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  • I'm in France!

  • So today I'm doing this 3 countries in one-day tour. Started in Barcelona.

  • We went to Baga already and then we just came to France in Ax-Les-Thermes.

  • Sorry if I'm butchering that but I think I'm pronouncing that right.

  • Next, we're going to this country called Andorra

  • which I hadn't even heard of until I looked into this tour

  • so I'm pretty excited about that place.

  • Then we're going to make our way back to Spain.

  • All this in 12 hours and we have a wonderful tour guide.

  • His name is Xavi. His full name is spelled Xavier. X-A-V-I-E-R.

  • In Spain, it's pronounced "Chavier", so for short, it's "Chavi".

  • We have about an hour and a half in this French town.

  • It's so nice. Very beautiful. Love the mountains in the background.

  • Going to probably eat a little bit and maybe have some coffee and keep going on with this tour.

  • As I mentioned earlier, we stopped by Baga in Spain first.

  • Baga was about an hour and a half ride from Barcelona

  • and Xavi told us a little bit about this town before we arrived.

  • It's Monday and this village is about to wake up.

  • We will see maybe one or two cars. There are about 2,000 people in Baga.

  • People living here run little shops

  • or work in bigger cities nearby or working from home

  • paying little rent.

  • We were given about 20 minutes to go to one of the two bakeries in the town

  • and after we ate our yummy pastries, Xavi took us on a quick tour around Baga.

  • We first stopped by the church that was built in the 14th and 15th centuries.

  • We didn't have time to go inside but the views next to the church were stunning.

  • Next, we made our way to the oldest part of this medieval town

  • which was a small square built in the 13th century.

  • Xavi stopped here for a few minutes and told us some of the history behind Baga.

  • The people in Baga were very worried, so they wanted to have him back

  • and the Arab king asked him for something in return.

  • If you were a Moorish King, what would you ask the people here?

  • We were only here for about an hour or maybe even less.

  • I wish we would have spent more time here but I get that they're trying to fit three countries in one day

  • so we had to stick to a strict schedule.

  • Whenever we say we want to eat, we say "menjar". More similar to "manger" in French than to "comer" in Spanish.

  • Our next stop was Ax-Les-Thermes and it was another hour and a half drive.

  • The views were getting more gorgeous with the Pyrenees Mountains nearby.

  • Fun fact: these mountains are a natural border between Spain and France.

  • Xavi told us some interesting facts about France and its current president

  • and also the nickname of France which is "hexagone" meaning the hexagon

  • as the country has six sides to it. Many French think that this is a perfect geometric form

  • and it was created by God.

  • They are very proud of their country.

  • Once we arrived in Ax-Les-Thermes, Xavi took us to the main street to show us around a bit

  • and gave us recommendations on where to eat if we were hungry.

  • He also showed us the natural hot springs where we could soak our feet in

  • which I definitely took advantage of.

  • Ax-Les-Thermes is actually an ancient spa town and its hot springs, which were used by the Romans,

  • were historically claimed to treat rheumatism and skin diseases.

  • It was quiet when we went on a Monday in July

  • but during the winter it gets much busier as it is also a popular ski town.

  • Next, we made our way towards Andorra.

  • This was the country I was most excited about

  • because up until a few months ago, I didn't even know Andorra was a country.

  • Andorra is situated between France and Spain and it's the sixth smallest country in Europe.

  • When we reached the border of Andorra, Xavi asked us if we wanted our passports stamped here

  • and of course, we all said yes.

  • While Xavi took care of that for us, we hopped off the bus for a bit

  • and took in the beautiful views of the mountains.

  • It was breathtaking.

  • Next, we made a quick stop at a mountain valley

  • and took a look at a typical house of Andorra in the mountains built to withstand heavy snow.

  • I wish we could have stayed here a bit longer because the views were just stunning.

  • It would have been nice to have a little picnic here or something.

  • Our last stop was Andorra La Vella which is is Andorra's capital.

  • It's known as the mall and close by mountains as their main street is full of shops surrounded by mountains.

  • We stopped here for a couple of hours so we could do some tax-free shopping

  • which Andorra is quite well known for

  • or eat lunch if we hadn't done so in France.

  • I roamed around the mall a bit and walked the main street

  • but I was a bit bored for the most part since I'm not much of a shopper.

  • At about 4 p.m., we hopped back on the bus and headed back to Barcelona.

  • We took a different route back and the views were awesome

  • as we drove by some farmlands, mountains and lakes.

  • Before we made our final stop in Barcelona, we stopped by a bar and Xavi bought us all a round of drinks.

  • This was such a fantastic tour and I cannot recommend it enough.

  • Xavi was very knowledgeable not only in the history and culture of each country, but in the politics too

  • which I found super interesting.

  • If you get Xavi as your tour guide, you're in luck.

I'm in France!

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