Road trippin’ is one of my favorite things to do if there is good music, I’m in great company, and the drive is just as exciting as the destination. Or as was the case with the road trip I took from Girona, Spain to Andorra this past September, the drive is MORE exciting than the destination.
This whole expedition came together at the very last minute, like the morning of, and yet I don’t think it could have turned out any better had there been more planning involved. For me, the spontaneous and serendipitous manner in which our crew of four joined forces to take on Andorra the morning after TBEX is what made it one of the most memorable road trips I’ve ever been on. That and because the Pyrenees Mountains under blue skies was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
So this idea to go to Andorra while I was in Girona turned out to be way more cool the second I learned my girls Casey from G Adventures and Kiersten aka The Blonde Abroad wanted to join me. I shudder to think what kind of trip it would have been without them. And what kind of trip it would have been without Ian!
Bless Ian, co-founder of Travel Massive, for chatting us up and jumping on board last minute at breakfast the morning we were leaving . We literally wouldn’t have gone anywhere without him as it turned out there were no automatics available and the only babe amongst us who knew how to drive a manual was not old enough to rent a car. Plus, those roads turned out to be pretty scary at several points, so scary that I, for one, would have probably turned the car around an hour or so in and said “Forget you, Andorra”.
There are buses leaving from Girona Airport that go directly to Andorra. They cost €28 one-way and €48 roundtrip, but you don’t have the luxury of being able to stop whenever and wherever you want when you have your own car. That was the best part of the entire trip, especially since I was feeling a little under the weather from too much party in Costa Brava. Let’s just say there were a couple of close calls in the backseat…
Cannot for the life of me figure out the name of this little village below, but it was adorable and just one of the random places we decided to stop off for the hell of it. I’d very much like to own a little house here where I can retreat on those days I just want to get away from the world. Can you hear those cow bells in the wind? [UPDATE! Thank you David from Barcelona – Vallfogona de Ripollès is the name of the town]
The distance from Girona to Andorra is about 150 kilometers and was meant to only take 3 1/2 hours, but it felt like it took 6 1/2 with so many curvy roads where you can’t (or at least shouldn’t) go faster than 25 mph. We basically arrived right before sunset in Andorra La Vella, capital of the 6th smallest nation in Europe. We were starving and mentally exhausted from the intense drive, but hey, WE MADE IT! My 34th country in Europe!
Now, I don’t really know how else to put this but….Andorra La Vella was just straight up bizarre and to say I was disappointed would be an understatement. Granted we were only there 2 hours and only walked around the main streets of its capital, but still, we all agreed that it felt like we were in the Twilight Zone. Everywhere we went people were staring at us, like really creepy, making us feel totally unwelcome and me confused. Isn’t Andorra ones of those places that sees a lot of international day trippers? They must all go to San Marino or Monaco in September.
Or maybe the cat has been let out of the bag that shopping there is actually not that much cheaper after all. Whoever started that rumor should be slapped, especially the one about bargain electronics. Yeah, everything is “duty free”, but it also costs more and for an American like myself, paying in Euros doesn’t make it any better.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to dissuade anyone from visiting Andorra. Maybe September is just not a good month to go and once ski season starts the place turns into a total winter wonderland with banging après-ski scene. Who knows.
Seriously, who knows? Please tell me. I definitely have to give the place another chance because tourism is one of Andorra’s most important industries. Ten million visitors a year can’t be out of their minds, can they?
Regardless of how disappointed I was with Andorra this time around, the Pyrenees turned out to be the true highlight. All loaded up in the Ibiza – the entire journey through those mountains and quality time with my temporary family of four defined the trip much more than where we ended up. I will be back, mark my words. No idea when it will be, but one thing is for sure – I hope I arrive via a white Ibiza chariot again.
Ever been on an epic road trip like this? What songs were on your playlist? Cool how musical memories can be just as powerful as visual ones, no?
10 Comments
Kiersten
January 28, 2013 at 11:25 pmI’m so glad you wrote about this. The whole experience started to feel like I dream! This actually happened. What an awesome trip. Minus the actual destination. Ha!
Larissa
January 29, 2013 at 12:30 amI had to as it was just like a dream. Miss you :*
Shaun
January 29, 2013 at 4:00 pmThat is so weird. I’ve always been curious about Andorra… Do they speak French or Spanish?
I’ve done some epic road trips before and the company makes all the difference. Always about the journey as much if not more than the destination.
Looks like SO much fun!
Larissa
January 30, 2013 at 12:47 amIt was A LOT of fun. The official language there is Catalan though I think French and Spanish are also widely understood.
Jennifer
January 30, 2013 at 2:05 pmAndorra is one of those countries I need to check off since visiting every European country is on our bucket list. Sorry to hear it was so disappointing and unfriendly!
Larissa
January 30, 2013 at 7:53 pmI’m sorry too, really wish I had nice things to say about the place. Still had an amazing time though so nothing was lost. Try to go during ski season, I think there’s probably a lot more going on then.
David from Barcelona
February 1, 2013 at 1:44 pmHi gypsy!
The little village you stopped at is called “Vallfogona de Ripollès”, which is one of the many gorgeous towns in the Ripollès area. Sant Joan de les Abadesses, Camprdon, Ripoll (with its magnificent Monastery), Ribes de Freser o Queralbs (gate to the great Nuria Valley) are worth seeing. Lots of history there, as it is one of the birthplaces of Catalonia. Check some pics out and you’ll regret not having visited it more deeply!
As for Andorra, the duty-free reclaim is one thing of the past, as prices are now more similar accross the border. I remember as a child people coming back from Andorra with loads of tobacco, alcohol, perfume, sport shoes, electronic devices and even cheese (!). It used to be also a fiscal paradise, so a lot of people from both France and Spain opened a bank account there. With the glory of the past gone, nowadays most of the people just go there to ski.
The official language is Catalan, but as a crossroad between France and Spain, French and Spanish are also spoken. As there is a big portuguese colony living in Andorra, Portuguese is common too. This “in-between” character can also be noticed in the fact that although Andorra is not in the Eurozone, they use Euro and have no official currency (time ago they used both francs and pesetas). The country is even a co-principate, being head of state both the president of the Fench Republic and the bishop of La Seu d’Urgell (a catalan city).
Well I’ve been reading your blog for quite a time now, I hope apporting this information I can thank you somehow the good times I’ve spent!
Larissa
February 1, 2013 at 9:47 pmHi David,
Wow! See – this is why blogging is so awesome. Vallfogona de Ripollès, now I will never forget! We of course drove through many others that I failed to make a note of. Camprdon and Ripoll were two places I kept seeing signs for, but whether we went through them or not I don’t know. Would need an expert like you to identify where some of my other photos that didn’t make this post ;)
Thanks so much for all the great information. You can read some facts on Wikipedia, but it’s never as interesting or effective as when you hear it from someone who has experienced it first hand. In a way that kind of makes me sad, sounds like Andorra has really gone down hill since you were a kid. I’m really curious why – does it have to do with the fact that for example France and Spain are both using the euro? Did their tax laws get more strict? I was going to bring up their banking claim to fame, but it would have just been more speculation as I know nothing about it. Very interesting about no official currency, speaking of which (and of reading things on Wikipedia), just saw that in July 2013 they will be allowed to start issuing euros. Go Andorra!
I definitely need to go back and check the ski scene, explore outside of the capital. I just remembered I have a friend who used to work there some winters, think I will send this post to her and see if she’s got anything to add. Really cool to hear you’ve been enjoying my blog for a while, thanks for finally saying hello :)
Martyn
March 18, 2013 at 6:48 amI just stumbled on your blog (via the Transnistria entry, since I’ve become obsessed with the place after visiting it) and am already hooked! Anyway, on the topic of Andorra, as several people have mentioned, ski season is a great time of year to go. Last March, I was in Soldeu, which is closer to the French border, and is a great place to base your day of skiing from. (A ticket for one of the Grandvalira base areas actually lets you visit all of the others, as well. You just can’t use the express lifts at any base other than where the ticket was purchased.) And, I agree that Andorra la Vella is, in a word, weird.
Also, while the dual currencies may no longer be around, due to both France and Spain now using the euro, there still exists a very interesting postal setup! Andorra does not have its own postal system, but both France’s La Poste and Spain’s Correos operate in the country. Both systems maintain their own post offices, issue their own stamps, and have their own mailboxes (usually right next to each other). Thus, if you want to mail some postcards and buy your stamps anywhere other than at one of the post offices, you should double check which system issued the stamp in order to later drop the card into the correct box! (Stamps purchased in France or Spain won’t be accepted, by the way.) I actually always mail two nearly identical post cards, one through each system, from Andorra in order to see which gets to its destination first. (The French one always wins!) Interestingly enough, mail within Andorra is free through either system.
Larissa
July 9, 2013 at 3:24 amHi Martyn! So sorry it too me so long to respond to this, I totally missed it. Really happy to hear I’m not the only one who thought the capital to be a tad “weird” :) Very interesting about the postal system and something I would have thought about utilizing just for the novelty of it had we had more time there. For now I will settle with a pizza at a dive bar and some macaroons from the nicest McDonald’s I’ve been to in my life. Good to know about Soldeau as I will definitely hope to get back in the future for some skiing.