I'm in France!
So today I'm doing this 3 countries in one-day tour. Started in Barcelona.
We went to Baga already and then we just came to France in Ax-Les-Thermes.
Sorry if I'm butchering that but I think I'm pronouncing that right.
Next, we're going to this country called Andorra
which I hadn't even heard of until I looked into this tour
so I'm pretty excited about that place.
Then we're going to make our way back to Spain.
All this in 12 hours and we have a wonderful tour guide.
His name is Xavi. His full name is spelled Xavier. X-A-V-I-E-R.
In Spain, it's pronounced "Chavier", so for short, it's "Chavi".
We have about an hour and a half in this French town.
It's so nice. Very beautiful. Love the mountains in the background.
Going to probably eat a little bit and maybe have some coffee and keep going on with this tour.
As I mentioned earlier, we stopped by Baga in Spain first.
Baga was about an hour and a half ride from Barcelona
and Xavi told us a little bit about this town before we arrived.
It's Monday and this village is about to wake up.
We will see maybe one or two cars. There are about 2,000 people in Baga.
People living here run little shops
or work in bigger cities nearby or working from home
paying little rent.
We were given about 20 minutes to go to one of the two bakeries in the town
and after we ate our yummy pastries, Xavi took us on a quick tour around Baga.
We first stopped by the church that was built in the 14th and 15th centuries.
We didn't have time to go inside but the views next to the church were stunning.
Next, we made our way to the oldest part of this medieval town
which was a small square built in the 13th century.
Xavi stopped here for a few minutes and told us some of the history behind Baga.
The people in Baga were very worried, so they wanted to have him back
and the Arab king asked him for something in return.
If you were a Moorish King, what would you ask the people here?
We were only here for about an hour or maybe even less.
I wish we would have spent more time here but I get that they're trying to fit three countries in one day
so we had to stick to a strict schedule.
Whenever we say we want to eat, we say "menjar". More similar to "manger" in French than to "comer" in Spanish.
Our next stop was Ax-Les-Thermes and it was another hour and a half drive.
The views were getting more gorgeous with the Pyrenees Mountains nearby.
Fun fact: these mountains are a natural border between Spain and France.
Xavi told us some interesting facts about France and its current president
and also the nickname of France which is "hexagone" meaning the hexagon
as the country has six sides to it. Many French think that this is a perfect geometric form
and it was created by God.
They are very proud of their country.
Once we arrived in Ax-Les-Thermes, Xavi took us to the main street to show us around a bit
and gave us recommendations on where to eat if we were hungry.
He also showed us the natural hot springs where we could soak our feet in
which I definitely took advantage of.
Ax-Les-Thermes is actually an ancient spa town and its hot springs, which were used by the Romans,
were historically claimed to treat rheumatism and skin diseases.
It was quiet when we went on a Monday in July
but during the winter it gets much busier as it is also a popular ski town.
Next, we made our way towards Andorra.
This was the country I was most excited about
because up until a few months ago, I didn't even know Andorra was a country.
Andorra is situated between France and Spain and it's the sixth smallest country in Europe.
When we reached the border of Andorra, Xavi asked us if we wanted our passports stamped here
and of course, we all said yes.
While Xavi took care of that for us, we hopped off the bus for a bit
and took in the beautiful views of the mountains.
It was breathtaking.
Next, we made a quick stop at a mountain valley
and took a look at a typical house of Andorra in the mountains built to withstand heavy snow.
I wish we could have stayed here a bit longer because the views were just stunning.
It would have been nice to have a little picnic here or something.
Our last stop was Andorra La Vella which is is Andorra's capital.
It's known as the mall and close by mountains as their main street is full of shops surrounded by mountains.
We stopped here for a couple of hours so we could do some tax-free shopping
which Andorra is quite well known for
or eat lunch if we hadn't done so in France.
I roamed around the mall a bit and walked the main street
but I was a bit bored for the most part since I'm not much of a shopper.
At about 4 p.m., we hopped back on the bus and headed back to Barcelona.
We took a different route back and the views were awesome
as we drove by some farmlands, mountains and lakes.
Before we made our final stop in Barcelona, we stopped by a bar and Xavi bought us all a round of drinks.
This was such a fantastic tour and I cannot recommend it enough.
Xavi was very knowledgeable not only in the history and culture of each country, but in the politics too
which I found super interesting.
If you get Xavi as your tour guide, you're in luck.