well, what can I say but reiterate what laduque says...my hope is to live in Spain at some point in the future...it may end up being when we are retired, but if we win the lottery we will be there sooner

It is extremely hard to come back to the US after a visit to Spain. Especially hard. Happily, the daily dose of the MM message board, the other daily websites and newspapers from Spain and my own classes, where I can talk about Spain, help a lot!

Yes, I agree. I love having a job where I can think/talk about Spain and it is considered "cultural" and important. I love telling my students how wonderful Spain is and encourage their love of travel.

Esperanza, do you have family there, too?

I would love to convince my husband to consider spending part of our retirement there, but first I have to get him to go. I hope he will like it.

your husband has never been to Spain? Shame on you! He will love it! That is for sure! I have never met anyone who has been to Spain who has not fell in love with Spain, the culture, the lifestyle... everything!

Yes, my family is mostly in Galicia and I also have a cousin in Madrid.

Now that your son has been to Madrid, you have help to convince your husband to experience SPAIN.

TeacherTraveler8...I try to go every year, if not twice a year. I have good friends that live in Madrid...one from the states...so I have a place to stay ad we travel to different places on each visit. I love Spain....

As many have all said wisely, it really helps coping with the distance when you have daily reminders in your life like a Spanish spouse, Spanish classes, family who live in Spain, and, of course, TV and internet do wonders to keep you connected.

For 10 years I PINED to live in Madrid. One of my nightly rituals included setting the computer to record 4-6 hours of audio of either RadiOle or one of the talk radio stations in Spain. Then when I'd wake up the next morning I'd burn that onto a re-writable CD and take it to work, playing it nearly 6 hours later. So with the 6 hour time difference, it was almost like listening to it live, hearing the hourly "Beep! Beep! Beeeeeeeep! Son las nueve de la mañana..." and I was listening to it at 9am at my work desk in Ohio - and that was because we weren't allowed to use the internet for anything other than work-related purposes so that was my way around it. People would come in my office, tilt their head at the audio coming from my speakers, and ask, "Are you listening to internet streaming audio?" and I'd pull out the CD and show them. Ha! Beat the system.

I learned to "Live Spain" everyday - it was the only way I could survive. I won't say I was obsessed but I was THERE in my mind. I'd print out English versions of a Spanish newspaper and take it to work, reading it on my lunch hour. Some evenings I'd make an Ohio-version of Paella (although I realize you're not supposed to eat paella for dinner - it's a lunchtime food) with real Spanish wine and a can of anchovy-stuffed green olives and watch a Spanish movie or TVEi when my "Latino" cable TV package offered it for those two years - until they removed it for lack of popularity and I hence canceled that part of my cable package. I'd leave TVEi on behind all weekend long as I worked on MadridMan.com at home, frequently turning my head to see what they were talking about. Sunday mornings over breakfast were so pleasant as TVEi showed video-documentaries about the different parts of Galicia. Man, that was beautiful.

So to keep your head in Spain while the rest of your body is somewhere else, you only have to turn to the internet or TVEi (if you can get it). In fact, right now I'm surprised to see they're broadcasting online Los Desayunos de TVE (from 9-11am weekdays).

Saludos, MadridMan - in Madrid, Spain - and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

You're defiantly not alone. Everyday I'm planning our next trip. Checking fares, events, festivals etc.

Once again, I'm looking to come late Autumn early Winter. I really enjoy the cooler weather for our stay. There is something very special about that time of year for me as I'm from California and putting on a warm coat and scarf for the evening is something I don't get much here. I love walking the city streets, below the Christmas lights and getting caught amongst the "ocean" of people moving about, and getting swept away in their current. I just let it take me where it's going without any concern of where I'll end and hoping to discover something I hadn't planned when I get there.

Having said that, I can't get back soon enough regardless of the season. If I could, I'd hop on a plane today.

Rudy,

Do you have friends or family there? What is your tie to Spain? Did you just visit once and fall in love or do you have a Spanish related job? I loved your description of the city streets. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for asking. I'm happy to answer.

Yes I have family there(sort of). I first went to Spain when I was 15 with my parents and other family members. I had an uncle, by marriage, in the air force stationed in Madrid so we stayed with him and his family on the base.

Twenty some years later, my wife had been "pestering" me about a "real vacation" for a very long time. I noticed that a band I love was playing in Barcelona so I said, "How bout going to Spain?" That was the beginning of it all. On that first trip we did Madrid-Valencia-Barcelona then back to Madrid, all by train.

We didn't know what we were doing! We booked 7 days and only had reservations for our first night in Madrid at the Petit Palace Londres. We played the rest by ear which made things very interesting but fun. It was low season in February so getting rooms was easy but we looked ridiculous dragging our HUGE suitcases around town without knowing where we were going. It was a great experience but I wouldn't do it that way again. Plus, I'm too old for that nonsense. These days we travel with one carry-on each. The wife even has her own curling iron from Spain so she doesn't have to worry about a converter.

That uncle of mine is still in Madrid but now, working with his Spanish wife at the U.S. Embassy. We try to spend 2 or 3 days with him when we're there. We've also since met a few lovely gentlemen from the MM board who have enriched our stays. My wife is determined to retire to Spain someday. I won't complain. Since 2003 we've been 5 times. Looking forward to number 6! We Love It! INEEDSPAIN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxMm849e0AQ

Rudy, I love that link you posted! I love Spain! What a great ad campaign.
So many reasons to love Spain. Thanks for sharing that.

Esperanaz, yea those adverts are great. I subcribe to that You Tube channel. 200 + videos of Espana. Glad you enjoyed!