Because I know Crys has always wanted to go skiing in the Swiss Alps I thought I'd try to bring a fake version of the Alps to her and also pretend for the weekend that I actually enjoy skiing so we took a 3.5 hour bus ride from Barcelona to Andorra.
I took this picture of Crys' lift ticket when we were in line for our hot chocolates and sandwiches. It was riiight after Crystal asked for her hot chocolate and called it chocolate calor (climate hot) instead of caliente (temperature hot)... just one more thing I get to tease her about!
This picture may seem a little strange but it's because it's clearly taken through glass, hence the reflection but the mountains and the lodging are beautiful. This is the view from the funicular we took to get to the the ski area that we went to when Crystal and I decided to go skiing for the first weekend of the Christmas/Winter holiday.
THE PYRENEESFor those of you who don't know, (as I'm sure most of you don't) Andorra is a super tiny country smooshed between France and Spain. The national language of Andorra is Catalan (the language that is spoken in Catalunya -- where I live, Barcelona). Andorra is the sixth smallest country in the world and it is approximately the size of Washington D.C. Imagine trying to cram the Rockies onto The Mall...yeah, it's a small place. One more random Andorran fact; Andorrans supposedly have the longest life expectancy in the world, 83.5 years old.
Okay, enough nerdiness onto the trip...
Here's Crys looking excited to get on the slopes...
Here's this cute little picture of me on the slopes. Looks can be deceiving and so can pictures because about 3 minutes after this picture was taken I took those skis off and put the poles down! I do NOT ski! I don't like the idea of practically losing my feet to some poles that pretend to help me slide myself down the side of a mountain with ignorant fools men, women, children and babies who also have no idea what they're doing.
Here is Crystal. Looking like a pro + looking ready to hit the slopes.
This is the skiing area we decided to go to. It seems like a pretty family oriented place: lots of families out for the day, lots of locals, lots of Italians, lots of Spaniards...and A LOT of French...you know, a normal day during European holiday.
Enjoying the scenery
Okay so...I couldn't resist the photo op of these gentlemen who decided to enjoy their day, not on the slopes but in reclining chairs on the deck just below the slopes sun tanning. Not sure if you can tell from the photo but these 50-60 something year old men are GLISTENING. I don't mean that they are sun-kissed but they are practically baking in what appears to be vegetable oil or Vaseline. For a moment I thought I had left the mountains and found myself at a senior resort in Florida.
Now when I say that three minutes after that picture above of me with skis on I took them off and refused to ski...I mean I refused to ski. I became the photographer slash cheerleader as Crystal continued to go up on the various lifts to ski her way around Vall Nord. I was content sitting in the sun with the greasy gentlemen, taking pictures...at least until all the snowboards, skis and poles next to me fell on me...
This is me taking in the scenery before it's all over and we get back on the funicular and head back to solid, flat-ish ground...
and here's Crystal, gracefully carting around all the ski materials as I complain about how my ankles are going to be bruised from having had to walk around all day in my stupid snow boots.
Getting ready to head back...putting back on more appropriate walking shoes we can't forget to shout out The George Washington University paraphernalia that Crystal sported all day...courtesy of the lovely Becca Wray who kept Crystal's feet + head both warm and reppin her alma mater.
One last glance at the mountains before we head back to Barcelona...and a reminder to myself that...I truly and utterly hate skiing and only want to sit peacefully overlooking the mountains and the ski resort wearing a bikini in a hot tub...
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