Blogs from Andorra, Europe - page 5

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 ... read more

Woolly says - We waved a regretful goodbye to El’s Pratt Village. Tea last night was excellent, using the 11 Euro menu (approximately £9.90GBP) I helped Ian out with his cannelloni starter, chicken main and toffee mousse. Jo seemed to be struggling to finish her garlic prawns and perch main so it was only fair to help her as well, no chance with her toffee mousse, it was gone before I batted an eyelid. If you’re heading towards Tarragona I would definitely recommend staying at this site. We started heading into the foothills of the Pyrenees, the scenery was amazing and as every twist and turn in the road revealed another stunning view things just got better and better. Passing lush green fields separated by lines of scarlet poppies we could see the real mountains getting ... read more

Geo: 12.0998, -68.9293The ABC islands - Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao, also known as the Lesser Antilles, are all part of the Netherlands, though they seem to function as independent nations. The Dutch influence definitely lends a unique atmosphere to the place, especially when combined with the fact that it's a Caribbean island just off the coast of Venezuela. Sitting on the Punda waterfront in downtown Curacao, it's striking how reminiscent it is of Amsterdam's canals and architecture, except that here it isn't grey and dreary, and the buildings are painted in vibrant Caribbean colours. At times it also feels as if you're at a conference at the UN, with the variety of languages spoken in the streets, which include Dutch, English, Spanish, and Papiamento, a creole language that seems to be heavily-influenced by Spanish and Portuguese. ... read more

18thJune 2012 – 23rd June 2012 After a thunderstorm last night and a strange bird that sort of sang all night long we awoke to a fine sunny day. Nearly ran over a pair of lagartos that were lazing in the road, but apart from that, an uneventful journey on the twisty N322 until we reached Balazote, where we picked up some nice straight roman roads and drove across the huge plains of wheat, olive trees and grapevines. Stopped at Tarazona de la Mancha to find a PO and get some shopping and found it to be a very pleasant place, with all roads leading to a central square and church and surrounded by wooden balconied buildings with arches underneath. We stopped at a campsite in Venta de la Contreras, which was down a ... read more

My adventures in Andorra and Carcassonne began with a cheap flight from Manchester. I landed in Girona, Spain and diligently waited the next morning for one of only two buses per day to take me to Andorra. There was no internet site and no pre-booking so I just had to hope a seat was available. I was in luck and spent the next 4 hours on a bus ride through the Spanish countryside and up into the mountains of the Pyrenees mountains. I stayed for two nights in the Cisco Hotel, right in the heart of the medieval section of Andorra la Vella. The first day I went for a great hike around a path that encircled the entire valley. I saw some cool buildings and bridges along the way and had a fancy tapas style ... read more