Deadly serious

Ok I've hardly been to enough to claim this is the worst but our final stop at Barcelona airport was horrendous. The air conditioning was poor, seats were lacking, there were virtually no shops and two places to eat. It's the worst place to be stuck with a two hour delay. People were queuing and sitting everywhere. It was a Twilight Zone. There's probably a part of hell that is built just like this that they send arms dealers and holiday bloggers. I'll check out Dante sometime. But it's a nice reminder that the holiday is over and being home is not that sad! 

This year we booked everything through Easyjet. It was easier that way and I like them more than other budget airlines. But they don't have the best punctuality. Our delay started as one hour but ended up being one or two more. But at least the phone app allowed us to watch our plane make the journey from London to pick us up. Eventually. 

Despite being in the middle of one of Europe's great mountain ranges, and one that pretty much defines Spain's economy being cut off from the rest of the continent, we saw surprisingly little of it. OK for our one day we saw nothing but mountains. But it was one valley and then the road in and out. But approaching Barcelona we caught sight of some stunning formations that just beg to be climbed. By someone who can climb. I can easily understand why people want to risk their lives being among these almost divine structures. But then again I'm also curious what it's like to run over hot coals. 

It's some months later that I find some images left on my phone that I forgot to upload. So this is our route back on our little minibus, the official public transport to the airport in neighbouring Spain. Given the terrorist attack in Barcelona two weeks later it colours our memory a little but as a Londoner it's not unusual. Our memory is also somewhat coloured by the subsequent referendum and violence but here the news is more relevant as Andorra is after all a Catalan outpost in the Pyrenees. They have their independence apart from a Spanish Bishop and French President as co heads of state. That's Europe for you!

And then goodbye to the people of the valley of Andorra. Although with so many Andorrans being immigrants (that's of the Spanish and French) you can't really call them a people so much as residents. It's been an odd brief visit. We can tick another country off the list but can't really say we got a load of the culture. If Barcelona was swamped by tourism, Andorra survives by tourism. This tiny country has no other reason to exist (economically) except to support a huge tourist and duty free culture. Of course in winter the snow redefines that tourism. But it's been a fascinating visit nonetheless. I've always had a curiosity about this country from the first time I saw it on the map as a young child but now 30 years or so later I suspect the country isn't what it was then. As we depart on our bus we snake through the valley leaving behind one big 'V' after another.

And goodbye to our Andorra hotel. It's been brief but comfortable. Our room was large even if the view (of a wall) wasn't much. Not that we had time to gaze outside. With our bags all packed I rushed out to get stamps to send some postcards, but after 45 minutes running around the city I had to give up. Many people, including police, try to point me in the right direction but none could be found. It didn't help I didn't know the local word for stamp. I remember a similar experience on the last day in New York, which was also a Sunday. Not a great day to use the postal service. At least there I did finally send them. Here I just pack my postcards and carry them home. 

And so we wake for our final breakfast. It's always a bittersweet moment when the relief that we can get some proper rest at home is mixed with that sadness it's all over for another year, at least. I don't know if it's age (in my case anyway), the colds, or just a busy schedule that made this the most exhausting so far. I order my scrambled eggs and pile up all I can for the last time. They even had soya milk here, the second place to have it, so enjoyed a bowl of chocolate cereal. It's always way too much, but we have a lot of travelling to do today before we're home.