GK Tours. Day 18 & 19
Thursday 21st & Friday 22nd November 2024 Zaragoza to Andorra (la Vella) via Lleida
A quiet night was had on the square last night. We were woken by the town gardeners scraping up the fallen leaves 
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The storks were home as well this morning. The sound they make with their beaks is amazing, Meg was mesmerized by them.
Ok once we had the van ship shape, we took a walk to the bread shop for a baguette and then stopped for a coffee at a busy cafe on the square. It was a very friendly place and lovely to listen to the locals, even if we couldn’t understand them 
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Leaving this little village behind we headed for Andorra, a new country for us. It was few hours drive away, so to break it up we thought we’d stop in Lleida, one of the oldest towns in Catalonia.
En route we passed through the Greenwich Meridian Time line. They have an arch across the road that apparently lights up at night .
Lleida is famous for it’s fruit and veg, we could see why, there are orchards as far as the eye can see. We did see apples but otherwise I think the rest was out of season. Another gourmet speciality in Lleida is snails 
, now that’s a strange one for sure.
We chose a huge carpark near the centre, and we’re lucky to get a space to be honest. Disappointingly, we couldn’t find a lot to do or see other than the Cathedral and castle overlooking the city.
It’s a significant climb up and if you’re not up to it you can take one of two lifts for some of the way. We didn’t take the lift, choosing to enjoy the view as the path wound round and up.
The castle is a ruin but still has a lot of it’s walls standing. The cathedral, a lovely building had a mass in progress so we took the opportunity to sit and view the city from the very trendy bar/restaurant just outside. A perfect spot, especially with the sun shining.
After our refreshments break we decided to move on towards Andorra.
The land around Lleida is quite flat,.changing as we approached the Pyrenees and as we got into the mountains the temperature dropped too.
It’s a little confusing coming into Andorra as it still has all the border buildings and road signs for checks, making you think twice about what lane you need and if you have to stop. There weren’t any visible guards on duty though there was quite a queue of vehicles exiting, so we assumed some sort of exit check is happening still.
Our chosen stop was a campsite called Càmping Valira in Andorra La Vella, the capital. It’s our first campsite of the trip so far and we were looking forward to a couple of lazy days.
As you can guess, the capital’s roads were really busy. We took a couple of confusing wrong turns but eventually found our way to the campsite. It is located on the opposite side of the valley to the main town.
The campsite is a little expensive for this time of year – €35 per night, but all services are included, it has a very well stocked shop, swimming pool and restaurant too. What we also didn’t realise is that most UK mobile service providers contracts don’t work here, so the free WiFi on site was a godsend.
You wouldn’t expect to find a campsite here, but it’s so handy. It’s been terraced, thankfully with over a 140 places! Blimey, it’s quite busy now so I think you’d be lucky to get a space in the summer if you haven’t booked.
When we arrived the evening was drawing in and looking up we could see the clouds slowing coming down the mountain sides, fully expecting to wake up amongst them.
Making full use of the facilities, I did some washing and drying, showered and then we went to the restaurant for dinner. Our first evening meal out! The restaurant was very busy with locals including the local police .
We shared a mixed paella and a couple of glasses of red wine washed it down 
The evening was really quite cold as we walked back to the van, watching the city’s skyline. In the dark you can’t see the buildings so the lights look like a huge cruise ship.
Friday 22nd November
This morning the sky was clear and no clouds in sight. We got ready and went for a wander to the historic centre – comprising of a handful of really old buildings, one dating back to the 1500’s – in amongst modern buildings most of which are at present adorned with Christmas decorations.
We found the shopping streets and just strolled leisurely through them, there’s a certain calm in Andorra La Vella, not a lot of rushing was going on, a perfect place to do your shopping I’d say.
We stopped a couple of times for coffee and hot chocolate, not a beer day today, too cold in the shade 
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Although we aren’t really into shopping we really enjoyed our wander, there are a lot of Malls in the centre and on the outskirts – when I say outskirts I mean on the other side of the main road . It’s a popular destination for tax free goods so you understand why there are so many foreign visitors and a lot of Spanish
We had a really good walk today, lots of ups and downs so were quite happy when we finally arrived back at the site.
I made a curry for our tea tomorrow and then attempted a mini roast in our little airfryer, which, if I don’t say so myself, was pretty awesome .
As soon as the sun dropped behind the mountain today the temperature dropped again and we have been holed up inside the cosy van, hopefully off to warmer climes tomorrow
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