Magic La Massana Hotel

... 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:

... called Mimi's, with a pricey but yummy-sounding menu, and inquired with the staff about sitting outside, only to be told they weren't open until 21:00. Though it was only 15 minutes away, the rude waitress was a turn-off, and I decided to eat elsewhere.

I finally decided on a pizza joint called La Cantina, and the waiter wasn't all that friendly, either - what gives here??? He was hesitant to give me a spot on the terrace, as he obviously didn ...

... Now.... 37 years ago Shane, Jerry and I thought we were in this village. We all have memories of being in Andorra da Ville but.... it weren't anything like what we see outside. Totally confused we spoke with a local today and discovered that all those years ago we were really only in a ski village near the border. We never did come this far in. Tomorrow we take that highway out of the country to France. Hopefully our fuzzy memories will be become clearer.

... Festa Brava hotel. I seriously considered going snowboarding, but it was just too late in the season and the snow, though plentiful, was just too wet for my tastes. So I wandered about town, dodging the hourly rainfall and taking in the sights. Not too much to be seen here, but nice to look around a place I had no idea even existed!

... a Euro to visit that dive of a country) and had to stand around for about an hour in the middle of the night when crossing to Turkey from Bulgaria (after paying 15 euros for a ****** ****ing visa..most expensive sticker I ever brought). There's not a great deal to say about the ride through Andorra really, the countryside is beautiful- the snow capped Pyrennes mountains spread out in every direction, but that's about the only thing worth noting unless you're really interested ...

... an hour of no luck it's gone 3 and we need to make a decision on what to do. So we decide to walk to the nearby town of Bram as we can see a train line that runs close to it. After walking through the while of Bram and seeing that it pretty much has nothing to offer we see a sign for the train station and our eyes light up. The lady behind the counter tells us there is a train in 40 minutes and we will have to change once to get to Perpignan. Even ...

... taking us over the border questioning us if we are carrying drugs. No I wasn't, obviously. It takes us a further 5 rides to make the 100km to Perpignan, and the final of which was 80km, il leave the rest unsaid. It was a long and slow journey. But at least we made it. The two guys were unable to make it so took the last 100km by train, which did mean I got to visit 'the centre of the universe' as the train station claimed. Now I have seen everything.