabel continues to innovate, for the summer time she is developing a cold-hand treatment to chill people off from the hot weather.

So check out their web, make an appointment in Madrid, and let me know! I am very curious to see what you think!

A few weeks ago I visited El Valle de los Caídos and thought it was definitely worth a mention as it’s one of the most unique places I’ve visited here in Spain.

El Valle de los Caídos (literally, the Valley of the Fallen) is a unique monument comprising a huge Catholic Basilica and a stone cross which is a staggering 150m tall, making it visible from 20 miles away. It is situated in the Cuelgamuros Valley, in the Sierra de Guadarrama hills, to the north of Madrid, making for stunning views surrounding the monument.

Upon arrival I learnt that, more that just being an impressive building in the middle of nowhere, the monument was actually conceived to honour all those who died in the Spanish Civil War, which took place from 1936-1939. The dictator Francisco Franco, who ruled for almost forty years following his victory in the Civil War, decided on building the large monument to commemorate the deaths of both Republicans and Nationalists who fought in the war, 40,000 of whom are buried in the surrounding valley, hence the name ‘Valley of the Fallen’. The whole area, particularly the cathedral, has a very solemn feel to it, in light of its tragic history.

However, it was apparent that there was also a controversial aspect to this monument that was not to be overlooked either. Despite being built as a commemoration of all those who died, there are several features which favour the right wing party of Franco, causing some protests in recent years to close and even destroy the monument. It features the inscription: ‘Caídos por Dios y por España’ (‘Fallen for God and for Spain’), a phrase which falls in line with the ideals of the dictator, plus it is known that a considerable proportion of the people who built the monument during its 18 years of construction were in fact Republican prisoners who had been captured by Franco’s side. Some opponents to the monument also think of it as a shrine to Franco, as both he and the founder of the fascist Falange party, Antonio Primo de Rivera are buried within the basilica. Recently in the Spanish news, there has been mention of removing the remains of the two men and locate them elsewhere, in order to avoid this controversy.

Before visiting, I was completely unaware of the historical significance of the monument and its surrounding area, but afterwards whilst admiring the stunning views of the valley, I’d certainly been left with a lot to think about.