Roz and I just got back from a six week vacation traveling independently in France, Spain, Portugal, even two days on Gibraltar. Riding Metros, busses, and staying in places like Funky Backpackers in Granada, let us really enjoy the people. We had another great time. I recommend it. The Guggenheim in Bilbao is almost worth a trip to Spain all by itself. We walked across the 50-meter high bridge at the port north of town. Here's a picture.

My favorite day was exploring Tossa de Mar, Spain. Roz gave me a puzzle 30 years ago for Christmas. I liked it and put it up on my office wall without even knowing where the place was. This spring I remembered the box said "Costa Brava" so I traveled down the Costa Brava using Google Earth until I found this place. Roz said we should include it in our vacation plans so we did. We stayed in a comfortable hostel for $64/night about 2 "blocks" to the left of the "castillo" shown and spent one afternoon sunning and swimming that we'll never forget. I say "blocks" because no street is straight. Most are up and down, not wide enough for cars; all are cobblestone. Often the roller suitcases must be carried up/down levels of stone stairs. But it is a romantic spot and walking to the tops of the hills here paid big dividends for us.