Thanks for the responses!

Picking up the rental at the airport when we arrive is not my first or second choice. However, when you travel with another person (my S/O) some compromising has to be done. He is certainly compromising a lot on his end, so I would feel bad if I demanded to have everything my way.

The reason I'm allowing for rest the first night is because I remember when I went to Israel. 19 hours on a plane, arriving over 24 hours after leaving, 45 minutes stuck in customs/baggage claim, and 45 minutes in a taxi between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem really wiped me out. I don't sleep well on planes - who really does, though? (This time I'm coming prepared with ear plugs, eye mask, and letting S/O have the aisle seat to get jostled!) By the time we got to our hotel in Jerusalem, I was wiped out. We arrived in Tel Aviv at around 3:30, but didn't get to the hotel until around 6. And what I really remember of that afternoon/evening was being extremely tired, very hungry, and just a tad cranky. Once I had something to eat and a good night's sleep, all was terrific in my world. I don't know how things will go with Madrid (shorter flight, but not by much), but I figure if I plan on feeling the same way and I'm not, then that would be a pleasant surprise. Long flights (even within the US) just really wipe me out for some reason, so I'm usually mush the first evening!

Besides, it will be S/O's responsibility to drive in Madrid. Kinda mean, but he is actually a much better driver than I am! And far less likely to aggravate Spanish drivers!

Thanks for the tip on leasing a car. I've dabbled a bit into researching that. So far I think I've only looked at Renault. I brought up the idea with S/O whose first concern was maintenance and breakdowns and who pays for what. I wasn't able to answer his questions, so further research needs to be done. I've checked out AutoEurope and am very pleased with their rates - far less than I had anticipated! I've also checked Nova, who were less than AutoEurope. In the end, I'm giving the final decision over to my S/O. He knows more about cars and what type of car we will need than I do (besides, I'm doing all the hotels and research on what to see and do!) and I think he can make a better decision than I can. I'll have to check out Peugeot and see what type of plans they have!

I had originally wanted to spend the first few days in Madrid, rather than sort of rushing through and onto the road trip. But after thinking and talking and discussing, we decided it would be better to sort of "settle" in Madrid for the last few days of our trip before leaving for home. We are trying to travel at a relaxed pace, but road trips in general can be tiring, so having those few days to just kick back and do everything or nothing in Madrid is something I'm coming to look forward to!