Diplomatic Andorra la Vella

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 ...

<br> 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.<br><br>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). <br>

... over and over. With an abundance of Butternut Squash I&#8217;ve been having my creativity stretched to the limit. So far we&#8217;ve had: roasted squash, mashed squash, bacon fried squash, roasted with apple and chestnut, squash soup, stuffed squash, roasted with pumpkin, and battered and fried with dip.<br><br>How to Pen a Porker<br><br>As with all farming, there comes a time to &#8216;process&#8217; your food. This applies to both animal ...

... refrigeration for the meat. With wind-chill, that was absolutely frigid for 45 minutes! And with the winding mountain roads, the weight of the meat kept shifting into me with the occasional trotter popping out from under the covering. <br><br> Watching Austin process the carcase into usable joints of meat was truly a work of art. His knife flew, knowing exactly where to cut and slicing with one quick motion. Any small ...

... of apprehension before starting. Like attempting to figure out which way was up on the harness. Or when Donna wanted me to tie my security knot (walking me through of course). Then there&#8217;s the whole &#8216;where to start?&#8217; when staring straight up at this seemingly flat face of rock. <br><br> Watching others you wonder &#8216;how on earth?&#8217;, but then it&#8217;s your turn and you preserve, slowly going up and up with each little ...

... what happened as I didn't know the Spanish word for crusty pie eyes - I basically told her that my eyes were bothering me, and when I woke up there was stuff in them, and that my eyes were very ugly. Like I've said before, I can have deep conversations in Spanish, yet lack very basic vocabulary, at times. <br><br>Andorra sounds so regal, but as I planned this trip and researched this tiny little principality, my expectations dropped - it's got a bit of a ...

... la Casa, at 2490 metres. From there it's all downhill - basically the country of Andorra is made up of one long narrow valley with high mountains on either side, with a couple of side valleys. There are a number of towns every few kilometers until you reach the capital, Andorra la Vella, at 1000 metres. All up it's around 30kms by 25kms. Andorra is the only country in the world where Catalonian is the official language, and has an unusual political situation. Andorra is a co ...

... up call.... ug Day 21 The day begins where others have left off, and the sun does not bless us until our journey is well under way. Despite the early morning pains, the mountains are even more spectacular when they are awaking from their slumber then in the midday sun. The fog that lingers only adds to the appeal. The bus ride to Toulouse was inspiring. Our first stop in France is blessed to be by a pastery. Now those close to me can probably remember my favourite treat from ...