Spring Skiing in Andorra, and Early Birthday Celebration
Tuesday was really warm, maybe 50 degrees! We got a rather late start. It was about 11:00 by the time we got started skiing. We enjoyed skiing on the snow that was softened by the mild temperatures, but we needed a pretty good pitch. If we were on anything flat, it was very sticky and a lot of work. At times, I felt like the wind coming from the West was pushing me backwards!
We had intended to work our way toward a different area of the mountain, but when we saw that it involved some long trail-outs, we changed our minds.
We paused for some photos of the snowy landscape.
We are becoming very cautious in our old age! If we were in Big Sky, we would not be skiing in these conditions; it is easy to get injured skiing in "Elmer's Glue". So we decided to return to the hotel.
We stretched out in the gym, then grabbed a late lunch at the "Glass Bar". A young American couple sitting next to us struck up a conversation. They noticed our accents and said they rarely met other Americans in Andorra. It is interesting how we've bonded with most Americans that we've run into while traveling.
We enjoyed meeting Dustin and Nicole Tran Young of New River, Arizona! They have spent the last 3 or 4 winters in Andorra, and Dustin learned to snowboard here. They gave us a lot of valuable insider information on skiing and living in Andorra. It was also fun talking with them about Arizona, where we hope to end up spending our winters! Nicole was born in Vietnam, and her family escaped to America after the Vietnam War.
As I have said before, one of the most fun things about traveling is the friendly people that you meet. We count Dustin and Nicole among the friends that we hope we get to keep in touch with and see again! Chances are good that we will.
Again, we took advantage of our spa and pool, and we even enjoyed evening massages!
To celebrate Brock's 60th birthday a little early, we splurged on a late dinner at "Ibaya", our hotel's "gastronomic" restaurant.
Before dinner, Brock enjoyed his favorite cocktail on our porch which overlooks the ski slopes. It was a very mild evening out with a beautiful full moon.
It was a very special dinner with 13 small courses served. They presented us with a write-up about each course. We thought it was a delicious dinner.
Here are a few of the items on the menu, all beautifully and creatively presented.
What could be better than two desserts?!
At the end of the meal, our waiter bound all of the write-ups together in a booklet for us to keep:
Happy birthday, Brock! You don't look a day over 59!
