Thanks for the suggestions! I've been giving it some thought, and I think I will save Barcelona for my next trip. So I will keep Madrid! Yay! I am also considering your suggestion that I skip the Tangier daytrip, although it is very tempting!

Where is your favorite beach place in Spain or Portugal? I loved the Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast in Italy, to give you an idea of what I'm looking for.

A few years ago, I took an organized BUS tour that featured certain citys in spain, Sevilla, Grenada, Malaga, Torremolinos, Nerja etc. I purchased it in Pamplona (you can start anywhere!). It included a wonderful bus, hotel stopovers in the cities, lunches(sometime a box lunch) and dinners. Great comeraderie, great time and saw a lot! Just an idea!

One of the most beautiful spots on earth is the tip of the Sagres penninsula in Portugal--Cabo Sao Vincente. You might try Rick Steve's favorite place in Salema for a nice beach. If you have a car you can drive from there to the western Algarve. But if you don't have a car, you can get to some really great beaches near Lisbon, south of Cascais via bus or train (the water will be cold). If you don't want to spend too much time in Portugal just see Lisbon, Sintra and Obidos. I've always avoided the Costa del Sol beaches because they are so built up with highrises and expats.
If I had to choose between Madrid and Barcelona, I'd choose Barcelona for sure (sorry folks), though both are wonderful. It's the smaller towns that will really impress, particularly Cuenca, Toledo, Cazorla. Our first time in Spain we started in Sevilla (2 nights), then rented a car and drove to Arcos de la Frontera, went on to Grazalema (one night), then through Ronda on to Granada, (one night), then through Ubeda on to Cazorla (2 nights), through Consuegra to Toledo (2 nights), to Cuenca (one night) to Peniscola (one night) to Monserrat (one night, which is far superior than a day trip because we saw the basilica by ourselves after the busses left, one of the highlights of my life), then 2 nights in Barcelona. Sounds crazy, but it really wasn't , even with 2 kids.

The problem with trying to fit in Portugal and Spain in two weeks is the transportation. The train is not at all convenient and it is slow, as is the bus. If you rent a car in one country and drop it off in another you'll have a huge drop off charge. If you fly into Spain and out of Portugal, you might check into Europebyair.com for passes. But, you have to buy 3 passes, I believe, not a problem for us because we are 4. You could fly to Lisbon from Malaga or Madrid for $99, which is likely to be cheaper than a train.

I suppose you could fly into Madrid, see Toledo, maybe Segovia and/or Cuenca, then Seville possibly via Cordoba, make your way to Malaga and fly to Lisbon. (To see the white towns of Andalucia you must rent a car. )Whatever you do you'll have a great time, and you'll want to go back for more.

Okay, so maybe it will just be one of those "if it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium" trips! I really don't want to skip Barcelona. Maybe I can take night trains to save sightseeing time, or maybe even fly. Here is a rough idea of what I would like to do. We will definitely be flying open jaw.

Barcelona
Madrid
Granada
Ronda or Arcos
Sevilla
Algarve (not Lagos)
Lisbon

That's 7 places! It would be more if I could! Oh boy, what am I thinking... I think Barcelona is going to have to be cut out. Maybe I will do a Mediterrean/Riviera trip next year and start in Barcelona! Another consideration: The deciding factor on cutting out Barcelona or Madrid may be the cheaper airfare. This year I got a great openjaw airfare sale on British Air to Europe, so I'm wondering which would be cheaper -- I'm hoping to find the same sale again (I know someone who found it two years in a row, the first year flying into Barcelona).

You can get a bus from Sevilla-Faro (Portugal). During summer months thete are several 'thru' buses daily. Otherwise you have to change in Huelva. From Faro you can fly or train or bus to Lisbon.
Will you be travelling alone? If so, the Hotel Train (all-preferente Talgo) Barcelona-Sevilla might be overly expensive (i.e., single occupancy in a 2-bed compartment).

I will be traveling with my husband. We are in our 20s and don't mind traveling the long distances (well I feel that any distance is worth it, my husband not so much!). We will use public transportation for everything. We may take night trains to save time, but I'm worried about not being able to sleep -- I can never sleep on planes and I sometimes get sick. ):

We are definitely traveling in the summer -- we are both still in graduate school, so we can only travel from the end of May until the beginning of September, and we will be even more restricted if my husband takes a summer course (I finally graduate in May!!).

August in Spain is hot, so I've heard, but I love to vacation in August! We honeymooned in Italy in August 2001, and everyone said we were crazy, but the weather was absolutely perfect (a few days in the upper 90F, but it got cooler as we approached and entered September). Plus I really enjoyed being on vacation surrounded by other Europeans also on vacation -- we hardly met any Americans.

We want to plan our trip around a US holiday to get another 'free' day in Spain -- do you recommend we go around Memorial Day, July 4th, or Labor Day? Are June and July much cooler than August, anyway? I'm leaning toward July if it will be more comfortable weather.

Ladybugsea writes: I also can't sleep on airplanes; but the all-preferente Talgo I mentioned in an earlier post was a brand new experience for me (and, I believe, something new for Renfe). The 2-bed compartment was very quiet & comfortable and I slept quite well. Renfe is gradually replacing their overnight Estrellas with what they call Hotel Trens.

You keep mentioning August but you would do better price-wise if you scheduled your trip for right after your Commencement ceremonies in May. Places will not be so fully booked and lodging costs will be much less expensive before la Virgen de Carmen (16 July).

We were there in June and July. By the 20th of July some places were beginning to close for a month of vacation. If you can do your trip in June or early July you can avoid the vacationing Spaniards. By the way, we never found the heat to be very limiting. Only in Sevilla did we find ourselves sweltering and looking for a place to hide!!

"I loved the Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast in Italy, to give you an idea of what I'm looking for."

I don't want to confuse you more but I was just in Mijas which was really wonderfully romantic and had an incredible view of the coast below, Ronda was neat but you just look at the gorge and hillsides, looked like Arcos may be the same--no view of coast--and if you wanted the sea, you're just a half an hour (or less) away!

Thanks for your input, Anita!

Okay. Arcos or Ronda? Or 1 night/day in each?