Wow...thanks Johnny! I think I'll save some of these pictures to my desktop - they are quite nice.

One Love

Hello again IslandHops,

So glad to see that you have excellent taste.

When you open the franpc site, at the bottom of the page there are some words in Spanish.

Fondos means backgrounds. I think these are realy lovely. Flores means Flowers.

Try them all untill you find one that suits your desk top.

Thank you. Cuenca is Unique. This is the logo for the city.

Hello JBG - AWESOME PICS - thanks for sharing !!! Hope you've been a good boy and get some gifts and no coal ;)

Take care ! Sharon

Johnny,

Cuenca looks lovely! Where is it located exactly? Anywhere near San Sebastian by any chance?

Hello Sharon & HMP,

So glad that you liked the pics.

Cuenca is in the very center of Spain. Next to the capital city of Madrid but also 2hours drive to the Mediterrian city of Valencia.

It is nearly 4,000 feet above sea level with Fresh clean air and many rivers are born here.

HMP, You are always so much fun. San Sebastian is about 9 hours drive for me. Maybe in my next lifetime I will ask for reservations there. To give you the comparison. Like going to live next door to the Mansions in Newport and having the yacht parked in the bay. Nice picture that I just painted for you!

You get it, Right!

No, this poor boy was born by the Caribbean sea and now lives in the Iberian mountains. San Sebastian is worlds apart and a couple of million dollars of difference also.

We went to San Sebastian a few years ago on a suggestion from someone we met while traveling -- its breathtaking and has been in my mind ever since! Someday (with enough cash!) I'd like to go for a longer visit.

Hello HMP,

Yes I know what you mean. SS is a very special place that leaves an impact on you. The whole region in the north is fascintating and totally different to the rest of Spain. Even the vegetation is very similar to the south coast of the UK which makes you realize that many millions of years ago, the whole continent was joined together.

SPAIN - BASQUE COUNTRY.

http://www.euskadi.net

BOUTIQUE HOTEL EN SAN SEBASTIANhttp://www.chicretreats.com/hotels.asp?Search=No&CountryId=9

http://www.totallyspain.com/home.asp

http://maribelsguides.com Basque Country.

Click for a stay in Euskal Herria.

I help out on the forum for Spain and everyone always asks about Barcelona and Madrid. The same questions over and over. So when anyone asks about the Basque country I get realy excited. To me it is like the Port Antonio of Jamaica. Natural vegetation and a couple BILLION dollars more.

This is where all the really wealthy European Royalty and arstocrats have their summer homes.

No wonder you loved it so much.

I hope that your dream will be fulfilled.

We spent our entire trip in the Northwest of Spain -- eight days in total. I absolutely loved it. We just drove and stopped where we felt like stopping, visiting wineries, etc. Never made it to Madrid but did fly in and out of Barcelona. It was quite breathtaking!

The reason "Johnny" gives for the similarity in vegetation between the UK and the Basque Country is a trifle misleading. The vegetation is not so much proof of a common continental origin as the product of relief, rainfall and temperature. One should not forget that the last time Britain was linked to the continent was during the Ice Age, when what is now the British Isles lay under a vast ice sheet several kilometres thick. One of the reasons why Spain contains roughly 40% of Europe's biodiversity is precisely because it remained largely unglaciated.

There are places in the world where plant evidence of the ancient continents can be found. One of them is the Canary Islands, much of whose flora is a vestige of Gondwanaland. It is a natural heritage worth conserving for all Mankind. Unfortunately many Spaniards seem incapable of grasping this - look at the replies in the Tenerife forum of this web site every time environmental concerns are expressed and you will see what I mean.