Nordic El Tarter

... of those places actually had what I want, but there’s a good chance. The only thing that can make me feel better now is logic, so I pour it on thick, mostly about how things average out. I just booked a room in LA for three days two weeks from now @$50/day, standard conveniences and all, something almost unheard of these days. And as if things couldn’t get any worse for this silly pathetic little hotel episode, then the ...

we've had some problems getting to this stage, and so haven't been able to keep the blog up to date. So far everything is now working out fine, and we have arrived on site to be able to set up in the light, and the campsite has electricity, so we are ok to get written up today. Hopefully ...

... 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:

... 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.

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 ...

... 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!

... hoping for a bar to magically appear before me. It just didn't happen. I ended up drinking a can of Portuguese Sagres in a small café just up from the bus station. That was it for Andorra really. There's not a great deal to say about the place, the only vaguely interesting thing about it is that it's a joint Principality governed, technically, by the President of France and a Spanish bishop. That's the only thing of note about Andorra- and it's not even that entertaining. I ...

... 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 ...

... couch still snoring. I find the kids can speak basic English so help teach them how to count and colours in English. They are bright kids. Today is the best day. Snow day, and what better way to start a snow day than a trip sledging. I keenly invite the kids to come along too and we find ourselves climbing a 100 metre long hill just behind their house. Perfect. I step forward first offering to take one of the kids down with me. A sledge with a ...

... 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.