Coma Ordino

... having a beer and watching a man try to dig his van out of the snow. To my knowledge his van is to this moment where it was when I left the bar.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to post some pictures of Canillo when it's snowy and the sun comes out. Don't have too many, but figured it was worth a post.

... at 7:30am. However upon arriving at l'Hospitalet all my fears were put to rest.

It's misleading that they call l'Hospitalet a train station, it would be more correct if they called it a gravel lot with vending machines. As I filed into the line to get off the train, eager to find the bus, I grew frustrated that the line wasn't moving faster. When my turn finally came to get off the train I noticed that the line continued straight from the train to ...

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 ...

... What it does mean, we're not quite sure of yet. Still dealing with the shock and going over a few different options. All while kicking myself for not realizing this sooner. Only one thing is for certain - I'm not going to let this spoil our trip, and we're going to have to get cycling! (o.k., two things).

... on the pavement before us are things we‘ve seen all along our travels in France. But neither of these are edible and so interest me little. At the farm there are a few new nut trees: walnut and chestnut.

Having never been a nut eater, this is a new culinary adventure I‘ve been slowly traveling on the last few years. Able to only bear shredded cocunut in baking and the odd candied almond, I‘m now embracing nuts of ...

... by us on cast away sausage meat revealed how skilled he really was. Spare rib roasts, rolled belly, chump steaks, rack of ribs, pork chops, and hams were all neatly packaged and labeled. Bones went into the stock pile, fat went into the rendering pile, and other bits went into the sausage pile.

After all the good cuts were stored away in the freezer it came time to process the rest of it. Brian started up the meat ...

... 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…

... called ‘Patou’ are raised with a herd (Pyrenees mountain dogs). As a result they will guard and defend their animals from any predator they may face - including humans. If you happen to wander in range they will bark furiously and give you many warnings to get away. If you don’t heed the warnings - you’re at your own risk with a fierce dog that comes up to your ...

... is exploring the caves which lie within. Amazing to look at these huge hulks of stone - you would think that they are solid inside as roads and towns dot the tops, but it’s far from the truth.

This cave's claim to fame is the prehistoric art paintings on the walls. They estimate that they are between 13 000 and 14 000 years old! The paintings also span approximately 1000 years as well. These caves were used by Nomadic tribes ...

... We didn't stop in the main towns though, not much was open. As we drove towards France, we saw some beautiful ski villages just being built, or newly built. It looks like a fun place for a winter getaway. The snowy peaks were quite pretty too. Oh, going through Andorra la Vella (the capital) we spotted this really strange glass building. I took a picture, not knowing what it was, but have since found out it is the Caldera Spa, the largest health spa in Europe.