Long-held myths toppled as on-site learning dispelled them like a lost hat in a wind tunnel. Rather than barren, forlorn countryside, verdant pastures, opulent trees, magnificent flowers -- le beau ideal -- filled us with pleasant vistas! Eucalypts trees from Australia and cork trees are predominant.

Lisbon, our airport entry, is a gem facing the Atlantic: typical four-to-six story apartment buildings line the broad streets etched with young trees and housing half million residents; subways bring in triple the number daily. This "Good Port" began in 600 BC and witnessed a consistently briskness in trading vessels and migrations around the world. The Catholic faith is professed by 90% of the population supporting 462 churches and chapels in Lisbon alone. We visited Mary of Jerusalem Church where a statue commemorates the burial site of the famous explorer Vasco de Gama. Miraculously, the church was built in one year by the King as a promise for de Gama returning from India. Nearby is the first suspended bridge in Europe, a copy of the Golden Gate Bridge, three miles long over which 110,000 vehicles cross daily, while the railway underneath carries passengers and freight.

There won't be a repeat of this trip, so Dr. Wayne Barnes, Zachary Travel, squeezed every minute tightly. We made the pilgrimage to Fatima through some desolate terrain and found a small, charming city that has developed since the appearance of the Virgin lady to the three shepherd children in 1917. The site is preserved with an open-air chapel covering the sacred spot, surrounded on the elevated edge with places of worship and meditation, including an impressive, spired basilica. Pilgrims on their knees slowly traversed a long walkway, praying with incantations.

One of the many meals was celebrated at a restaurant on the seashore at Nazare. The sweeping vista of creamy sand beach, luminous blue water dotted with tiny fishing boats was the delightful background to the Portuguese banquet. Street stalls lured most of us before boarding the bus.

Pousada do Castelo/Obidos, a perfectly preserved medieval town, rises on a sugarloaf hill above a valley of vineyards. “Its golden towers, ramparts rebuilt in the 12th C. and restored, crenellated battlements contrast with gleaming white houses and windmills clack in the breeze is a step back in time." But the story-King Dinis in 1285 offered the castle and village to his beloved Queen Isabel, a present she relished, and it hasn't costs any King to continue the tradition. In the expansive gate, a classical guitarist was playing, and his CD is the favorite music of my water aerobics class!

After experiencing more of their culture, we headed east on the fine highways zipping past 2,000 year-old Roman roads to Madrid. Exchanging our dollars for Euros seemed inequitable: $1.66 for $1/euro. With all costs higher than at home, we questioned expenditures; and all payments had to be correct change at times.

May is the ideal time to visit Madrid as summer temps are 110 degrees. Gardens and churches easily fill a schedule; however, the Royal Palace is a magnificent granite and limestone residence begun by Philip V who opined for his beloved Versailles. After 250+ years it is a grand structure with seldom-used 2,800 rooms.

Prado Museum is the No.1 attraction requiring two full days for the casual visitor. Treasures from around the world, including EI Greco and Goya, are there. Our guide was remarkable in giving a bit of interpretation as we seem to race from gallery to gallery. The park setting was lovely and refreshing. A good percentage of the 6.4 M population were enjoying this world class site. Friend Gloria H. and others who know and appreciate art needed more time to linger. She did see some copies of Picasso on exhibit near our hotel.

The highway north to Bilbao sliced through lush pastures and an occasional mammoth-size black bull figures in high places. Bull fighting is no longer permitted in Spain, so the handsome brick buildings containing the popular sport is recycled into malls or other uses. Bilbao was a dying little city with unemployment at 30%, and my old 1996 Fodor's did not include it. The Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art, also called Getty, is new here where most of our group of 27 spent the afternoon. Bilbao's rebirth created a vibrant, flower-filled city with activity around the clock, a port with an oil refinery and mining in the environs-this is a showcase of Europe.

San Sebastian, "The Pearl of the Gulf of Biscayne", hugs a crescent bay where water sports and fishing claim the day. Because visitors flock to San Sebastian and clamor for the apartments paralleling the beach, rental is the highest in Europe, 4,000 Euros a month.

Much more to see in Basque country once almost impenetrable, and under France their language changed. More changes now with interstate highways and electrical towers crossing the beautiful Pyrenees. We were en route to Pamplona known for the running of the bulls.

Ernest Hemingway favored this charming city, and the populace loved him. His writings brought publicity and visitors, so a statue of him is erected in the bar he frequented. The bulls originally were run through the narrow streets for bull fighting (had to be five years old) or to the auction. The bulls run only in July.

Lourdes, the famous healing place, is in Basque country, France. The mecca draws a million pilgrims a month; thus, the town has innumerable small hotels and eateries. Why does this draw such a following? The fertile farm land in this rich valley of the Pyrenees Mountains is a pleasant respite in itself. However, the real reason is the sacredness of the site: A young Bernadette in 1858 while tending the goats had 18 visions by Mother Mary, later revealed.

One delightful hotel was on a high mountain overlooking Vielha in the Spanish side of the Pyrenees. Looking down the valley past the small town, there were eerily visible at night. Five more villages, resembling clusters of fireflies. While walking late in the afternoon, we heard bells of goats and two dogs clearly communicating by their barking. At the edge of the slanting hotel lawn, a little, tree-filled gully was active with one, more than 25, goats with numerous kids. The dog at the hollow was leading the goats’ home to a pen and the other dog. These goats not only provided meat, but the Pyrenees is noted for its prime cheeses.

Vielha was a charming, ancient village which had a small, modern hospital with some English-speaking staff. A gushing rivulet sought its way through the old Roman district juxtaposed with modern ones, flags, flowers and park. Shopping meant reading pictures, guessing at words (years of Spanish never included reading menus) or pointing. Traveling on down through this ancient valley, we saw more ancient Roman buildings, breath-taking, snow-covered mountains where Europeans flock to for skiing, white-capping streams, and numerous hair-pen curves. Electrical towers were everywhere clearly revealing that the remoteness is in the past. What a fascinating drive to the bus passengers! A stop at La Seu d'Urgell and the Cathedral, we heard of its history as the best example of early Romanesque architecture; also, Gloria's favorite story was that told by the guide who lucidly compared the messages delivered at the altar and at the back wall exit in many churches depicting graphically, "Priest says if you don't follow what he says this will happen to you."

Andorra was the highlight of the trip for some, especially for souvenirs. The tiny mountain Principality nestles between Spain and France and is ruled, theoretically, by the Monarch and the Pope. Parking on the lower level of the city, Gloria and I took an elevator in a nearby building, going up five floors to reach the other part of the shopping center and town. We chose to have lunch (brought out to us) in open-air dining on a triangle between the streets.

What a grand decision: delicious food, friendly diners, and people-watching. A bit of shopping then we were on our way back into Spain and a charming hotel on a mountainside. Our last sundeck and view of the village below, charm was ever-present. Above in the complex was an old castle of 1750 next to a Roman fort. Like mountain goats, we were investigating the mysteries. That evening was special for we had a "state" dinner in the castle. The cavernous room, long abandoned, was filled with dirt and debris. Cleaned, with a table seating 3D, lights and music, we were served royally with a banquet the Kingwould cherish.

Barcelona, Spain, on the Mediterranean, with much to see-beach, updated port, old town, and especially architect Antoni Gaudi's unfinished cathedral. At 120 years, eight more towers are under construction. All of Gaudi's (Is our "gawdy" from the name?) buildings are embellished beyond belief, even while viewing them, and La Sagrada Familia is no exception known as Barcelona's most eccentric landmark. In 1936 during the Spanish Civil War, the citizens loved their "crazy temple" enough to spare it from the flames that engulfed all their other churches. Thousands were quequeing through the lower and upper floors daring to view displays and exquisite stained glass.

Some of us chose to drive to Montserrat, a spectacular mountaintop monastery, one of the most scenic pilgrimage sites in Spain and the shrine of L Moreneta, the Black Virgin.

Our downtown hotel was surrounded by open-air restaurants on the broad, shady boulevards throughout the area. Gloria and I dined in one finding the service prompt and courteous and the environs filled with happy people. That was a perfect way to end this once-in-a lifetime tour with delicious Spanish food and drink and with happy people.