Hello,

Well, Iīm about to embark on a new experience. After a few months of studying, learning stick shift with my "autoescuela," etc. Iīm finally totally legal to drive in Spain. Thatīs right, Iīm glad to report that I was able to pass both the written and road tests, and on the very first try too!

Yeah, I know, most Americans living in Spain donīt bother to put themselves through this torture, but I kept thinking about those worst case scenarios in which I caused a serious accident or something and, upon investigation, the police saw that I was a resident of the country driving with nothing more than a US or international driverīs license (according to the law, youīre obligated to get the Spanish license after 6 months of residency).

Thanks to Chica and many other on this site who helped me sift through all the regulations to get to the bottom of whatīs truly a gray area for a lot of us. Bottom line: can you get away with driving with an international license for months, years, decades here in Spain? Yes. I know many who are doing so, and have had no serious problems to date. Is it legal? NO. Armed with this information, each one of us simply has to do our own sort of informal risk-reward analysis and do what we think is best.

Anyway, driving here is like a whole new world to me. Previously, I had gotten to know the country mainly by rail, bus, or air. Now, Iīve got this new toy and Iīm eager to use it. We were thinking about driving down to Cadiz for next weekendīs "puente" and I had a couple of questions for any of you MadridMan members who maybehave made the drive in the past:

1. How many kilometers/hours driving time is it?
2. What route do you recommend?
3. What villages, restaurants, hotels, etc. do you recommend in the area?

My wife and I have never been to this part of Andulacia so weīre looking forward to the chance to explore it. I would appreciate any information that might prove helpful for us on this possible road trip.

And, of course, if you would like further information on this whole getting your driverīs license here in Spain thing, donīt hesitate to contact me. Itīs real fresh in my head right now.

Steve