Andorra

Ski Trip to Andorra with some of Kevin's work colleagues! Andorra is nestled in the Pyrenees and sandwiched between the borders of Spain and France. It was fun to get away from the city for the weekend and check out a new country.

Friday, January 24

I ran some errands in the morning (in preparation for our new apartment, which I'll get to in a later post) before we packed up and walked to meet at Kevin's colleague's (Alex) home to drive to Andorra. In our car, it was me, Kevin, Alex, and our friend Luigi. Kevin and I hadn't met Alex until this afternoon, and I really enjoyed our conversations with him (and Luigi too of course!) along our 2.5-3 hour drive to Andorra. 

Most of the drive was highway along scenic country side with some mountains every here and there. We passed through a few charming small towns and eventually we crossed the border into Andorra. Crossing the border was a little anti-climatic, and no, we did not get our passports stamped...

After crossing the border, the infrastructure totally changed. The highway/street was lined with commercial buildings, malls, and bright lights. Alex (who is Catalan and has grown up skiing in Andorra) gave us some brief history how Andorra used to be a banking hub and a tax haven, meaning many people worked in Andorra and lived in Spain and that many people would often cross the border to go shopping. Though I'm not sure how much this is still the case, the commercial buildings and lights certainly are still prominent.

We drove through Andorra la Vella and past lots of shops and billboards. Kevin and I were delighted to see one for Popeye's and therefore had to explain the "Popeye's Chicken Sandwich" craze to two Europeans who had never even heard of Popeye's lol. Eventually, we made it to La Massana, the town where our ski resort was located. There was not a lick of snow on the ground at our hotel... so I was really intrigued by how the mountains would be. We got checked into our rooms (Hotel Magic) and had a buffet dinner in the hotel where we got to meet more of the colleagues on the trip. After diner, we had a night cap at the hotel pub, made plans for the next day, and got some rest. 

Saturday, January 25

Our day started with a buffet breakfast followed by picking up our ski rental equipment. This was my first "ski-in/ski-out" experience, so we walked to the ski lift and were on the mountain at Pal Arinsal resort in 10 minutes or less. This was only my 2nd time skiing, so this time, I opted for a ski lesson and our friend Daniel joined me while Kevin went off on his own. 

Our instructor was from Argentina, and most of the lesson was in Spanish. Most of my morning was spent learning the basics... it was a lot of "French-Fry" which was "Paralelo" and "Pizza" which was "Cuña". We did this for about 3 hours before breaking for lunch and meeting up with the rest of the crew. After lunch, Daniel and I joined up with Veronica and Ivan and tackled the bunny slopes a few more times before graduating to the only green at the resort.

We did the green several times and I started to gain a little confidence and maybe even enjoy myself a little bit. We stayed until close and then came back to the hotel to get cleaned up. A group of us took a walk around town before we met everyone back at the hotel for buffer dinner. After dinner, we grabbed some drinks at the pub and Alex taught us a Spanish/Catalan card game, "La Podrida". 

Church of Saint Ascylus and Saint Victoria

La Podrida and tiny cards

Sunday, January 26

We had a little bit later of a start today, but after our buffet breakfast, we were on our way to the mountain. The weather today was colder and rainier, so it didn't make for the greatest skiing. I completed my second 3-hour ski lesson and grabbed lunch with Daniel after it ended. 

Once we finished up, Daniel and I went back to the green run, which was significantly more icy than the day before. We skied it once and it was not as enjoyable as it was the day before. Kevin joined us and after we skied it again, I realized I wasn't having fun and I was ready to be done for the day. I ran into Veronica and Ivan on the way back and after we got cleaned up, we met up with Kevin, dropped off our ski equipment, and took a stroll around La Massana. 

Ivan, Veronica, and Kevin in town

A few pics of La Massana

Before heading back to Barcelona, we met up with more people from the group at a cute, cozy creperie and had dinner.  After we finished our crepes, we grabbed our things and drove back to Barcelona. Even though skiing was a flop for me, skiing in Andorra was really affordable (compared to the US), so I was really glad that allowed me to give it another try. Overall, I still had such a fun weekend meeting and getting to know some of Kevin's colleagues and checking another country off the list! 

Coziest, little creperie chalet