ok, so i have spent my morning trying to book hotel rooms on-line. we are confirmed thus far at:

Hotel Europa in Madrid (rick steve's first pick) for 3 nights (a triple room)
Hotel Sirimiri in Bilbao- a 1 star hotel on the metro line and with easy access to freeway for 2 nights- a triple room

We are awaiting confirmation at:

Hotel Jardi in Barcelona (3 nights) near the Ramblas triple room

Parador at Hondarribia- a restored fortress overlooking both the bay and france- right up there in the corner of spain within a few km of Hendaye, France. I could not find anything in san sebastian- this little town is a few miles north along the coast, and appears to be much smaller and less glamourous/expensive yet more quaint.......The Lonely Planet guidebook described this hotel as a 'treat'.

my word(s) of the day are the good words- buenos dias, buenos tardes, buenos noches- good day, good afternoon, good evening...........

on another note- my family is visiting- my mother's sister and her husband from cleveland, and my long lost brother, stuart, who has not visited in 2.5 years......they will be visiting my dad in the va nursing home at lunch- i will be working and will miss this visit. i love these people dearly, but these are my republican kin- and ecw and i sometimes have to bite on bullets to keep our opinions to ourselves-we learned long ago that this is an unmovable crowd when it comes to argument so we save our breath.......i suspect at dinner tonight we will hear all about why we need pre-emptive strikes........