Trying to dissect your various experiences and it sounds to me that if at some point in your life you drove a manual on a regular basis, and then like 99% of us, converted to automatics as the norm, then it's not a problem to revert back to a manual for a few weeks. I also learned to drive a manual in the hills of Tennessee. The only time I had a problem was the first week of driving and I'd parked downhill so that I could get a "running" start. When it was time to leave a garbage truck had parked two feet in front of me. Since I was young and cute, the truck driver backed my car up the hill far enough to get my running start. Maybe some 80 year-old geezer will still think I'm cute enough if I get into a similar bind in Spain.

Could agree with you more dreamer--knowing how to drive a manual should be a life skill!

Heh Heh...I think I'll need to take a couple of practice shots round the car park before I head out on the road!

Trisha10--sounds as though you got the manual transmission car that I drove!

Many automatic transmission cars now get gas mileage as good as manual transmission versions of the same car. Plus, if you are not experienced with a manual transmission you will probably not get the best gas mileage out of the vehicle.