Is An American Driver's License Valid In Spain? Yes and No

When I arrived to Barcelona, I was able to sign up for AvanCar (the same company as ZipCar in the U.S.) using my US driver's license.  Also when my friend Carol came in September, I rented a car for us to go to Figueres, a city north of Barcelona.

Technically, September was the last month that I could use my U.S. driver's license to legally drive a car here in Spain.  After six months of living in Spain, one can no longer use a foreign driver's license to drive.  For those countries who have a bilateral agreement with Spain regarding driving permits, those citizens can go to the DMV (here it is called the DGT) in their local Spanish jurisdiction and convert the foreign driver's license to a Spanish one before the end of the 6 month period.  Unfortunately, there is no agreement between the U.S. and Spain.

Since I would still like to be able to rent a car in Spain now and again, I need to take the driving test and obtain a Spanish driver's license, which consists of both a written test and a driving test.  The problem is that it's not as simple as it is in the U.S.  First, you must obtain your driver's license through a driving school (if any of my Spanish friends reads this and I am incorrect about this, please let me know).  The driving school has classes that you attend, practice exams to take, takes you out in a special drivers-ed car with two sets of pedals and steering wheels, registers for you at the DMV, and, when you're ready, accompanies you to take the driving part of the test.

I have found a couple of schools that will allow me to not take the driving class, but to just study the

driving book on my own.  Luckily, Spain offers the written test in English and has an English version of it.  However, it use British words and sometimes it is poorly translated from Spanish to English.

With removing the class from the list of things the driving school will do on my behalf, it will cost me about 250 euros to get my license.  Plus another 35 euros to get a medical test that confirms that I am fit to drive.  Also, you only have two chances to pass.  The written part consists of 30 questions and you cannot miss more than 3.  And the questions are very detailed and sometimes not very logical.

And if you fail the written part two times, then you have to pay another 90 euros to take the test again.

An Indian friend from my Spanish class had gone through this process and helped me a great deal in understanding what I need to do and loaned me his English driving manual.  I am now studying it and will soon sign up with a driving school to go forward with my written practice tests and driving practices with the school.

Residency Renewal

After one year, I have to renew my visa for another two years.  I got the documents for my pension, my retirement savings, and a letter from my health insurance company translated into Spanish.  I also provided my property registry of the flat that I purchased.  There shouldn't be any issues with the renewal, but the waiting game is a little nerve-racking.

Santa Eulalia Festival

This weekend Barcelona had a number of festivities for Saint Eulalia.  I went today to see the human towers (Castelles) that is so famous here in Catalunya.  It is quite impressive.  Below are some photos of the the physical feats that the men, women and children performed in making these human towers.