My trip to Spain was great. Seville was my favorite place and it was really much nicer than I thought it would be. I added an extra week to my trip.

I now face a dilemma. As you know, for part of the time I was there I opted for a private car and driver. This worked out well because the company I used gave me a big discount AND let me put the charges on my hotel bill so now I'm getting miles on visa which transfer to AA which is an Iberia partner. I think I actually saved and learned more using a driver because the driver was like a rolling concierge.

My dilemma is this, the first driver they gave me had the annoying habit of chain smoking at every place I stopped to explore and take pics. It became clear that he would urge me to stop and take pics so he could have a smoke (or so it seemed), I admit every place I stopped was fascinating though. In addition to this, he would drink wine or beer with his meals. I guess I figured at bargain rates I wouldn't complain about his 2 or 3 glasses of wine or 2 beers with lunch or dinner, but he mentioned and apologized for his drinking so much it begin to get on my nerves and I started to think he shouldn't be drinking anything when on duty. He would say things like, "don't you drink?" or "you have to understand, you are in Spain and we Spanish have wine with every meal" or "how can you eat that while drinking only water"? He even said, "See this is why I like to eat alone while working with tourists, I drink wine with meals and Americans don't understand that, it wouldn't look too good if you tell your hotel that your driver taught you about Spanish wine". From all his protesting I began to think his behavior was wrong and that this was something that was not normal (even in Spain) and that maybe I SHOULD report him. THe final straw was, "We Spanish are very religious, very Catholic and believe in strong families. At every meal we always have two things, wine and bread---the blood and body of Christ". At that point I was going to ask him about the beer I saw him drinking the day before with his lunch but dropped the conversation.

I asked myself why I would report him. I really didn't know my intentions and thought maybe deep inside my only reason for reporting him would be to get a refund and not because I wanted to save the life of his next customer. I decided to let it go because I wasn't sure of my motives.

I headed out a few days on my own but decided to use the car service on the last two days of my trip. They gave me a different driver who was very nice and very professional. Unfortunately when he was looking in my guide book to see exactly what site I wanted to visited he rear ended another car. There was no damage to the other car and only a slight scratch to his bumper. No one would notice the scratch if it wasn't pointed out, but he was very upset especially since the old woman in the car he bumped complained of neck pain and demanded his card and license. The car was a Mercedes e220 and so maybe the thought he was rich, but he told them he was just a tourist driver.

The accident occured when the driver was at a stop light, the light turned green as he was reading my guide book, out of the side of his eye he saw the bus in the right lane move forward and assumed the car ahead was moving too, he eased his foot off brake while still looking down at the book and BAM---the old man in the car in front suddendly decided there was too much traffic for him to make his turn and slammed on his brakes

I pretended that the accident was nothing and hadn't phased me since he felt bad enough. Using code(I can't even remember how I said it) I let him know I wouldn't mention the accident to anyone. Although I thought maybe I should have told his company exactly what had happened since the old woman was complaining of neck pain and was trying to say my driver was responsible for a dent on their car that wasn't anywhere near the impact area.

After the slight bump he would inspect the car from every angle everytime I went into a museum or church. He kept saying this had never happened before. Well I just let it go, if I'm contacted I'll just tell the truth about what happened.

But I really had an enjoyable time in Spain. I really learned a lot. I don't like bullfighting but learned so much about it. The people loved me for asking so many questions about bullfighting. They even told me they liked me because I liked bullfighting which was their sport. Unfortunately, they didn't realize I hate bullfighting, I was just curious and wanted to learn.

I'll definitely go back to Spain next summer. I'd like to spend the entire summer there.

James,

I've never been to Europe, but the pics of Spain during last year's vuelta Espania were magnificant. I like how an entire town/city will have an architectural "theme" and not be just a hodgepodge of random buildings. Very asthetically pleasing.

How was the weather over there? I'm in Oklahoma where we've racked up a couple of weeks of 100 + deg F days--and this is not a dry heat. It's been humid here too.

Sholin

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What else, '73 MB 280 SEL (Lt Blue)
Daily driver: '84 190D 2.2 5 spd.

Sholin, it was very hot in Seville which is where I spent the most time. It was in the mid 90s during the day and wasn't too humid. I'd say nights were in the upper 60s. It didn't seem to get dark until around 10.30 or so and that let me get in a lot of things after the hottest part of the day. I heard one tourist at the bullring saying the weather reminded her of Amarillo Texas in the summer.

If you go I'd recommend a private guide for at least one day. These guides know what tourists like and dislike because they work with so many on a daily basis. They also know hidden places and where to eat when every restaurant seems to be closed closed at midday. You pay more upfront but then there's a lot of things you'll visit that are absolutely free that most tourists never see.

I am not an expert on Spain but I go there once in a while and I love Seville. If you are young, it is a nice place to spend a couple of months there.

Here is a very site with very good everyday info on Spain:

http://www.madridman.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php

Regards,

Juan

James,

It is waaayyyy hot here in OKC. I just got back from Norfolk/Virginia Beach on business and it was 100 deg F when I left and it is still 100 deg F when I get back.

This isn't the "dry heat" you hear so much about that Arizona has either. It is also pretty humit.

If you live in Oklahoma/Texas, you just have to accept the fact that it is going to be over 100 for a month in the summer. You are somewhat rewarded in the winter by 55 deg F days and spring by perfect 75 - 80 deg weather.

Sholin

__________________
What else, '73 MB 280 SEL (Lt Blue)
Daily driver: '84 190D 2.2 5 spd.