Cal Ruiz Pas de la Casa

Today was my last full day in Andorra. There wasn't a huge amount to do. It wasn't snowing, but the wind was so fierce that it seemed like a sand storm made out of snow. I had a great time watching a group of cows grazing in snow up to their stomachs. Other than that I had a walk around town and spent about an hour at a ...

After a long night on a surprisingly jam packed night train, I arrived at a train station about 1km from the Andorra border. I was slightly worried about my transportation from the train station at l'Hospitalet to my destination 26km into Andorra. The cryptic information information I was able to find on the web about buses told me that there were 2 per day, one leaving at 7:30am and the other 7:30pm. This was a bit disconcerting as my train arrived ...

Le plan original était d'aller à Cahors visiter un vignoble, mais puisque l'on n'a pas de voiture (considérant que les vignes sont dans des champs et non au centre ville) on n'a pas pu y aller. J'ai trouvé sur internet qu'il y avait plusieurs grotte dans le sud donc on en a choisi une pas trop trop loin et on a acheté nos billet de train.

Tarascon sur Ariege est à environ 1h15 de toulouse donc ca se fait quand meme bien. C'est un ...

... person above is literally in your hands.

All in all it was a fabulous day! Did 4 climbs in total ranging through the 5a, 5b, and 5c levels of difficulty. I wanted to try a 5, but the day went by too quickly. There was one climb that Brain was sweating out for quite awhile, but in the end his determination conquered it. Rock climbing is the perfect blend of challenge and rest in beautiful mountain settings. I may be hooked…

... br>
Despite the dogs and the cold and wind, we did manage a little hike up past a waterfall up to a beautiful plateau area with mountains all around. Huddled behind a rock to provide some resistance from the wind, we scarfed down a bit of picnic lunch before running back to the truck for warmth. Then it was down into the town of Ax to soak our cold feet into some hot springs.

... are revealed.

This area of the Salon Noir is an amazing room with a ceiling that corkscrews upwards creating some interesting acoustics. A single clap lasts for over 5 seconds. Voices are lifted upwards and bounce around changing as they go. I can only imagine what it would be like to hear a celebration of instruments and song in a place like this. Perhaps this is part of the significance and why people returned year after year.

Niaux, Midi-Pyrénées, France 2totango

... were lost? Tried to get the dog to 'allez maison', but he wouldn't go anywhere for us.

Brian was determined that he knew what way to go, so I just kept following him. Once we were at the river, where do we head up? And then I heard it. That damn rooster started crowing and we knew we were heading in the right direction. That same rooster that attacked me was now guiding me. ****, I guess I can’t beat him up now!

... ve got to give some credit to a city that gave Gaudi license. They might have lost that gamble, but no, tourists come in by the busloads to take pictures of the cherubim and seraphim and… themselves. The Arc is interesting, too, made out of brick, so not a copy of the French model like every other one I’ve seen. That’s something Spain has in common with Poland, I guess, the copious use of brick. They also have a ...

... red wine, he mocked my English-like pronunciation of the "r" in "vin rouge" (red wine). (The "r" is
supposed to be voiced in the throat like a purring, gargling dog.) Then, when the American ordered a pastis, he said, "Les pastis sont pour les hommes." (Pastis is only for men.) The very strong French pastis he made tasted like most Mediterranean alcohols: licorice-y and terrible.

Arnaud, the happy (lucky!) winner, went home. I went to meet pals ...

... Her nose is slightly supernormal, and she´s very playful and silly and blabbery and fun. Most of my co-workers are French, but a couple are not. A Welsh lady in her forties works the cash register also. She´s gentle and innocent, like a character on Little House on the Prairie. She looks after the store´s magazine section, and she asks my help to reach the magazines in the back top. Seeing as how this is Europe, the magazines in the ...