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Spain - France - Andorra

28 January 2011 • Travel time: with 19 august 2009 on 29 august 2009
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Advantages of the hotel:

- delicious food in the restaurant;

- remoteness from the bulk of hotels;

- regular high-quality cleaning of the room;

- intelligent and friendly staff;

- located in a quiet, peaceful place;

- located closer to the railway station than most other hotels (there is no noise from the railway);

- for some tourists (including us): few Russians.

Hotel cons:

- far from the beach;

- no soundproofing;

- lack of parking for the car;

- for some tourists: no Russian-speaking staff.

Finally! A dream come true about a trip to Spain. I have long wanted to visit this beautiful country, but somehow it did not work out for various reasons. However, such an opportunity finally presented itself, which my wife and I did not fail to take advantage of, despite the crisis and pig flu, which at that time were very actively frightened in the media.

By the way, his wife officially appeared only recently, just a few days before the trip we had a wedding ceremony, so we had a real honeymoon trip.


We rested at the Balmes 3 * hotel from 19.08. 09 to 29.08. 09 in Calella. Connoisseurs of the Spanish language know how to pronounce it, but for those who are not friends with the language of Cervantes, I inform you that it is pronounced as something between “calella” and “calella” (in the future I will stick to the first version of the Russian spelling). This glorious town is located on the Costa del Meresme (this is right behind the Costa Brava to the south). The city of Calella should not be confused with the city of Calella de Palafrugell, which is already located on the Costa Brava.

I will not describe the details of the flight, because everything is quite standard here: registration, customs control, passport control, shmon, dutik, in which something tasty and fun is bought so as not to get bored during the flight.

This time we flew "Udder". Nothing like that, no worse than Saira, I must say, and dinner is even better. In short, we flew without any problems in 4 hours with a penny. At the airport, however, had some time to wait for luggage. Then the information about our flight disappeared on the scoreboard next to the conveyor, which did not cause much enthusiasm among the passengers. However, after some time, our luggage was nevertheless safely unloaded, and it was on the same conveyor. Yes, even in the voucher and on the return ticket, one digit of the wife's passport number was incorrectly indicated, which caused us some concern, but there were no problems with this.

We were met by a girl from Terramar Tour, a partner of our operator Vremya Tour in Spain. She had a list of tourists, which also contained some confusion with surnames, which, by the way, also affected us. The joke is that both of us were recorded under the maiden name of my wife, although it was she, on the contrary, who took mine.


It's just that the border guard hasn't changed yet. Then they “lost” two more tourists and began to look for them, but then it turned out that they were still there, but under a different name. The delay as a result of this incident, however, turned out to be small, and after a while the bus safely left the airport to deliver tourists to hotels. On the way, the “transfer guide” (the same girl who met us; that’s what they call themselves) handed out envelopes with information about the proposed excursions to everyone (for example, an excursion to the Frog House cost 51 e##she (sorry, they don’t allow me to write here the name of this currency in its style) from one adult and 35.5 e###i from a child under 10 years old, to Andorra - 65 and 55, a survey to Barcelona - 39 and 27.5, and to Montserrat - 41 and 27 e### ev, respectively) and asked everyone to write down who should meet their "hotel guide" at what time, as well as the phone numbers of these same guides.

We were supposed to meet with our "hotel guide" named Andrey at the Volga Hotel on the same day at 18.30. However, either the “hotel guide” didn’t show up on time, or the “transfer guide” messed up something, or we misunderstood something, but we never met Andrei (he, however, later called us on phone, more on that later).

We were lucky that our hotel was the first on the way from the airport, so the journey took about an hour, if not less. True, they dropped us off about 150 meters from the hotel, because otherwise it would be difficult for the bus to make its way through the narrow streets with one-way traffic. After dropping us off, the "transfer guide" pointed out where the hotel was and asked if we spoke languages. Just in case, I clarified whether Spanish would be suitable : D, to which the guide gladly (no need to accompany me to the hotel and act as an interpreter) answered that more than.

There really were no problems with the language at the reception, because

the aunt there was fluent in Spanish (by the way, their "native" language in this region is not Spanish at all, but Catalan, but everyone speaks Spanish), and not only in it, but also in German, French and English. In Russian, alas, no. And in general, if anyone is friends with the great and mighty there, then only at the level of “he will instill, how are you, karasho”, and this is understandable, because there are very few Russians there, well, at least there were them in our hotel somewhere around 5% (of the contingent, the vast majority are Spaniards themselves. There are also many Germans, a little less Italians and even fewer French and representatives of other nationalities). A little better, however, is the situation with Russian at sellers in resort areas (such as, for example, Montserrat), who can more or less clearly tell something in Russian about their product. With English it is already easier, however, the locals do not particularly bother with it either.


By the way, at the hotel we were also both recorded under the wife's maiden name. : D

In general, having filled out simple cards, we received a key card and went to the room. Yes, even on the bus we were told that if the key in the hotel is ordinary, then when leaving the hotel you can leave it at the reception, but if the key is a card, then you need to carry it with you all the time. By the way, you can also take a free magazine with a map of Calella, as well as information in several languages, including Russian, about sights and excursions at the reception.

There were no porters in that hotel, so things had to be dragged to the room by ourselves.

The room with a balcony to the street, however, turned out to be pretty good for its three stars: the beds do not fall apart (even if they are not only for sleeping), they only sometimes move in different directions, the bed linen is clean and fresh (it was changed regularly), the furniture is not shabby , plumbing is convenient and serviceable, flows and splashes exclusively from where it is necessary. The room was cleaned every day, and they didn’t even take a coin in 1 e###th, which we left on the table on the first day as a tip. So they took it back with them, unless they spent it on something. Towels were changed every day, even if we did not throw them into the bath, which means that they need to be changed (the corresponding announcement informed about this). The air conditioner (with a remote control on the wall) seemed to work fine. There was no TV remote control, apparently, it had to be taken on bail at the reception. But we weren't interested. There was a chest without a larva in the closet.

The larva with the key had to be rented at the reception. This pleasure cost us 26 e###ev for 11 days. They also left a chirp as a pledge for the larva, which was then safely returned to us.


In general, a good room, except for the quality of soundproofing: you can hear the neighbors behind the wall coughing, snoring and going to the toilet, as well as someone wandering along the corridor. Another minus: the water in the toilet tank was poured too slowly, and unfortunately, it was not possible to fix this, as in Prague (see the corresponding review).

Having settled in the room and changed clothes, we decided to immediately go to the beach, to which we had to walk 400 meters with a passage across the road and an underpass passing under the railway. The beach is good: the sand, however, is coarse, and the closer to the water, the larger. Still on the shore washes small pebbles. The coast is quite steep: about 4 meters from the coast, the depth is already up to the neck of an adult.

It should also be noted that our hotel was located far from most other hotels, so the locals prevailed on the beach, and they, as a rule, used their own umbrellas and mats, so there were more than enough free sunbeds. For the same reason, there were few people on the beach, especially on weekdays.

Before going swimming, we decided to sit at the beach bar, where we had a beer and then sangria. The beer there is ordinary, although not bad, I would say (it’s called Estrella; on the beach, a can of 0.33 costs 2 e###i, but in the store it’s already 0.8 e###i for 0.5), but nothing outstanding. But sangria compares favorably with the swill that is sold under the same name in bottles in Russian stores. A glass of sangria costs about 3 e###ev, and a liter jug ​ ​ - somewhere in the range from 6 to 11 e###ev.

By the way, Bukhara is quite cheap in shops there: much cheaper than in a hotel (and even a little cheaper than in a Moscow dutik).

For example, in a hotel on the first day we took a bottle of some sparkling wine for 9.3 e###i, and the next day we bought the same in a store for 2.95 e###i, and this is also with an extra charge for what we took her from the refrigerator (there was none in the room), and an unchilled bottle of the same wine would cost only 2.2 e###i, in my opinion. Mineral water there in bars is somewhere around 1 - 1.5 e###i for 0.5 liters, in stores, a one and a half liter bottle costs about 1 e###i, and if you take a block of 6 such bottles, then you can take it for 2.5 , and even for 1.8 e###i.

End of lyrical digression.


After sitting in a bar for a while, we finally went to the beach itself to swim in the Mediterranean Sea. They offered sun loungers and umbrellas for 3 e###i (3+3), and on a nearby beach this pleasure was already worth 3.5 e###i. On that day, we were ready to pay for 2 sunbeds and 1 umbrella, but this publican never approached us. Well, okay. Don't run to look for him.

There is also entertainment on the beach: a parachute (55 e###ev for 1 person or 70 for two), a banana (I don’t remember the price), a catamaran (in my opinion, 20 e###ev for an hour and 30 for 2). It is a pity that there was no scooter, because I really love this type of water transport.

After enjoying the sea and the sun, we went to the hotel for dinner. Havchik is not bad there: a fairly large selection of dishes for every taste, meat and fish, a lot of different vegetables, fresh and pickled, there are also pastries, ice cream and fruits (kiwi, pineapples, nectarines, peaches, melons, watermelons, etc. ). There is also some soup pot in the boiler. Delicious, by the way. Drinks at dinner are paid. If you took a bottle and didn’t finish it, then they attach a tag with your number on it, and it stands on a special table, so you can finish it next time. Or you can just take it to your room. However, I repeat, it is much more profitable to buy wine in local shops. There was also a bar in the hotel where cocktails were offered, 3 e### each, and sangria in a liter jug ​ ​ for 7.5 e###i.

On the second day in the morning we went there for breakfast. Also nothing: sausage, ham, cheese of various varieties, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, even fried thin slices of ham, which seemed especially tasty to me with scrambled eggs. There are also enough pastries. There are also cereals, yogurts, jams. And, of course, tea, coffee with or without milk, hot chocolate, as well as "juices" such as "U-pee" (orange, grapefruit and pineapple).

After breakfast, we went to the beach and, like the locals, not wanting to pay for umbrellas, went to one store and bought the largest umbrella available (15 e###ev), 2 mats (2 each) and phone card (5). The Indian seller in that shop, apparently, was very happy with such a purchase, so he gave us another half-liter bottle of mineral water. Even on the way, they called home from a street payphone using a phone card purchased from this “Hindu”.


A call to a fixed Moscow phone costs about 18 euro cents per minute, and to a mobile phone - about 33. A call from a payphone to a provider's number is free, as in many countries.

And yet, while we were going to the beach, we tried to find the sign "RENT A CAR", but, alas, in vain (but we found a store where we got 2 bottles of liquor: one called "Catalonia Cream", the other - called "43" - right as in the Scoop: port wine "33rd", "three sevens" ... : D). However, even before that we were interested in renting a car at the hotel itself, and we were offered a choice of 2 offices, but we decided to compare rental prices in other rental companies. However, we managed to find one in the evening of the same day, but there the prices differed clearly not for the better. On the same day (or the next - we don’t remember anymore) the guide called us in the room and asked if we needed him, by chance.

The road takes about an hour. The train goes along the coast and at the same time develops a fairly high speed. The air in the carriages is conditioned. In each car there is a toilet for the disabled. The cars there are long, but there are no direct transitions from car to car. The contingent of passengers on the train is diverse: we met a dude who earned his living in Bukhara by playing the harmonica, and a deaf-and-dumb dude (or just pretending to be one), who handed out pieces of paper with a tearful text about his difficult fate and a request to provide all possible financial assistance, and a girl of drugged appearance, dozing, lying on several seats.

Other stops on the train on the way back were announced only occasionally, but on the way there they were not announced at all. There are also screens on which, theoretically, the names of the next stops should be displayed, but in practice they also turned on only sporadically.

Arriving in Barcelona, ​ ​ we went into a cafe where I ordered myself, among other things, a large mug of beer, and my wife - a small one, but they had different measurements there, and as a result they brought me a small bottle (0.33), and my wife - a microscopic one (0.25 ). : D


Then we bought a map of Barcelona and went for a walk around the city. A very beautiful city, I must say. However, it has already been described several times before me, so I won’t repeat it, all the more so it’s clear that it’s better to see it once ...It’s only a pity that it was a little hot. We visited some other park there called “Parc de la ciutadella”, there was also a zoo, we wanted to go there, but the ticket, as it turned out, cost 16 e###ev, so we decided that it was better to spend this money on something more worthwhile.

Yes, there are also such buses called "Bus Touristik" that take tourists to local attractions, so if you wish, you can use it (the ticket costs 21 e###th for 1 day or 27 for 2 days in a row, and children 13 and 17, respectively). Buses run along three routes that intersect each other, you can enter and exit at any of the 44 stops (during the validity period of the ticket), there is also an audio guide system in 10 languages, including Russian. Well, they also give some kind of coupons, which provide discounts for visiting museums, which allow, as it is written in the magazine, to save up to 180 e###ev.

We also rode the subway there. It doesn't look like Moscow - more like Helsinki or Prague. A ticket for one trip cost 1.35 e###i. It was possible to buy there (including in a vending machine) a ticket for several trips, and not only on the metro, but we decided not to delve into these details.

It’s hot and stuffy at the metro stations themselves, but when the train pulls up, you enter there like in a freezer: the air conditioner works there so efficiently. In our opinion, this is too much, because you can catch a cold and get sick with pig flu (by the way, they themselves simply call it “Gripe A”, all sorts of warning posters still hang there on this topic, such as how to protect yourself).

After returning to the hotel and having dinner, we decided to watch the animation. On this day, some ballet group of three girls (I don’t remember the name) was invited, who performed flamenco and other national dances. Very cool, especially with whiskey and cola and cocktails.

On the fourth day, we decided to take a ride on a pleasure boat from Calella to Tossa de Mar (28 e###ev for a round-trip ticket) - this is just the final destination. This steamboat leaves Calella at 9.30 and arrives in Tossa at 11.40, then at 12.00 sets sail back to Calella, where it arrives at 13.55. At 14.


00 he again repeats his route, i. e. at 15.55 he arrives in Tossa, at 16.40 he sails back and returns to Calella at 18.30. Along the way, he still stops at 10 points, including Blanes, Malgrat, Lloret de mar and others, and on the way to Tossa after each stop on the ship more and more people appear, so that by the end of the trip there were more people on the ship than animals in Noah's ark. However, the good news is that on the way back the dynamics are exactly the opposite, so if you have time to take good places in time (on the way back you have to manage to do this; we managed, that is, we simply got in without a queue - an old soviet habit, what can you do), then everything will be chocolate. The ship there is two-deck: you can sit on the bottom, glazed, or you can sit on the top, open (the vast majority prefer the top).

There is also a “hold” in which, theoretically, there should be a glass transparent floor in some places, but this condition is exactly half fulfilled: it is really glass, but it is very difficult to call it transparent because of the stubbornness (well, at least, from the outside, not from the inside).

There is also a bar on the ship, whose employees go all over the ship and offer everyone beer-cola-sprite for 2 e###i (sprite and cola are 0.33 l each, and beer is “microscopic”, i. e. 0.25 l each) . An uncle with a fotik still walks there and tries to cheat everyone for 5 e###ev for a photo (like a professional one). With some, he even succeeded. To these lucky ones, along with a photo, he tried to sell a disk with a video of sights, in my opinion, for an additional chirp.

Even on the way from Calella to Tossa, we noticed that the sand on the local beaches is getting smaller and smaller (this is noticeable when the ship approaches the shore), but there is nowhere for people to spit on these beaches, much more than in Calella. And on some beaches, in addition, a lot of garbage of various origins floats in the water, so we had a reason to be sincerely happy for our beach. Well, for themselves, of course. : )

In Tossa, the beach was also full of people, but you can find a place. And there was also a section of the beach between the rocks. Very narrow area. Everything was crowded there, so we abandoned any attempt to deploy on it and decided to deploy on the big one. The city of Tossa de Mar itself is also very beautiful (like, I think, all, or at least almost all the cities of Spain), there is a fortress wall with towers that you can climb near the coast. Shops, cafes, restaurants, too, more than enough.


Some catering establishments even have a menu in Russian. In one of the cafes we tried paella (it usually has to be ordered for at least two people) - it is also very different from the one sold in Moscow stores in bags in frozen form - by analogy with sangria, which we also naturally ordered there.

There are also several booths on the shore in Tossa, which offer tickets for glass bottom boats (12 e###ev round trip). The trip lasts about an hour: 40 minutes there and 20 back, because on the way there the boat sails slowly and swims into the coastal caves so that you can see the bottom (here the glass in the bottom was really clean and transparent, so the sea world can be was to be seen in full glory), and returns straight back, without going anywhere.

You can return back on the same boat, or you can land at the final point (there is also a beach) and return back on one of the following boats. They go there every half an hour.

On the fourth day, we already firmly decided to rent a car, but since the fifth day of our stay fell on Sunday, the rental office was not working, so we, as always, just went to the beach. Toward noon on the beach, using a swearword in three languages ​ ​ (Catalan, Spanish and English), they announced the danger associated with the invasion of jellyfish, and warned that they should never be touched, even if they seem dead. A yellow flag was also hung out along with an additional flag with the image of a jellyfish. However, this scared few people, and some lovers even caught these same jellyfish with nets and put them in plastic bags. By the way, about flags.

On the same day, according to the same scribbler, they announced that if the flag is green, you can swim safely, if it is yellow, then you can also, only carefully, and if it is soviet, then swimming is prohibited. But, fortunately, we did not see the Soviet flag during our stay, and the yellow one did not hang for a long time (at most a few hours).


After the beach, we decided to get to know Calella itself better, since we had her map, a magazine with which we were provided at the reception on the first day. We walked through the local park with very beautiful nature, but we had to climb a hill there, which, however, we do not regret, because from there a very beautiful view of the city and the sea starting right behind it opens up. Almost immediately after entering the park, we saw 2 taps with water immured into the wall. Nearby, 2 local women were walking their dogs.

And since we were thirsty, and, as luck would have it, we forgot the water at the hotel, we asked these aunts if this water was drinkable. To this they replied that yes, they feed their dogs with it, and nothing. Well, we also decided to have a drink. Looks like they're still alive. They didn't even turn into dogs.

Then they went down to the city, walked along the street with the mansions of local residents and hotels with a rooftop pool, they even wanted to go to the local church, but there was a service going on there, and there was an announcement that during the service the entrance to the church was not welcome. Well, okay. What do we atheists...

On the sixth day right in the morning (around 9.30) we went to the reception in the hope of booking a car for the evening. And our hope, I must say, was more than justified: an hour and a half after our appeal, they promised to provide us with a Renault Sandero with a conditioner for 218 e###ev for 4 days, and, most importantly, they fulfilled their promise! In the office, however, they asked where we were from and whether we had a credit card.


Having received an answer that there is a crediton from Russia, they agreed to give a car. An hour and a half later, a representative of the rental office arrived, quickly filled out the necessary paperwork, made an imprint of the credit card and rewrote the data of my driver's license, moreover, Russian, and international rights, although I did them a few days before the trip, were not needed (details of obtaining these rights , and also why I will omit them, but if someone is interested, I will tell you in more detail). Then we asked him about the daily mileage limit (there was none) and insurance, that is, whether it was full. He stated that it was complete, but only valid in the territory of Catalonia. Having learned that we also wanted to go to the Lyagushatnik, I tore off another 29 e###ev for additional insurance. Then he drove us to the place where the car was parked, along the way suggesting places where it would be interesting to go.

When we pulled up to the car destined for us, I examined it and noticed abrasion on the front right fender, which I pointed out to this employee. The same one told me, they say, don’t worry, everything is fine, the car is fully insured (then they handed it over in the same form without any problems, I’ll say, looking ahead).

The car was provided with a full tank, which pleases. And then last year they provided Tuna almost empty, so I was anxious that we would not get to the nearest gas station and we would have to drag it there on a tie or, even worse, push it manually.

On the first day, we decided to go to a city called Girona, which is found in Russian atlases in various spellings: Girona (this is how it should be read in the Spanish version), Girona (in all likelihood, in Catalan), Girona (in French Gé rone , and Catalonia also affects the southern part of France) and even Heron (and already Dick knows how SHE can be called).

It happens that it is even indicated in the atlas in one version, and then in brackets is duplicated in another. Okay, for reasons of euphony, taking into account the peculiarities of the Russian language, I will continue to call this city Girona.

You can go there both on the free N-11 highway and on the paid C-32 (it is wider and more convenient). The signs there are just frankly shitty, they are quite difficult to figure out without that notorious item of utensils that is contraindicated while driving (Crete and even Tuna are much better in this respect). So it's better to buy a card of Catalonia (either 6 or 8 e###ev), with which there will be fewer problems. Refuelers are not provided at gas stations (unlike Crete and Tuna), so you have to refuel the car yourself, and then pay for gasoline (the 95th without Pb costs about 1.1 e###i per liter). Theoretically, you can even leave without paying.

But in this case, I think, there will be a problem with garbage (not in the sanitary and hygienic sense, of course, but in law enforcement).


Arriving in Girona, we looked at a dried-up river (in places where there was still enough water, even fish swam there, and not at all belly up, but rather actively moved) and the fortress walls. And in the city center, we even managed to find a public toilet, and free of charge. By the way…

A LYRICAL DIRECTION ABOUT THE LOTS

With toilets in Spain, by the way, it's rubbish, both free and paid (we did not find the latter there, by the way). There are no fragrant blue booths or green houses where you need to drop a coin (there are quite a lot of the latter, for example, in Finik and Cheshka). So in which case you have to go to a cafe and order something purely symbolically (otherwise they may not let you in) or get to the nearest gas station.

There are also toilets in underground parking lots, again, for customers. I can’t tell bush lovers how the local cops will react to this, because I haven’t tried it myself.

Eh, to be tedious, or something else ...okay, so be it, with your approval, I will allow myself such pleasure. In general, I really don’t like it when there is no change in retail outlets. Well, okay, even under the Scoop, then the sellers didn’t care if the goods were sold or not, but in a market economy, the seller, in theory, should be interested in selling the goods! He seems to have an extra penny from this. In Russia, in this regard, everything is still the same as under Sovka. However, later I encountered such a problem in Prague. Well, too, I thought, close communication with the Scoop at one time was not in vain. However, in Spain this problem is no less acute!

Sellers always ask for a smaller banknote, and in one of the Girona supermarkets we even saw an announcement on the door that the availability of change from banknotes in denominations of 500 and even 200 e###ev is not guaranteed at all! And also a civilized country, it’s called ...By the way, such a problem sometimes even arose ...in Tuna: last year it happened a couple of times that the sellers did not have change. But in 2005, no matter how much I made purchases there, there was always change and in any quantity. And to top it all off, in some Spanish supermarkets there is such a typically soviet phenomenon as queues.

Okay, I got carried away with another lyrical digressions ...


Returning “home”, we mistakenly turned onto some wrong road and went somewhere to the mountains, “enough” to roll along the serpentine (we just didn’t have time to buy a detailed map by that time, there was only a very, very approximate one, taken more at the airport, and the pointer was to Barcelona).

In Calella you will not find a free place to park your car, and neither in a paid nor in a free parking lot, if it is small. The free ones are marked with dotted white lines along the sidewalks, but they are all certainly occupied, and the paid ones are blue, and they are also almost always occupied, with the exception of the parking lot next to the beach (there it is very large). There are almost always parking meters in places of blue markings, and on special announcements in the form of road signs it is indicated on which days and at what time parking must be paid. For example, in the same beach parking lot, the ad said that from May 1 (in my opinion) to August 31 (also in my opinion) parking is free around the clock only on weekdays. On weekends and holidays from 20 pm to 8 or 9 am it is also free, but from 8 to 20 you had to pay for it and put the corresponding tickets under the glass.

A car parked in the wrong place (especially in places where it can block the exit from the gates of a private garage) can easily be taken by a tow truck to a car impound, in which case you will have to pay a large fine (about 400 e###ev, according to mine). There are, of course, underground parking lots (about 1 e###i per hour, and somewhere even the tariff is per minute: 0.021 e###i per minute).

When we drove up to the coast, it was already dark, and we again turned onto some kind of serpentine. The same thing happened again, only at night. Fortunately, at least there were trees along the roadsides, as in the “day mode”. Not like on the way to Andorra (more on that later). 2 cars were also behind us, not daring to overtake us, although I was driving no faster than 40 km / h. And since the turns were very steep, at some point at the turn I drove into the oncoming lane (well, there was no oncoming traffic), so the 2 cars following us exactly repeated my trajectory!

In general, we got to Calella safely, only we were late for dinner.


On the seventh day, we decided to go to the beach after breakfast, and then go to the Frog (and in vain: it would be better to go right away), namely: to the glorious city of Perpignan (Paris will still be far away). We reached the border without any problems, on good roads. At the customs, however, it was somehow too busy: when we traveled from Czech Republic to Austria, the customs posts on the border of these countries were empty booths, but on the way from there to Germany there were none at all. There were also posts here, and cars passed through them slowly. There were also quite a few customs officers and cops. However, we passed customs without any problems, no one checked our documents (we tried a little, because for security reasons we left our passports in a hotel chest, but we only had their photocopies with us).

Some time after crossing the border, the weather worsened, the rain began to drip. But when we entered Perpignan, the rain stopped. It's just a pity it's not for long. We walked around the city center (it is noteworthy that there all the street names on the walls of houses are indicated not only in French, but also duplicated in Catalan), went to a wine shop, where the eyes run wide from the abundance of varieties, even bought some kind of bottle to take with you for 5.7 e###I (I don’t remember the name, because it tastes nothing special), we went into some cafe where we ate seafood. By the way, there at this time (we arrived there at 15 o'clock) in many cafes they do not serve food, but only drinks. Prices there are on average 10-15% higher than in Spain. Unfortunately, we didn’t really manage to see the city, because there was little time left, besides, it rained again, an infection, so we decided to return to our “native” Spain. And on the roads - traffic jams, you can fuck!

For about half an hour in a traffic jam, they barely moved, if not more. But then the road seemed to be freer, so we got to the hotel without any problems. Even made it to dinner.

And on the eighth day, we decided to rush to Andorra, having previously asked if car insurance covers this dwarf state. As it turned out, no, and for this it was necessary to pay extra 29 e###ev (as well as for the Frog). We agreed on the phone with a representative of the rental office that he would withdraw this amount from my credit card.

We left somewhere around 12 or 13. And as it turned out from the signs, it was almost 200 km to Andorra. Of course, it was good to drive along the toll road, because there, with the allowed 120 km / h, I was driving somewhere 130 - 140. However, just before the border, a new ill-fated mountain serpentine began, and this road turned out to be longer than those two, that were a couple of days ago, and, of course, narrow.


We climbed very high in the mountains (almost 2000 m), so my wife was really dumb that we would fly into the abyss, especially when trucks with 40-foot containers jumped out of the corners, so she constantly repeated to me: slow down and slow down . And I rarely accelerated more than 50 - 60 km / h there. In the end, we were lucky enough to pass this serpentine (only about 50 km), but we decided not to go back along it, but to drive through the tunnel: we noticed it on a new map, which we later bought. We entered Andorra without any problems, no one checked our documents there. In the first town of Sant Julia de Loria that we entered, we turned to the shopping center and parked the car in the underground parking. What is noteworthy, in Andorra, usually the first hour is free of charge at parking lots, and then prices start to operate approximately like in Spain. In the store, they specifically stocked up with Bukhara (but you shouldn’t be zealous with this, because

on the way back at the customs they frisk): 2 liter bubbles of Kahlua liquor (12 e###ev each), a liter bubble of Cointreau (13.5 e###i), a bubble of weak peach liqueur (7.5 e###i ) and 3 bubbles of strong sugary nauseating (as it turned out later) liquor, even inside the bubbles there was something like thin sticks with crystallized sugar. One bubble was of the rum-flavored type, the other was of the brandy-flavored type, and the third was of the peach-flavored type. These liqueurs had a different strength - from 27% to 35%, and also the capacity of 0.5 l was indicated on two bottles, and 0.7 l on the third, and despite the fact that they are absolutely the same in volume! But more likely still 0.7.

We entered Andorra at about half past six, and by the time we went to the supermarket, while we walked around the center of Sant Julia de Loria, it was already almost 7. Therefore, we decided that it would be better to spend the night in Andorra, and began to look for a suitable hotel. We went to one 3-star - there we were offered a 2-bed room for about 45 e###ev per day.

However, at numerous gas stations you can buy various essential goods (and not only). And gasoline (as always, 95th without Pb) was already cheaper there than in Spain - about 1.02 e###i per liter.

Then we went to a local cafe, where we were given a menu for

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