wrote:

Yet one more question for my upcoming visit to Spain. What is the best
way to telephone the US from Spain? Can one purchase telephone cards
that allow inexpensive calls back to the states? If so, where are they
typically purchased.

Yes, you can buy phone cards there. You'll see them advertised in
internet cafes, shops, especially in tourist areas.

A little word of caution though, based on my experience in the last few
days. I used a phone card last year when in Seville. No problem at all.
This year (in Barcelona) the first card I bought (PlanetTalk) wouldn't
work from a payphone while trying to call the freephone access number. I
returned it to the vendor, who tried it from a _landline_, where it did
work. I eventually got him to come to the payphone with me, where he
found for himself it didn't work. So, he gave me another card. I forget
the brand, but this one worked fine, except that for one night anyone I
called couldn't hear me. Most of the time it was fine. BTW, I was using
it from the standard telefonica payphones you see all over the place.
The cards usually don't work from the third-party payphones (relatively
rare) that you see in some places. So, what worked perfectly last year
was more tricky this time round, albeit based on a tiny sample! What I
recommend is that you use the card first right next to the place you
bought it, so you can return it if there is a problem. The vendors are
honest people- they're not trying to rip you off. You probably won't
have a problem. FWIW, I think calls to the US on the card were around 3
or 4 cents per minute, so it is very economical, and they come in small
denominations. I bought a 6 euro card, and couldn't use all the minutes,
and I placed quite a few calls to the UK, US and even Peru.

I wouldn't recommend travellers cheques if you can avoid them. ATM
withdrawals are much cheaper, and ATMs are abundant in Spain.

David

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk