WHETHER it’s summer or winter, it’s really fun to visit Spain or even ultimately live there for the rest of your life as long as your stake is here. How about this as an example? If you are a firefighter from the New York Fire Department and you have just retired at the age of 40 and your wife and you don’t have any kid at all, then how about settling in Spain for the rest of you life? Anyway, you can live on your pension for the rest of your life just by settling here.

The first thing you do though upon retirement is visit the country as a couple. You must visit the place twice a year – during summer or during winter – to get a feel of the place. If you will be retiring this weekend, now is the time to visit the place. It’s almost spring break in the country and it is already Lenten season. Besides, Valentines is fast approaching here in Spain.

The most enjoyable Valentine celebrations are held in Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza. In Ibiza in particular, top of the line DJs such as Godskitchen, DJ Tiesto and Paul Van Dyk boast their stuff during Valentines Day 2008 which happens to fall on a Thursday. And even though Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza are islands, there are lots of cool cars there to rent. One of the adventures I have tried which I really enjoy doing is having a drag race with my own wife. How about doing that too there in Ibiza? We even enjoy ourselves drifting. Drifting may be previously exclusive to flat-out adventurers before but not anymore. Nowadays, there are lots of drift instructors all over the world and certainly there are there in Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca. This phenomenon was caused by the popularity of the Hollywood movie Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift.

One nice place to visit here in Spain during Valentines are the Mediterranean resorts in the Iberian Peninsula such as Costa del Sol. You better follow the customs and traditions of the locals if you are staying here during Valentines. The custom here is to usually exchange each other presents. It may be more romantic if you renew wedding vows here in Costa del Sol during your soiree. Just book early at the local church and that is if you’re Roman Catholic. So there will be no untoward obstacle to your wedding renewal, just bring all pertinent documents of your marriage with you. Also during Valentines, it is customary here in Spain for the husband to bring a bunch of flowers to his wife so do that, too.

You may also be unwittingly helping the Spanish economy if you pour in your dollars while you’re staying here during Valentines. The Spanish economy is stable but with the threat of recession filling in the United States, the Spaniards are not taking chances. From your Iberian Airlines flight to your posh resort stay, part of the dollar goes to the public coffers via taxes paid by the businesses you’re transacting with.