When booking rooms in Barcelona, I was bemused to find two Hilton properties on the same Avenue Diagonal. Turns out they’re miles apart; we stayed in the older property but will bunk at the newer one, at the Diagonal Mar shopping center right on the seashore, when we return. That’s also where we picked up our (manual-transmission) rental car for the run up to Andorra, and a couple of big Ravensburger picture puzzles for amusement during our week up high. I hoped to start out in a less-crowded place and flee directly to the freeway, but due to vague maps and overall traffic stress we had fits (Gabe) and starts (Carolyn) before we wound our way onto the road out of town.
The drive northward included a few tolls which we hadn’t really anticipated, but it was lovely country and the traffic mostly was light. Many structures to notice up high on hilltops and mountainsides, from contemporary mansions to clearly-ancient forts. Lots of Catalan flags! I had thought it might be hard to convert to kilometers as a speed measurement, but it was easy just to match the number on the speedometer to the number on the speed limit signs (sometimes to the frustration of Gabe or other drivers).
Then we got to the point of local roads and things got a bit more interesting. Again, our maps lacked the level of detail we needed, so we had a number of U-turns and a finally a right-turn onto an unmarked road which … ultimately … DID link up with the route number we were seeking. PHEW! The route rapidly became winding and mountainous, and the village names all came with altitudes. The road was well-populated with motorcycles (all proceeding at breakneck pace) and the occasional bicyclist (WOW). With one final wrong turn through a l—o—n—g toll tunnel, with a sympathetic toll-taker who allowed us to turn around and go back without paying the toll, we found our little village of Pas de la Casa.
NOW the trick was to find the actual VENUE at which we were to stay. A couple of false starts and directions from new sources (as the map we had was not in sufficient detail…) we arrived at “Calgary 88” and got checked in. We had been unsuccessful earlier in trying to reach anyone here, seeking to determine the amount of the security deposit and whether it could be accomplished by credit card or if cash would be required. The vacation club folks finally made contact and confirmed to us, but as we met the man in charge, it became clear why communication was so challenging – he’s only around for very finite windows, and apparently not every day. He rents by the week, and check-in is available for 2 hours Saturday afternoon; check out for 2 hours Saturday morning. Don’t even THINK about asking for an extension! He’s friendly enough, but does leave the impression that this inn is NOT his top priority.
After an energetic reading of the rules & regulations, we accepted our room keys and set out to find parking “wherever we could.” Street parking must be paid between the hours of 9A-1P and 4P-8P. GO FIGURE!!! And of course, only with Euro change – you get a little printed chit to display on your dashboard. We found a place a ways up the street, noticing that we were surrounded by bars & pizza places – across the street (you could NOT make these things up!) was the Milwaukee Sports Bar, stars'n'stripes included. Looked like we wouldn’t have a challenge finding dinner.
The lodging is definitely geared to overcrowded ski-bum clientele. There are 2 bunk beds and a flop-down double bed on the wall, but the advertising says the room holds up to 6. Presumably the two remaining are sleeping in the easy chairs?? Make-your-own bed, take out your own trash; no dish soap, no sponge, no coffee mug … the “laundry” facilities advertised turn out to be a commercial laundry next door, happy to do our two bags of laundry for 10 Euros each. (Needless to say, we’re coming home loaded with clothes to wash for free!) It overlooks a lovely green mountain slope (well, sheer cliff really!) which is tended by a variable bunch of cows and horses. Gabe, who has much more experience with ski-bum venues, pronounces this one quite acceptable for the genre.
No Internet access in this building, so we wandered down the hill a ways to a café that offered access for a Euro an hour. Googling the Milwaukee Sports Bar found a nice review of the place -- great music apparently. And almost as remarkable is the Kamikaze Surf Bar -- I mean, Can You See The Surf from where you are? The cafe was flanked by a bit of a grocery store and also offered some nice-looking pastries; we laid in some staples (noting the entire absence of meat, fresh produce of any type, or fluid milk), hopped on line, and got back up to the room.
Around 7:30P we set out to find a pizza for dinner, only to discover that every place within a block or so was closed for the summer. We finally settled for chicken sandwiches & a big salad from Burger King, giving ourselves the excuse that “it’s the first night” … we just need some nourishment. We got a bit organized and headed for bed, leaving the door to the tiny balcony (usable only to test the outdoor temperature or, possibly, to chill your beer) open for fresh air.
Well, it’s Saturday night in a resort town. Several waves of revelers ambled around close enough to wake us up at regular intervals. The beds are thin, well-worn mattresses over wood slats … quite stiff and unforgiving. My left leg kept twitching, a result of getting more exercise than it has in decades since now become reacquainted with the workings of a clutch. By the middle of the night, I was ready to check out in the morning and flee to somewhere more civilized.
But in the morning, better sense prevailed. We enjoyed our pastries and the remainder of the food we’d brought up from Barcelona; I made instant coffee in a cereal bowl and drank it mindfully with two hands. The forecasted weather had arrived: you could've surfed down any of the village streets at various points. So foggy that one could hardly see across the street, then it poured off and on. A VERY fine day to stay inside. We did explore the community sports center where Gabe bought a week pass, he plans to swim every day ... and I can come in and wait for him and there's free WiFi. LOVERLY!!!
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