Adorin' Andorra

Friday, August 30, 2019
Andorra la Vella, Andorra la Vella, Andorra
We haven't hit a new country in a while- not since April, when we visited Vatican City, which, let's face it, is really only a country by technicality. Sorry, Popes.
So for Matt's birthday, I decided to get him what any adoring spouse would give: A new country! And since we are just three hours from the tiny microstate of Andorra, then goddammit he's getting him sum birthday Andorra.
If you're like most people, you have no fucking idea what or where Andorra is. And that's OK! I mean really...I'm not sure Andorra knows either. This is a teeny landlocked country, shoved in between the borders of France and Spain, up in the Pyrenees Mountains. It is one of just five countries in the entire world with no airport, and no train stations. (Also: The other four airportless countries are the fellow European microstates of Monaco, San Marino, Liechtenstein, and our good friend Vatican City. News you can use!) The only way in is by road, or if you're car-less like the Joneses, a three-hour coach ride from Barcelona.
Who wouldn't want to spend their birthday on a three-hour coach ride through the Pyrenees?
We arrived in tiny Andorra la Vella, the country's capital, a bit before noon, and checked into our little hostal. Andorra is known as the place Spaniards go to ski in the winter, and shop year-round in its endless miles of tax-free shops. Since the Joneses don't participate in either sport, we weren't quite certain what activities would divert us for the weekend. But in simple pursuit of another country to the list (#74 for me!), we hadn't expected Andorra to be so beautiful, and so very different from Barcelona's terrain. Not only was the mountain temperature fifteen degrees cooler, but the town looked Alpine. There is even a lazy mountain river running the length of the town.  It was just bizarre; in the midst of Catalunya and Southern France, there is a weird Swiss hybrid just hanging out in the Pyrenees.
We spent the afternoon exploring the small Old Town, and Andorra's famed Shopping Mile.  The Old Town runs right up against, and in some places just UP, the Pyrenees mountains. The architecture is solid grey stone, and it reminded us of Washington State's Leavenworth...though unlike that town, this wasn't contrived. But it certainly felt like a Disneyfied version of a town.
We don't shop, so the Shopping Mile wasn't too interesting. But we do eat, and Andorra features a cuisine mix of Catalunyan, French, and Basque cooking. We had a fabulous lunch  of tiny pintxos at a Basque bar's sunny terrace.
For Matt's birthday dinner, we had late reservations at a riverside restaurant. One thing about Andorra: They sell lots of Groupons! So we had purchased a Groupon for a three-course meal with cava at Buda Espai, a ritzy Andorran bistro on the edge of town. It was unexpectedly delicious; Matt had gazpacho and lamb, and I tried the Andorran specialty "trinxat," which is potatoes and leeks cooked with lardons, and enjoyed a poached salmon. The birthday boy was treated to a whisky tart for his birthday cake. We definitely needed the long riverside stroll back to our guesthouse to digest all that food and cava.
Tomorrow we explore the natural thermal spas of Andorra!

Comments

Michael Sheldon
2019-09-02

Happy Birthday Matt!

2025-02-07

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