Hotel Austria Soldeu

... almost got it figured out, just a few more years… So since I’m awake already I get off to an early start. My bus to Andorra leaves at 10:30am, so that gives me a little time to explore the neighborhood. Since it’s the time of the equinox and the sun doesn’t go down until almost 8pm, though, that means it doesn’t come up until almost 8am either, so things are pretty quiet in early morning Spain. Any ...

... days will get some entries soon.

Today, we started from France, and drove a few miles into Andorra. So we have now done 10 of the 11 countires!!

Photos to follow, I'll just go back and put some news on the other days, then get photos loaded up. That takes ages.

... the watershed and we drop into the Spanish frontier town of Bourg Madame. We continue east across a wide plane undulating over the Col De Llous (1345m) and the Col De la Perche (1570m). From here a unbelievably long descent takes us nearly al the way to our
hotel. Prades has a reassuringly Mediterranean feel about it, with lots of courtyard cafe's and
clay tiled roofs.

WHAT I EXPERIENCED:

... it's not really the waitresses fault since she obviously didn't know, but the waiters sitting inside knew I was out on the terrace and made no effort, and the bartenders that saw me first go in and upstairs also said nothing. Garbage! And I really don't understand how a restaurant could be closed on a Friday night! This was unfortunate, as the menu looked pretty good.

I wandered around, looking for a place to eat - I found a modern Italian ...

The monastery-turned-hotel Núria, north of the town of Ribes de Freser in Catalunya, Spain is an excellent destination for walking. There are several peaks around the hotel, enabling you to do comfortable and rewarding day-treks. Some peaks: Noufonts, Noucreus, Eyne, Puigmal... (can't remember all names right now). Altitude from 2000 to 3000 meters.

... Lourdes Live Feed (yep I'm not kidding) web site and saw a sea of umbrellas. By the time we arrived it was hot and sunny. It wasn't busy either which meant we had lots of opportunity to wander along the pilgrims walk, visit the grotto and the churches, light candles, pray and just absorb the intensity of this amazing place. It is humbling to watch the pilgrims, many of them severly disabled, patiently waiting to touch the rock and drink from the water ...

Probably like you, I had no idea there was a country located between France and Spain. Well, turns out there is - a beautiful little country located in the middle of the Pyrenees mountains called Andorra. Though the smallest European country, it has the second longest life expectancy of any country in the world and is renowned for ...

... from Dan Johnson (the message title was the stunningly accurate "**** hole") that explained the best drinking was to be found in a village called Soldeu about 40-50 minutes north of the capital. ****ing Andorra. I was finding it hard to like this country at all. No nightlife in the capital for ****s sake- even Skopje, the grey **** that serves as the Macedonian capital, can muster up a decent Irish boozer (and an English one as well). I wandered back towards the bus ...

... it is cheating slightly we pay the 40 Euros - slightly more than the others will be spending - and catch the train to Perpignan. On the train we decide this must have been a blessing in disguise as we read in Andre's book that Salvidor Dali actually said that Perpignan train station was the centre of the universe - what a privilege to visit such a place. When we disembark the train we find the others walking into the train station to meet us...........

... only here as weekend tourists. They achingly returned home. Snowboarding has shown me some great times. But, I still prefer free-diving in the sea. I watched a movie this week that I´d been dying to see. FRENCH INFILTRATION STEP 9 - Watch "Le Grande Bleu." The English name for the film is "Deep Blue." A lot of friends call this their favorite movie. It tells of the competition between two world-champion free-divers, Jack Mayol from Marseilles and Enzo (something ...