Fumbling our way through the narrow tunnel, all we could see ahead of us was a faint opening to the outdoors and the beam of a flashlight held by our bus driver, Diego.

It was so dark, we had to strain just to see our feet. Hearing our shoes shuffle along the small stones gave us a sense that we were at least heading in the right direction.

Less than a minute later our hearts raced and our thoughts stretched back 2,000 years to when Roman legions prowled the Spanish countryside and thousands of laborers constructed cities, circuses and monuments.

A Roman aqueduct, towering at least 70 ft. from the small valley below to well over our heads, stood in front of us in all its splendor. We were just three miles out of the Spanish Mediterranean city of Tarragona along the highway that links the southern resort city of Alicante with the northern metropolis of Barcelona. The tens of thousands of brown stone bricks that pieced together the aqueduct puzzle remained as perfectly in place as they were when first positioned two millenniums earlier. Nothing seemed to have altered the arches of the ancient public works project that brought water from the surrounding hills to the city below. All that was missing was the water. The very top channel was bone dry, obviously unused for eons. I know it was dry because I climbed a short set of steps to the top to find out for myself.

The country of Spain is like that...a beautiful nation of 50 million people which seems to have something exciting around every corner. The aqueduct before us was just one of many examples of Roman and Moorish history, architectural and cultural wonders that Spain has to offer. Seeing the entire country, like the U.S., would take weeks. A more reasonable method is to pick a region and let loose which is exactly what our group of curiosity seekers did recently. Our choice was the fabled Mediterranean coastline that stretches from Alicante, with its wide beaches and warm temperatures, to energetic Barcelona with its tall, beautiful buildings, wide boulevards and thousands and thousands of motor scooters.

Alicante is a stirring community of 300,000 people tucked along Spain's southeast coastline. It resembles Florida to a degree with palm tree-lined streets and resort atmosphere. It's the center of the popular Costa Blanca holiday region that has an African flavor mingled with many buildings of Baroque style. Cute shops and restaurants line narrow streets everywhere and located at the peak of nearly every roof are satellite dishes picking up TV signals from across Europe and the world. A sign "Ferry Algeria", along a busy street is a reminder that the northern coast of Africa is not far away.

Like many towns in Spain, Alicante has a fine indoor marketplace where anyone can shop for fresh fruit, seafood, chicken and a huge choice of almost any other kind of food imaginable six days a week. People are friendly and the shopkeepers seem to be always on the move enticing customers to buy. Various dialects of Spanish are most often spoken. Many people, however, speak English and communication is easy.

Carousing Alicante's cozy streets at night is a real treat and an outstanding way to get the feel of things. I couldn't resist to untie my shoes, remove my socks to dip my toes into the Mediterranean Sea‹my first time ever. The water was clear and a bit chilly. Strolling down Alicante's wide, clean, mosaic Explanada d'Espanya promenade is an experience that can't be overlooked. The walkway is well-lit at night with five and six story buildings and retail shops on one side and the Sea to the other. Hand-clutching couples slowly move along. The air is breezy and the evening we were there the honking of car horns was clearly noticeable as the country celebrated Barcelona's winning of the European soccer tournament. At one point our stroll brought us to the Santa Maria Basilica, a centuries old church inspiringly ablaze in light.

North of Alicante is the quaint sea village of Villajoyosa, known far and wide for the many chocolate factories in the area, including the headquarters of Valor Chocolate. There's also a chocolate museum in Villajoyosa. The road we took resembled America's interstate highway system of four lanes, rest areas and restaurants sprinkled along the way. Nearly everywhere one can see mountains. After Switzerland, Spain is the second most mountainous country in Europe. It's also a constitutional monarchy with a reigning king, but a system of government that gives power to the people. Spain is no longer a Catholic theocracy, but a nation that values religious and other forms of tolerance. Separation of church and state means much to Spaniards.

About a two hour drive north of Villajoyosa is the captivating city of Valencia which blends the very old and traditional with the new and modern. It's a leading city of the arts that's home to 30 museums and 1,500 restaurants. The fabulous and expansive Arts & Science Museum, designed by Catalevera who created Milwaukee's famed Art Museum, is centrally located in Valencia. The town was founded in 138 B.C. by the Romans seeking a strategic position on the Mediterranean coast. After the Romans, the Visigoths arrived followed by the Muslims in 714, Five hundred years later in 1238 King James ousted the Muslims in the name of the Kingdom of Valencia.

Today, Valencia's population of 700,000 makes it the third largest city in Spain. Like Alicante, it has an indoor market, this one even bigger. Perched on top of the market roof is a green parrot, the Spanish symbol of noise, which is a good description of the market below. Many churches dating back to Medieval times during the period of Inquisition, are situated throughout Valenica. There's also a bull ring, something that exists is most major Spanish cities.

My favorite part of Valencia is Queens Square where locals and tourists gather at all hours to marvel at the 750-year-old St. Mary's Cathedral and its combination Baroque, Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles. Surrounding the square are shops and restaurants and even an ice cream parlor. Not long after my arrival in Valencia, I made the decision to spend a couple of hours on my own in and around Queens Square. What I experienced was 120 minutes of fascination, watching people, many of whom were in period costume strumming mandolins and singing in harmony. Beyond the square, along streets barely wide enough for small cars to fit through, were pockets are cloth shops boutiques, and restaurants, many of them perfect for those with romance in mind. On the other side of St. Mary's Cathedral is Virgin Square, a popular gathering spot where Roman ruins can be viewed and where one can sit and take in the surrounding pleasantries. At night, the city opens up where clubs and other establishments come to life in barrios. It's common throughout Spain to eat dinner between 9 and 11 p.m. Visiting Tapas bars is a regular ritual where people nibble on everything from lamb to rice and frog legs. Pubs remain open until 3 or 4 a.m. serving Spanish beers‹or cervezas‹such as Cruz Campo, Estrella and Amstel. Our thoughtful bus driver, Diego, always remembered to order me a cervezas (in Spanish, of course) every night as we sat down for dinner. The streets of Valencia continuously teem with people wishing to unwind and enjoy life. Valencia is a Spanish jewel that should not be missed by anyone visiting this country. The history is rich, hotel accommodations plentiful, and things to do off the charts.

Following the experience of Valencia, our journey took us further north to Tarragona. The night before, we stopped in the village of Tortosa where we spent the evening at the Parador, a Moorish castle overlooking the village and the Ebre River. In all of Spain, there exists approximately 1500 castles, many of which today are hotels. The room I stayed in was comfortable and clean with all the modern day accouterments.

If it's history your looking for, Tarragona, farther north along the coastline, is the place. With a present day population of 140,000 Tarragona was founded in the 3d century BC by the Romans as a military camp to fight off the Carthaginians. Eventually it became an even more important region for the Romans sparking the building of a circus in the middle of town and an amphitheater not far away just yards from the Mediterranean Sea. While the amphitheater is still plainly visible and can be easily toured, the sheer size of the circus makes it difficult at first to comprehend. The existence of the circus wasn't discovered until the 1920s when signs of it were unearthed during building construction. Today, sections of it have been carefully preserved and more areas, such as bleacher seating, are being discovered all the time. The Roman Circus of Tarragona was similar to a modern day stadium that could seat 30,000 fans eager to watch chariots spin around a circle seven times to determine a winner. Latin continues to be spoken by many residents of Tarragona, which in the 12th century barely survived the Black Plaque that wiped out two-thirds of its 6,000 population. Nowadays, visitors have 19 hotels to choose from in Tarragona. Three of those hotels are rated 4-star. All are located near the beach.

Our final destination, Barcelona, is about an hour's drive north of Tarragona. While our time there was limited, we were able to experience this great walking city of tall, stately buildings and tens of thousands examples of what seemed like the principal mode of transportation, motor scooters. They were everywhere, on streets, parked on sidewalks, in alleys. Cars in Spain are small and scooters, obviously smaller, saving on a gasoline and maintenance costs.

In the center of Barcelona, along the main thoroughfares‹Passeo De Gratia and the Plaza De Promenade‹Spanish Art Nouvo architecture abounds. First time visitors like myself appear to have their heads stuck on swivels constantly straining to view the uniqueness and beauty of each building. In the old section of Barcelona, The Ramblas, is always crowded with people shopping in open air markets and sidestepping the many pigeons darting in and out searching for morsels food. To me, Barcelona is a combination of London, Paris and Chicago blending a massive bundle of humanity with high class and an abundance of high-octane energy.