Driving to Andorra, I'm sad that we missed out on stopping to see Valencia, but as I didn't even open that section of the Lonely Planet I can't get too upset. We also skipped Barcelona, in the Catalonia region, although I've been there before (see this post). Here they speak Catalan. Since 1983 the law has been to protect and extend the use of Catalan and some what equalise its use compared to Spanish. It's like a different country with partly due to the language difference but everything seems more stuck in the past and even more laid back. The pale terracotta buildings and green landscape makes this an area I would like to return to.
 
It's a long drive from Javea - 7+ hours, after Valencia, and avoiding the motorway I was lumbered with a single carriageway for a couple of hours . We passed the time playing spot the prostitute as they hang out along the road side often sitting on plastic chairs waiting for passing lorries!

After stopping at Montblanc (I literally saw this on the map and wanted to stop so I could clock a geocache there!) the views heading down towards Nalec (nearing the border with Andorra) consist of green hills with a blue hazy backdrop. The land is totally flat as you head down and across the Iberian plate until you see the Pyrenees foot hills, its quite a sight.

My heart was sinking as I watched the temperature drop and the rain clouds in the distance, knowing we would lose the double figures soon and have to dig the fleeces out again :(.

Entering Andorra is straightforward, and its not as cold as I expected.There is an abundance of petrol stations and car shops just after crossing the border and in the southern part of the capital, Andorra la Vella . 

Petrol is cheaper here than in Spain and we knowingly arrived with the intention of topping up before entering France, which is more expensive than Spain.

With a population of just under 90,000 and covering a space of just 468km2 this is one of the smallest countries in the world.

Andorra is simply for ... shopping and skiing! The former is tax free and with a town that has approx 2000 shops its hard not to come here and spend your time doing exactly that. So we took advantage of a couple of hours to make some purchases and replace some of the items stolen in Spain!

Heading north after the centre, the valleys become less crowded and there are cute chalet style buildings on the mountain side.

We stopped off at an amazing supermarket to stock up on supplies and it turned out to have samples of salami, ham and chorizo to try before you buy... and then I found the equivalent with the cheeses - heaven!

One thing to note about Andorra, are the crazy drivers. They race round hairpin bends without a care in the world and with such tiny roads on uneven surfaces I really didn't enjoy having the car here!

We were of course only stopping for the night so headed off for France via the highest pass in the Pyrenees, at 2408 metres... it was very cold there!