Itinerary

Here's my current plan, very much subject to change.  Only my flights are set in stone at this point.

Fly in to Barcelona on a Saturday morning and check in to my home base for the first four nights.  Spend my days and nights exploring the city as well as excursions to places like Montserrat and Figureres, all by public transit.

What's the weather like when I check out on Weds?

• Good: take a train to Valencia and explore for a while before catching another train to Córdoba

• Bad: go straight to Córdoba

Starting with Córdoba, spend the next ten nights in Andalucía.  See how many of the following I can visit: Granada, Sevilla, Jerez, Cádiz, and the smaller Pueblos Blancos towns.  Add a few hours in Gibraltar and a day trip across the Mediterranean to Tangier, Morocco for good measure.  From what I've read, train service isn't great here, but bus service is, so that will be my main mode of transportation.  I'll likely rent a car for a day or two as well.  Place your bets on whether this is too ambitious for ten days!

Another Saturday two weeks after the first takes me across the Portuguese border by bus.  Once I'm in-country, rent a car for a quick trip through the Algarve and Alentejo regions.  Drop it off in Lisboa, my new home base for five nights.  Side trips: Sintra and Óbidos.

Leaving Lisboa on Wednesday, take the train to Coimbra, stay a while, and grab another to Porto.  Spend three nights there, enjoying the city and the Douro Valley area.

Spend my last Saturday like the first: in the air.