On Dec. 12th Randi and I drove into the Pyrenees. We went to a tiny country called Andorra. Ever heard of it ? Me neither. It is right in between France and Spain, in the Pyrenees. I had not heard of it until a few days before we left.
We met up with our French friends Benoit and Nadine, who were there with like 8 other cousins/neices of Nadine. They went there to ski early on Saturday. We arrived in the late afternoon. We took our time driving up and stopping along the way at the Grotte du Mas-d'Azil. It's the only cave in Europe that you can drive through part of it...kinda crazy.
I didn't wanna ski because of a number of possible reasons (please choose one)...
1. I didn't have all my custom ski gear with me
2. didn't have enough time to 'hit the slopes'
3. I hurt my shoulder recently
4. it's very expensive
5. There is not enough snow for me
6. I was not feeling very good that morning
7. I suck at skiing
I choose to go with #3 but certainly #7 plays into my decision quite a bit. The last time I went, at Lutsen Mountain, I realized that I don't like falling down all day and told myself not to ever bother going again.
Anyway, we had some fun hanging out at this 'mom&pop' bed and breakfast drinking all night. Dinner was included with the room. We all sat at a long table there and discussed mostly how funny it was to hear us speak French or them to speak English.
In the morning we were hoping to drive a little farther up the into the mountains and visit some old town there to do some Christmas shopping. Everyone else were planning to drive straight home...no more skiing because there wasn't enough snow the day before. However, we got up to near blizzard conditions...and...I had a flat tire! Nice. But I'm glad I had it there. I had like 4 French guys helping me change it (I'm sure there's a joke there). They were really very nice. Although, I'm sure there was some enjoyment in seeing the American with a flat. Anyway, we drove directly away from the mountains and back home. I never saw so many cars pulled over and putting chains on their tires. I had to drive slower all the way home but was just glad to get off the mountain safely.
Maybe not the most exciting weekend but we were glad to get another glimpse of the Pyrenees and cultivate our friendship with Benoit and Nadine further. We are starting to know their kids and extended family now as well. They are all very good people and we really cherish their friendship.
