Christmas Eve in Soldeu, Andorra.

24/12/12

It was an interesting way to spend Christmas eve.

We rode into Andorra la Vella which is the main city in Andorra, and it's much like any other city, but surrounded by mountains. It has cops, lots of people, traffic, shops, and parking inspectors. As with any civilised country, if you ride a bike you can just park on the footpath wherever you like. It makes life so easy.

The ride in was very enjoyable as the road has lots of sweeping bends, climbs and descents to make it fun.

Looking down the main drag outside our hotel.

All the roads here are like this.

We wandered around the shops for a while. I was keen on picking up a compact camera for Suzanne to use on the back of the bike. The SLR is a bit heavy and awkward to use with thick gloves on. As Andorra is a tax free haven, everything is so cheap. We looked at a few different cameras, including a Go Pro which I love, but then decided that the SLR would be fine and money would be better spent on our travel budget. It's a worry, we must be starting to become responsible.

A few shops later we found a department store to end all department stores. It was huge and had everything. We walked in through the cosmetics department (don't you just love that guys) and of course had to have a look. I'm glad we did because we found a little something extra for Paige for Christmas. It's on it's way Paige we hope you like it. The staff here are fantastic. When we were looking at Paige's gift, we didn't know exactly how it worked, so a sales person (who spoke no English) came over, pulled out a box, and showed us exactly what to do. Extra helpful and no pressure. She made the sale.

We continued to wander around the shop. 

Take a look at one side of one of the FIVE aisles of chocolates. 

The cheese section was just unbelievable.
This was one of four fridges.

And you need ham.

Suzanne models the latest in hambags.

Then there was the alcohol section.

Check out the Champagne prices girls...

It appears that the actual food part of the supermarket is the only place you can't take your dog. So the supermarket provides "Dog Parking."

...and of course, we stocked up on Kinder Pinguis.

We had a quick bite to eat, did a little shopping for our usual meat and cheese supplies, and some cat food but more on that later, and decided to head back to the hotel.

So why did we buy cat food? Well, there is a woman at the hotel we have nicknamed "Crazy Cat Women". I think she's the chef. She has rescued a stray, somewhat feral cat which now lives in the space between the outer and inner doors of the hotel. (Juliet, you'll be pleased to know that I can pick the cat up after only two nights here.)

We thought about this for the cat,

but it already has a bed.

Mario, the manager of the hotel pays for it's food, but we thought it might like something a little special as a Christmas present. Crazy cat woman was over the moon with the cat food and gave us both huge hugs and kisses.

Mario is a great guy. He is so attentive and has looked after us very well, right down to setting up his computer in the bar to play music, and taking requests.

We ate dinner at hotel again and stayed on for a few drinks. Mario obviously had work to do, so he left the bottle of wine for Suzanne, and the bottle of Baileys for me, on the table. bad idea.

I think we went to bed about eleven, but I'm not sure.

Our Internet access here is intermittent at best, and there is no mobile coverage. So to our family that we've tried to call, sorry we couldn't get through. We miss you all and hope you had a great Christmas.

Au revoir Carcassonne. Hola Soldeu.

23/12/12

We've just had one of the most amazing days even though we only covered about a hundred and fifty kilometres at an average speed of fifty kilometres an hour.

My plan was simple. We leave early in the morning, follow the back roads (avoiding the motorways), and be in Andorra for lunch. I knew we had mountain roads to cover, but had no idea what they were going to be like, or if they would be covered in snow. The last thing I wanted to do was ride through there in the dark.

So we checked out of the hotel at midday, went and visited the walled city, had lunch and made our way out of Carcassonne at about two pm. Allowing for a three hour ride, and an hour stop somewhere, that should put us in Andorra right about six pm when it will be black as the inside of a cow. Perfect. NOT!

The day was made for riding. We got into our gear and I was just a little bit too warm, but I thought I'd be just right later on. We rode out of the hotel under a bright blue sky with lots of sunshine, and warmth. Everything was as it should be.

Our first stop, the walled city in Carcassonne, about a five minute ride away. It was well worth a visit, but like Dubrovnik, the whole ground level is full of shops. It's like a medieval shopping centre. We did find a nice restaurant and enjoyed our lunch sitting in the sunshine. Then it was time to get some riding done.

We left the old city and hit the back roads riding through Limoux, Couiza, Quillan, Belcaire, Ax-les-Thermes, and El Pas de la Casa. I'd like to spend a week in each of these vilages. They all looked like the perfect place to stay. Each village had it's own Christmas market in the square...and all the roads in the area are a blast.

After about an hour on the road we saw a little snow on sides of road. I'm fascinated by this white stuff that falls out of the sky. Remember, I'm from Western Australia and it's a novelty to see rain, let alone snow, so I asked Suzanne too take photos.

Keep this photo in mind when you look at the snow photos further down the page.

A couple of times we came across this strange mist covering some fields, and sometimes the road. We still have no idea what it was or what caused it.

The snow was still patchy.

Then it got interesting. 

The ground had more and more snow covering the further we rode.

Until it was quite heavy. Then I got to do something I've wanted to do for ages. I got to ride in the snow.

It's slippery,

especially with those road tyres on.

OK, time for a coffee stop. We had a break in the middle of nowhere between Belcaire and Ax-les-Thermes. The place was covered in snow.

The Big Mykolajenko Wheel barrow at rest.

I've said it's a good tool, but I'll never love it.

Well, it's beginning to win me over.

With a warm drink in our bellies we pointed the bike toward Andorra. Obviously we'll be skirting around those snow covered mountains in front of us. A few minutes late we reached the summit of the mountain we were on. 

 I think Suzanne is saying "Look Simon,

the sun is going down behind that mountain."

and it was.

There really was a lot of snow now...so much snow in fact that it was time for me to do another thing I've always wanted to do...

I had to have a go at making a snow angel.

Not good enough by a long shot.
I guess that means i just have to keep practising...

I've always wanted to do this and it turned out OK, but when I'd finished the camera memory card was full and we didn't get any decent photos. I'll just have to try again. We'd taken over 500 photos, so no more photos today. 

Now you'd think that when you're in the ski area that you wouldn't go any further up into the mountains wouldn't you. Well, you'd be wrong. We continued to climb winding roads for miles and miles and miles. The speed limit was fifty kilometres an hour, and we weren't speeding. We did pass a few cars though. It was fantastic.

The light was definitely fading but it was still fine.

I'd seen the large, snow capped mountain range in the distance when we left Carcassonne but didn't think for a second we would be riding over it. I thought that was it for the mountains, but no. We kept going up, and up, and up, round hairpin after hairpin. There was no gap in the range to ride through, so we went over the top! And it was bloody high.

It was a surreal feeling riding along a winding mountain road with just enough light to be able to see huge, snow covered  mountains on either side of the road. They were imposing to say the least.

Andorra isn't part of the European Union so you require a visa to enter. As we neared the border I slowed down and approached one of the booths full of uniformed Police. No one even looked at us, and we rode straight through. The funny thing was there was a line up of traffic for miles to leave Andorra. We think a lot of people had been to Andorra for a skiing weekend and were returning home to France. Or maybe because Andorra is tax free, everyone pops over the border to stock up on alcohol, cigarettes, and electrical equipment. Things like a Go Pro Hero digital movie camera for 149 Euros (about $180 AUD)! If we weren't watching our pennies so much I would have had one.

With not far to go we saw a signpost pointing to Andorra, but none of the other traffic was not turning off. We went down the road and it turned out to be a new tunnel, with a toll of six Euros.The locals drive over the top of the pass to save the six Euros. The bonus was that the bike was only three Euros and a bit of change. We might have to go for a ride over the top tomorrow though, or maybe even Christmas Day.

The first town we rode into was Soldeu. As we rode down the main street we had to stop behind a truck, and we were right outside a hotel. I asked Suzanne if she wanted to call it quits for the day and stay here. Suzanne did her usual and went inside to bargain for a room. Now, we are in the snowfields, right across the road from a ski lift (they are still skiing right now under lights), so I'm thinking this hotel probably won't fit our budget. Suzanne walked back out with Mario, who runs the show. Mario showed me where I could enter the garage to park my bike, undercover and secure. Suzanne managed to get us a room on the top floor, with a bath, overlooking the ski fields. But oh boy, did we have to pay for it. It cost the princely sum of FORTY Euros. 

We went down stairs for dinner and enjoyed a scrumptious two course meal, for ten Euros. It looks like Andorra might be the bargain of the trip.

To top it all off, at no time today was I cold. How good a day was that?

When we arrived at the hotel last night it was dark, very dark, so we got a bit of a surprise when we woke up this morning (Christmas Eve) and we found this outside of our hotel window...

They're already skiing and snow boarding.

This will be the first Christmas either of us has spent away from family, and our first without our daughter Paige. That makes us a little sad. We'll think of you all on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Hopefully Skype will be kind to us and we'll be able to catch up that way.

To all our family, our old friends, and all our new friends we've met on this trip:

Merry Christmas - Australia

Merry Christmas - United Kingdom

Gelukkig kerstfeest - Holland

Frohe Weihnachten - Germany

Frohe Weihnachten - Austria

Vesel božič - Slovenia

Sretan Božić - Croatia

Срећан Божић - Montenegro

Gëzuar Krishtlindjet - Albania

Καλά Χριστούγεννα - Greece

Buon Natale - Italy

Frohe Weihnachten - Switzerland

Joyeux Noël - France

¡Feliz Navidad - Spain

عيد ميلاد مجيد Tunisia

Mutlu Noeller - Turkey

З Різдвом - Ukraine

Joyeux Noël - Belgium

Joyeux Noël - Luxembourg
Bon Nadal - Andorra

To everyone, be kind to each other, give the next dog you

see a pat from Suzanne and Simon, and have a bloody

fantastic Christmas. Hope to see you soon.

Goodbye Pezenas, hello Carcassonne.

22/12/12

So our overnight stop in Pezenas turned into a week long stay but we escaped today. It was a great week though, Pezenas is a wonderful place.

Cyril checked us in to the hotel when we arrived but unfortunately it was his day off today and we missed him. Or so we thought. As we packed our bike he appeared and helped us carry our stuff to the garage. It was good to say our goodbyes as Cyril was really kind to us during our stay, he looked after us exceptionally well, even provided some orange juice when we were ill. Thanks Cyril.

Our new mate Cyril out side Hotel Mouliniere.

We couldn't go without a quick look around the markets again. We were hoping that our little pig friend would be there, but unfortunately he wasn't, so Suzanne had to do with cuddling a couple of kittens.

Another new friend.

We climbed on the Big Mykolajenko Wheelbarrow at about 12 with the sat nav set to avoid motorways. We only had 113 km to travel to Carcassonne so we were happy to take our time. We trundled along some picturesque back roads through amazing little villages that probably haven't changed for centuries.

 With weather very similar to the south west of WA, wine grapes are big business around here.

 We rode alongside a canal for quite sometime, and it was full of large boats. Nothing like the canal boats in the UK.

Might have to come back in Spring time. 

 More vines, and snow capped mountains in the background.

Now that's better than any motorway.

As we rode into Carcassonne the main feature of the town was very obvious. It's the old walled city. Apparently this is the largest, complete, walled city in Europe. I can imagine people from here saying "Call that a walled city? This is a walled city!" Oh yeah. We'll be there tomorrow. We did manage to get a photo at night as we looked for a restaurant.

it's a pretty impressive sight as you roll into town.

We rolled up to the hotel we thought we would stay in. No way! It was a really dodgy looking place, next to a motorway, and wasn't that cheap. So we did what any self respecting, motorcycle touring couple would do. We found a bar.

We saw the F1 bar from the road, but had a few problems actually getting to it. After a lap around the block, and a few side streets, I found a tiny little street and turned into it. I was going very slowly, too slowly obviously, because the bike stalled. I think I had every muscle maxed out to hold the bike up as it tried it's hardest to lie down. Suzanne even stuck her arm out against the wall to support us, Thanks Suzette. It's the closest we've come to dropping the bike this trip. Anyway, we found a spot to park, in the Police car park next to the bar. I'm sure they didn't mind, too much.

We sat and ad a few drinks. Yes, mine was coke because I still had some riding to do. 

The F1 bar / cafe. Formula 1 themed,

as the name would suggest. 

Concrete, and bolted to the ground.

In Australia it would still get stolen. 

 Our Mark cracked a mention in the line-up.

Interior decor. 

Suzanne hunts down our bed for the night.

Suzanne searched the web and found an Ibis Hotel, right in town, that was a lot cheaper than the dodgy place we looked at. Score! It's about a ten minute walk to the walled city, and there was a Christmas market across the road. Perfect.

 Christmas markets are big in Europe.

 Lots of stuff for the kids,

and us grown ups.

 This Christmas tree was visible for miles.

 Reindeer rides.

I'm not too sure which one this is.

Maybe Prancer?

 Yummmmm!

 Incredible carousel.

 A mini roller coaster.

 Nutso Reindeer.

The kids loved the mini roller coaster.

Then it was dinner time and we discovered a cheap little cafe a few doors from our hotel. I love Europe. Dogs are treated so well here. You can take your dog everywhere. Cafes, restaurants, hotel stays, whatever. It's very civilised, unlike our draconian laws at home. I'd rather share a cafe with most dogs than some kids and people I know. 

Dinner guest at the next table.

We were both still a bit seedy with our colds so we had another early night and were back in the hotel by ten. We then had desert. Yup, you guessed it. Kinder Pinguis.

Oh no! I've just realised we've run out.  We'll have to go shopping first thing tomorrow.