I took a train from Albi to Toulouse and from Toulouse to a little stop near Andorra, L'Hospitalet. While in Toulouse, I made note of the fact that I'd never thought I'd ever be studying the lymphatic system in a station waiting for a train on my way to Andorra (odd)! As we arrived at our stop, we watched the last bus depart right before our very eyes. However, a very nice Andorran couple who spoke some French offered us a ride! They took us across the border, and drove us to a nearby town. They refused to take money from us. So sweet! They had dropped us off just in time for us to jump on a bus to take us to the hotel. We walked around for a bit, and once we were finally directed in the right direction, made our way to our little place (which had the funniest little elevator I'd ever seen). Next, was a little walking tour of Andorra la Vella by night. We found a playground, and we also found a stone path up an extremely beautiful scenic route. We could overlook the whole expanse of the city from there! It was absolutely beautiful! In the morning we headed for the slopes!
Breakfast was included, so we ate big before facing the day. We eventually caught our bus, which was a task, found an equipment rental, bought our lift tickets, and headed to the mountains. It was the single most perfect day to ski! It was absolutely remarkable! It took me just a couple of runs to get back into the swing of things, but by the time we reached a black diamond, I was ready to face that gut wrenching feeling of looking over the edge to pure euphoria. Every single run was incredible, and the entire time it took to ride up the next lift, I was just trying to soak in what had just happened moments before.
Once it was time to return our skis and boots to catch our bus to the train station, I had had my fill of adrenaline rushes for the day. However, it didn't end there. We soon found out that the next bus would not arrive until after the time we had to be ON the train to head back to Toulouse. Shoot! So, we called for a taxi, no luck. We tried the police station, no luck. So, we stuck out our bottom lips and sad/lost puppy eyes and tried our thumbs at hitchhiking! ... to avail! A very nice couple took it upon themselves to safely transport us to the train station across the border with 20 minutes to spare. Again, they refused the money. We jumped on our train, and had a good long while to really let everything sink in. Talk about traveler's luck! ... or the grace of God!
We met three lovely French young ladies on the train, and my French was tested. -Comprehension skills: check!, -Conversational skills: not so much. With only severe wind burn as a negative, I'd say it was a pretty fantastic trip, and nothing compares thus far!
Breakfast was included, so we ate big before facing the day. We eventually caught our bus, which was a task, found an equipment rental, bought our lift tickets, and headed to the mountains. It was the single most perfect day to ski! It was absolutely remarkable! It took me just a couple of runs to get back into the swing of things, but by the time we reached a black diamond, I was ready to face that gut wrenching feeling of looking over the edge to pure euphoria. Every single run was incredible, and the entire time it took to ride up the next lift, I was just trying to soak in what had just happened moments before.
Once it was time to return our skis and boots to catch our bus to the train station, I had had my fill of adrenaline rushes for the day. However, it didn't end there. We soon found out that the next bus would not arrive until after the time we had to be ON the train to head back to Toulouse. Shoot! So, we called for a taxi, no luck. We tried the police station, no luck. So, we stuck out our bottom lips and sad/lost puppy eyes and tried our thumbs at hitchhiking! ... to avail! A very nice couple took it upon themselves to safely transport us to the train station across the border with 20 minutes to spare. Again, they refused the money. We jumped on our train, and had a good long while to really let everything sink in. Talk about traveler's luck! ... or the grace of God!
We met three lovely French young ladies on the train, and my French was tested. -Comprehension skills: check!, -Conversational skills: not so much. With only severe wind burn as a negative, I'd say it was a pretty fantastic trip, and nothing compares thus far!
No comments:
Post a Comment