Following in the footsteps of Liz Taylor and Betty Ford,  when we return home, we will need to check ourselves into a rehab clinic followed by one of those weight-loss spas where they feed you carrot juice for breakfast, a piece of celery for lunch, and a head of lettuce with a tsp. of balsamic vinegar for dinner. Dessert is a quarter of a grapefruit.

“But we’re walking a lot,” say my traveling companions. “We’re burning those calories we’re eating.” Only if we’re walking from Madrid to Granada and back I say to myself, thinking how could we possibly burn enough calories to overtake the following single meal: leek and pepper salad, potato croquettes, crusty bread, Spanish tortilla, roast suckling pig, about a bottle of wine per person, cake, flan and sorbet, and a glass of limoncello. In addition to these banquet-style events, we’ve sampled a bit of everything, starting with tapas of foi gras; eggplant, red pepper and olive; chicken on skewers; roasted asparagus, duck and mussels. Then there was the paella, the potato and crab salad,white bean and partridge stew, and lots of ham and cheese and multiple desserts.

Fortunately, we may have a solution to our problem. We just learned this evening that one member of our tour group is a surgeon who specializes in lap band treatments for weight loss.