ok, so i have a new travel scenario mapped out, just in case the price of right-

day 1- fly from louisville to atlanta to madrid
day 2- arrive madrid; walking tour of downtown sights
day 3- sleep late; prada art museum
day 4- train to san sebastian- check into hotel; walking tour of sights, including new opera house
day 5- train to bilbao; see gehry guggenheim, metro, shopping complexes- train back to san sebastian
day 6- train to barcelona-walking tour of sights- including gaudi church and buildings
day 7- barcelona
day 8- fly home from barcelona (requires open jaw ticket) if not-train back to madrid
day 9- fly home

right now the ticket to madrid is about $586- not open jaw- and the price of a 3 day train pass is $155- hotels are as yet unknown. i am considering this even if stephan wants to go to italy on spring break- i may even ask ms johnson if she will forgive the 7 school days he would miss if we went. good points of this scenario- no driving; 4 cities each with architectural importance as well as art and other cultural significance. bad points- madrid to san sebastian is about 7 hours; madrid-barcelona is about 7 hours, and san sebastian to barcelona is unknown. lots of time on a train..........