Buenos días y feliz Sábado a todo el mundo! It's been a really long time since I've blogged and I intend on getting back into it full-swing. I've had a rough last month or so and I want to thank everyone who has been there for me and supported me through everything. I have such a supportive friend group here in Spain and I've felt so much love from across the ocean as well.
Anyway, we just got back from a school trip to Barcelona and Andorra and I'm going to try to get all my blog posts done today! It's funny how suddenly having even slow internet here at school is better than hotel internet where we've been.
Our first day we drove all the way from Valencia to the tiny country of Andorra on the border of France and Spain, nestled in the Pyrenees. Basically the country consists of a ski town, two valleys, and a few slopes. It wasn't too cold when we arrived and it looked to have been awhile since snow fell, but the peaks were still snowy and the town was still full of people walking around in snow pants, carrying boots and polls and boards.
Other than skiing, Andorra's main attraction is the thermal spa, which uses no "artificial" heating and consists of several large, warm pools, a hot tub or two, a "roman bath," and several sauna rooms. After several hours of free time to find food, we met up and walked a few blocks to the spa where we were ushered in and told we needed to be quiet and speak in soft voices. Once inside we realized that this was really more of a suggestion as children ran past yelling in Spanish and French. Instead of lifeguards (which we thought the place needed) there were "shushers' spread throughout the pools attempting to hush small children and even adults who spoke too loudly. It was a nice idea but didn't work too well since it was sort of like an indoor water park.
My favorite part was the outdoor pool area. A lazy river floated from the indoor pool, through a small doorway to a whirlpool under the stars. Shannon and Justin and I went out after the crowds died down and swam around the lazy river which we had to ourselves. It was dark out and you could see the stars above and look down on the little ski town below where people rested and recuperated for another day on the slopes. The water was just warm enough that even in the cold winter air you could float around and enjoy the stillness of the evening. I can see why after a whole day of skiing it would be nice to go for a swim to relax.
I don't actually have any pictures of Andorra but here's a few I found online. Each image is hyperlinked to the original website.
Anyway, we just got back from a school trip to Barcelona and Andorra and I'm going to try to get all my blog posts done today! It's funny how suddenly having even slow internet here at school is better than hotel internet where we've been.
Our first day we drove all the way from Valencia to the tiny country of Andorra on the border of France and Spain, nestled in the Pyrenees. Basically the country consists of a ski town, two valleys, and a few slopes. It wasn't too cold when we arrived and it looked to have been awhile since snow fell, but the peaks were still snowy and the town was still full of people walking around in snow pants, carrying boots and polls and boards.
Other than skiing, Andorra's main attraction is the thermal spa, which uses no "artificial" heating and consists of several large, warm pools, a hot tub or two, a "roman bath," and several sauna rooms. After several hours of free time to find food, we met up and walked a few blocks to the spa where we were ushered in and told we needed to be quiet and speak in soft voices. Once inside we realized that this was really more of a suggestion as children ran past yelling in Spanish and French. Instead of lifeguards (which we thought the place needed) there were "shushers' spread throughout the pools attempting to hush small children and even adults who spoke too loudly. It was a nice idea but didn't work too well since it was sort of like an indoor water park.
My favorite part was the outdoor pool area. A lazy river floated from the indoor pool, through a small doorway to a whirlpool under the stars. Shannon and Justin and I went out after the crowds died down and swam around the lazy river which we had to ourselves. It was dark out and you could see the stars above and look down on the little ski town below where people rested and recuperated for another day on the slopes. The water was just warm enough that even in the cold winter air you could float around and enjoy the stillness of the evening. I can see why after a whole day of skiing it would be nice to go for a swim to relax.
I don't actually have any pictures of Andorra but here's a few I found online. Each image is hyperlinked to the original website.
Andorra during the warmer months.
The spa from the outside with the outdoor lazy river and whirlpool.
The main pool inside with several warm pools above.
