Andorra - Duty frees and, er, dinosaurs?

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Driving through the French Pyrenees to Andorra is incredible. The roads are full of switchbacks and the views are amazing, especially when the driving rain relents and you can actually see where you are going! Actually, we were quite lucky in that there were many storms around but only a few of them directly affected us. At times the road was exhilarating and a joy to drive on. As we crossed into Andorra, the customs officers seemed happy to ignore us. Then we faced a choice - drive through the mountain pass where a few kilometres could take a few hours or pay €6.60 to drive straight through the tunnel. We chose the latter and were soon finding our hotel, the Vall Ski,on the outskirts of Soldeu.

Andorra. Think of ski slopes, miles of fresh snow and pistes full of people enjoying themselves, duty free bars full of those seeking some fun apres-ski. Think again! This was out of season with only a handful of hikers around and most bars and restaurants closed for the summer. We were quite disappointed really. It's not difficult to see what it would be like in the winter but Soldeu has little to offer for an action packed summer break other than its incredible views and chilly fresh air.

In the evening we drove into Soldeu itself and failed to find anywhere we fancied for dinner. It seems most visitors at this time of year are on half board packages and don't have such choices to make. We then drove a little deeper into Andorra to El Tarter. The shops there seemed to be full of pork products, strange liqueurs and bizarre statues of exotic animals, not to mention the dinosaurs! We found a place called The Grill opposite a large nonchalant looking panda which was cosy, cheap and more importantly, the food they served was delicious. Posh burgers all round with a bottle of wine to wash it down.

The chill in the air prevented us from walking around at night so who knows how cold it must get in the winter. We had a drink and relaxed in the hotel bar, now full of a British coach tour. And that was our Andorran experience. Perhaps the capital, Andorra-de-la-Valle, would be a better bet in the summer, but we had just popped in to see what it was like and to add another country to our list. The next morning we had a long drive ahead to Bordeaux so we took the costly tunnel again and headed back into France, pleased to be travelling out of Andorra and not into the country because there was sooooooo much traffic going in.

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Comments

[Kika]

Dinos!
Nothing wrong with dinos :). I'd be worried about the panda though.