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Saturday, November 23, 2024
HomeWorld MapAndorraGuns & Butter: Andorra Travel Guide (Country Count Edition)

Guns & Butter: Andorra Travel Guide (Country Count Edition)

Andorra Travel Guide is part of the Gold Medal Trip Report.


TPOLā€™s Guns & ButterĀ Travel Guide is the best way to see as much as you can in as little time as possible. Hereā€™s how it works:Ā A trip is composed of two factors: Labor And Lazy. The opportunity cost (what is given up) for relaxing and being Lazy is gained by being adventurous in the form of Labor and vice versa. The guide includes inefficient activities i.e., tourist traps that should be avoided and aspirational activities that are worth doing but may be impossible to see given the constraints of time and resources.


Getting There:Ā A bus costs 60 euros to and from Andorra but make sure you don’t miss it (see I Missed My Ride: Not So ā€˜Direct Busā€™ Andorra &Ā Andbus to Andorra: ā€˜Andā€™ It Showed Up).

a building next to a river
Return to this bus station.

Why do people come to Andorra? Most come to the home of the Pyrenesse to ski. TPOL doesn’t ski. Some come to hike. This was a day trip and TPOL had no interest in physical exertion. Others come for the Country Count novelty. This applied to me (see Where Iā€™ve Been).

a river running through a city a river with a bridge over it a river running through a citya river running through a bridgea river running through a park

Tax-Free Shopping

One interesting fact about Andorra is that it is a tax-free zone. While that is true, I did not find the prices to be especially competitive for my interests (see TPOL Knows Cologne, Just Donā€™t Buy It on a Plane )

a display case with perfumes on it
Versace is the best.
a room with a large group of boxes and a tripod
Why are golf balls so expensive everywhere?

TPOL’s Tip: There is a 9-hole golf course in Andorra.

The prices were great for alcohol. a group of bottles of liquor

a group of bottles of liquor

a store front with a sign
Not sure about the prices but the sign was clever.

Nobility of TimeĀ 

The point of interest that fascinated me was Dali’s Noblesse du temps or nobility of time. As a sophomore at the University of Michigan, I had the Persistence of Memory poster hung on my wall.a sign on the grass a statue of a clock on a tree in a city

Old Town

Although I did not go hiking, I spent hours walking through the city. It certainly has the old town charm (see Astray in Old Town: Great Places to Get Lost). a street with buildings and people walking on it

a street with tables and chairs a building with a stone wall and a stone staircase a flag on a pole with trees and a fence

Satisfied with my cultural experience, I stopped at Barri Antic for a beer.

a building with signs on the fronta room with tables and chairs and a fridge with beer bottlesa glass of beer on a table

From there, it was on to the old parliament. When I learned of the cover charge, I declined to enter. a stone building with flags on the roof a flag on a stand in a room a building with a stone courtyard and a mountain in the background

The next objective was to take photos of the curious gold men sitting down. Since returning I have researched said men. They are called the 7 Poets and were created by Jaume Plensa. Regarding the moments, Plensa said, “Poets are a key part of society. They are doomed to failure because they know they won’t sell even three books, but they are a source of fertility, like a very fine rain that penetrates the earth.” He might as well be talking about TPOL.a yellow statue on top of a building with mountains in the backgrounda building with a bridge over a road a street with flags on the side of a building

TPOL’s Tip: Buy Everyone’s Advice Is Wrong . . . Including Mine.

Before making my way to the bus station promptly, I went for another beer and a bowl of gazpacho, a must on a terribly hot day.

a glass of beer with a star on it

a bowl of soup on a table

Overall
Am I the cultural attachƩ to Andorra? Hardly. Is it worth going? Of course.

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