October 25, 2026

Sunday

Andorra la Vella, Parròquia d'Andorra la Vella, Principat d'Andorra > Barcelona, Catalonia, España

Travel Day

This morning we are heading back to Barcelona on the DirectBus from Andorra. We got going about 07:30 and headed downstairs for some breakfast. The bus leaves at 10:45 and won’t get to Barcelona until 13:45. So “lunch time” is basically disrupted.

Yesterday Mary split some “grease” on her favorite top. Having been instructed to “fix it”, a search for spot remover has begun. OxiClean is the best one spot remover, but that wasn’t packed. Neither was a Tide-to-go stick, a Shout-to-pad. It is Sunday, which can mean grocery stores may not be open. One will be found!

We decided to walk to the bus station. Google Maps says it is 950 meters from the hotel, but it is probably a little longer than that. The walk is flat and along a pedestrian path next to the river. It is also 6° C (43° F) which is 6° C (11° F) higher than yesterday. Yes, it was 0° yesterday morning (32° F).

Speaking of mornings, today is a special day in Andorra, they set the clock back an hour. So, we went down to breakfast at 07:30, but we didn’t know about the time change. Yes, our apply watch, phone and iPads all updated but we didn’t notice the extra hours sleep. It wasn’t until we got into the elevator where the hotel had posted a sign about the time change did we know about it. We walked into the bar to find them cleaning and not ready for breakfast. Why? Because it is Sunday and they don’t open until 08:00 on Sunday.

We did find out that the large City Center Supermarket opens at 09:00. We will try to get over there and get some OxiClean or some other spot remover after breakfast. While we were waiting for breakfast, we got everything packed up and ready to go.

It had just gone 08:00 when we went down to breakfast. Mary ordered the avocado toast, and I ordered the Eggs Benedict. We each got a cappuccino. Everything was very good. After breakfast we went back up to the room to finish getting ready. Just before it went 09:00 I went downstairs and across the street to the City Center Supermarket.

 Mary’s Avocado Toast

My eggs Benedict

I managed to find something called Vanish Oxi Action. It has a photo or drawing of a yellow shirt on the outside of the bottle. On one side of the shirt are stains, then there is a white line down the center, and the other side of the shirt shows a sparkling clean shirt.

I couldn’t read the Spanish in the store, but I could guess. Appearing on the label was Manchas del Día a Día; everyday stains! And, Eficaz en Comida, Bebidas, Césped & Más; this one I didn’t even get close on, it means effective on food, drinks, lawn & more. Lastly, seguirò para colores y blancos, e spray quitamachas sin lenjía. I sort of got this one, I went with safe on colors and whites, in truth it means bleach-free stain-remover spray, suitable for both colors and whites. It appears I got the proper stuff, now we will see when I try to get the stain out of Mary’s blouse tomorrow.

We left the room shortly after 09:30 and headed to the bus station. A quick stop at the front desk to pay the bill, and we were off. It is supposed to be a fifteen-minute walk to the bus station, but apparently, I took a slightly different, more scenic route, and it took almost a half hour. But it was all downhill and on pedestrian pathways.

We arrived at the bus station just as it was going 10:00. I went to the ticket window and traded our voucher to our tickets and got our luggage tags. Then I went out to the lanes where the buses park for loading and looked for number four, that is where our bus it to be. There was a bus and driver already there. I went back in and got Mary and we went to the platform.

The driver was standing outside the bus, and the luggage compartment door was open. I showed him our tickets, loaded the luggage into the hold of the bus, and then we boarded and took our seats. We were the first on board. People started loading right behind us.

Say good bye Andorr la Vella

The bus left on time at 10:45. It didn’t take long for Mary to bring out her book to listen to, and for me to nod off to sleep. I woke up about 12:25. Watched the countryside go by and the city scape to start to develop. We arrived at the Barcelona Sans Bus Station right on time at 13:45.

We gathered our things, got our luggage and headed to the hotel just across the station. The young woman who helped us last week as at the counter and remembered us. We checked in but our room wasn’t ready. Check in time is 15:00, so we wait. We checked in with the Regent desk. Got our Regent luggage tags and boarding instructions.

We then went to the lobby bar and ordered lunch. Mary had a sangria and I had water. We both ordered burgers. The burgers and accompanying fries were very good. We sat and fiddled with our phones for awhile, then at 15:00 I returned to the front desk to get our keys. Unfortunately, the front desk was mobbed with people trying to check in.

It took about 20 minutes before I got my turn. Our room was now ready – 1710. Just as I was going to get Mary a group from Viking Cruises came in and were going up the the roof top for views of the city. It is only a pain because there were probably thirty of them and each elevator holds maybe 6.

We got to our room. It isn’t much different than the previous one, except it isn’t on the corner. Our luggage came shortly there after. Mary took a little nap; I worked on the blog and translated the Vanish bottle. I watched part of The Way with Martin Sheen. We watched it on the bus while on the Tauck tour, but I didn’t get most of it. Mary is waiting for V to call – it’s Sunday and he calls every Sunday.

We talked with V and Ali. We discussed our trip together in May. We decided it would be easiest if I proposed a plan and sent it to them, rather than wait for them to propose something. Therefore, I spent the next hour or so preparing a plan for two weeks in May.

We will fly into Zurich, stay a couple days, take the train to St Moritz, stay a couple days, take the Red Train to Tirano, then on to Sondrio where we will say a couple days and visit with family. Then we will go to Varenna on Largo Como for a couple days, then on to Milan. From Milan V & Ali will go back to Zurich and fly home. Nonna and I will go on to Verona so we can watch the opera, Aida, at the arena d’Verona on the 19th. Then we will go back to Zurich and fly back to California.

Once all that was worked out, we sent it to V & Ali for review. We then went out for a walk. Our step count for today is poor. We walked a couple miles. It was a beautiful night. Neither too hot nor too cold. In the way back we stopped at Burger King and I got a Whopper. I just need something small for dinner. I didn’t actually it all of it, it wasn’t worth the effort to chew.

Back in the room we got ourselves ready for departure in the morning. They will come and pick up the bags at 08:00; or at least we have to have them ready to be picked up at 08:00.

Buonanotte e ciao,

Enrico & Maria