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The  Expat’s Guide to Living in Spain - A report on moving to Spain. The nation that produced the twentieth centuries best artists; including Picasso and Miro.  The backdrop for the novel The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, the novel about expats that changed our perspective of the world. Spain is among the quintessential expat destinations. With fine real estate, excellent food, profound culture, and some of Europe's best islands and beaches, Spain is an extremely worthy consideration as an expat destination. This report by Arin Vahanian, eighty pages in length, provides the details that we need when considering Spain as a destination.  Real Estate, Contacts, Employment, Legal Considerations, Citizenship, all laid out in a comprehensive easy to read format.  An Expat’s Guide to Living in Spain will save you money, answer your questions, and prepare you to live in Spain.  Available online in eBook form:  An Expat’s Guide to Living in Spain - Click Here to learn more -

If you ever wanted to take tapas with champagne, now’s your chance. Rail Europe has just introduced the France ’n Spain Railpass that gives unlimited train travel throughout Spain and France. The beauty of this new pass is that you can cross the borders effortlessly with just one ticket.  I found  the France ’n Spain Railpass particularly ideal for those regions in Spain and France that share the same culture and even language, such as Catalonia. If you have only two weeks or less, here’s the  itinerary  I did that’s  well worth considering. I flew to Barcelona, and from the airport immediately boarded the train to the beautiful town of Girona, an hour away. Girona is a small, pretty city of colorful houses that line the Onyar River. It is here where the Jewish mystical writings of the Kabala were created on the Iberian Peninsula and today Girona boasts the Call, an atmospheric medieval Jewish quarter of narrow streets and stone steps.  I stayed in Girona several days, relaxing in the riverside cafes and exploring the treasures of the city— Arab baths, Baroque cathedral, Jewish museum, and taking day trips to points on the Costa Brava. My first day in Girona, April 23, was especially delightful as it was St. George’s Day or rather what the Catalans call “St Jordi’s Day.” This day is not only a celebration of Catalonia’s patron saint, it is also an auspicious day on which the greatest writers of three nations died: the Spanish Cervantes, the English Shakespeare, and the Catalan, Josep Pla.  Because of this curious coincidence, since the eighteenth century, the Catalans have called St. Jordi’s Day “The Day of the Book and the Rose.”  Traditionally on this day men gives roses to women while women give men, books. Nowadays these gifts flow in either direction and the beauty of the custom permeates the city.  Walking toward the ramblas the pedestrian street at Giriona’s center, I saw everywhere long tables piled with books for sale and at each corner a rose vendor. Most of the  roses were red but some were dyed royal blue.  Schoolchildren paraded by and even the tiniest tot was clutching a rose to bring home to mother. At one corner, a musician played a fiddle as parents danced with their children.  Even the confectioners had joined the romance  for the windows of the candy stores displayed both books and roses crafted from dark chocolate.  I fell in love with Girona, a friendly, prosperous town laced with iron and stone foot bridges. One afternoon, I took  a bus to the beautiful medieval hilltop village of Pals.

This is part of the walking path between the two towns on the Costa Brava: Calella de Palafrugell and Llafranc. The Costa Brava region covers 75 miles of the northeastern coast line of Catalonia, Spain: from the French border at Port-Bou to the Spanish spa resort of Blanes. This area was little known to the outside world until it was recognized in the 1920s for its warm water, rugged hillsides, wonderful food and warm climate It is also the center of Spain's important cork-growing industry.

The town of Carcassone was occupied in the 5th century BC by the Iberians, then by Gallo-Romans. The inner walls of the castle at Carcassone were built in 485, when Euric I was king of the Visigoths. Muslim invaders succeeded in taking the castle in 728.

The France ‘n Spain Railpass can be combined with a car rental car to reach the places not on the rail line. As I’m not a confident cliff driver, I  returned to Girona and the next day took the bus. It curled around the vertiginous cliffs of the Costa Brava with  panoramic views of white fishing villages set against azure sea and sky.  My stop was the seaside town of Calella de Palafrugell for the delicious tapas: deep fried calamari, grilled anchovies,  roasted potatoes smothered in Aiöli sauce, and the tiny, garlicky fried fish called sonsos that sparkle on a sunlit plate like a heap of silver jewelry.  From Palafrugell you can shop,  sunbathe on the sand beach, visit the Cork  Museum with its 1500 (!) objects made from cork or do what I did, stroll high above the glittering sea along the pine-covered cliffs to the next village of Llafranc. A short bus ride brought me to Cadaques. Cadaques is another chic fishing village where you can walk to Port Lligat to tour Dali’s white beachside home complete with it phallic-shaped swimming pool and other naughty novelties. I returned to Girona by train and the next day I was reading my book and enjoying a tasty steak frites from the buffet car as I slipped into France.  The train whisked me to the walled city of Carcassone. For the ultimate storybook effect, I stayed overnight to view the ramparts in silence and moonlight.  I was now in the heart of Languedoc, the other South of France. The one that’s not overpriced and over-touristy.  Languedoc has always had a mind— and a language—of its own. In fact, Languedoc was not French but rather belonged to the Cathars, an ascetic sect who broke away from Catholicism to live what they believed a more pure life.  In 1209  the Cathars were completely massacred and today the walled city of Carcassone rests like a great ark on a hilltop, an eerie testament to the bravery of those outnumbered few who fought the French army. Today too, many of the children of Languedoc are learning the ancient language of Occitan while the lost world of the Cathars has been re-discovered by visitors at the ruined Cathar castles that dot this mountainous landscape.

On my journey back to Barcelona,  I stopped overnight at the celebrated village of Collioure where Picasso and Matisse lived and founded the expressionistic art movement known as the Fauves. Collioure perches right on the French/Spanish frontier. It’s a hilly, rainbow-hued seaport of immense charm. The steep cobblestone streets, colorful fishing boats, and bright houses cast a Mexico-like spell.  In Collioure you can sit outside in a café, listen to the waves and eat mussels steamed in tomato sauce, the Languedoc fish stew known as bourride and the  town’s specialty—Anchois de Collioure— anchovies with chopped garlic, hard boiled egg, grilled sweet peppers and parsley. The waiters speak Spanish, the shopkeepers sell espadrilles and paella pans, and the locals enjoy  late afternoon bullfights. Collioure is Catalan France at its best.  Back in Barcelona I succumbed to its Modernista architecture and energetic street life. Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca wrote that Spain is so vibrant that Spain’s dead are more alive than the dead of any other country.  This vibrancy is certainly true in the exciting Catalan capital of Barcelona, the perfect place not to wind down, but to cap my rail trip through French and Spanish Catalonia. Practical Information As the France ‘n Spain Railpass is so flexible, I could just as easily have ventured south to Madrid, east to Provence and the Riviera or north to  Paris.  Today, there is no longer just one Eurail Pass but a smorgasbord of rail passes versatile enough to suit any itinerary and budget.

Photo of houseboats on the Canal du Midi.

You must purchase a France ‘n Spain Railpass in the United States or Canada before you leave for Europe. You can use it either consecutively or non-consecutively and you can purchase 4 to 10 days unlimited train travel in a 2 month period.  If you’re traveling in a group of two or more people (and who doesn’t?) the savings advantage is significant. If you’re in a group of 4 or more, the savings are even better. The France ’n Spain Railpass is also available as a youth pass with an additional discount if you’re under 26.   You have a choice of first or second class travel.  In truth, there’s not much difference between the two classes. You’ll find buffet cars on the train with hot and cold meals available to both classes. First class is a bit less crowded and the seats more  plush.  Here’s an example of the pricing: 

Regular France ’n Spain Railpass
Any 4 days in 2 months 
First class Adult: $292.00
Second class Adult $ 252.00

France ’n Spain Saver Pass
Any 4 days in 2 months traveling in a group of 2 to 4 people 
First Class Adult: $248.00
Second Class Adult: $214.00

To find out about France ’n Spain Youth Pass and other discounts or further information, contact Rail Europe at 1-888-382-7245 or go to www.raileurope.com which contains a wealth of information including great maps of all the rail routes. 

Destination information
Spain: www.spain.info or www.okspain.org. You can also call the tourist offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or Miami.
France: www.franceguide.com or call (410) 286 8310
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