Hi. Does anybody know Catalonia and the Spanish Pyrenees? I have two
teenage boys (I am 60 and not very agile). We have booked flights to
and from Girona on December 20th and January 5th and we are wondering
what to do in the intervening 14 days.

My thoughts are:
       1. a few days in and around Olot
       2. up in the mountains for Christmas so the boys can do the
snowboarding that they are very keen on
       3. Back perhaps to Figueras for the last few days and the New Year

Does anybody know some good budget places we should visit in that area
- my wife and I are interested in culture/language/history and all the
boring things that parents like. We are all interested in having a
holiday without too much family discord. (General advice on this
appreciate too!)

Please let me have your recommendations.


(On a different note - I am just starting a website aa42.com which is
to be a 'review' site wher anybody can enter the best and the worst of
ANYTHING. I'd welcome your comments on this concept and on other
websites with similar concepts. I'd also like advice on how to make it
pay!) But NB I'm going to put up a different question on this one: at
present I;m mainly interested in teh Girona problem.

Hi there.

Hi there...

You've chosen a great place to spend a holidays....

Olot it's a great place but if you're arriving to Girona you shouldn't
miss the city. It's unknown for most spaniards but it's very
beutiful... It's got a marvelous Old Jewish quarter.

For lodging at Girona I would recommend you Hotel Ciutat de Girona
(www.hotelciutatdegirona.com). At Olot you can stay at Can Blanc
(www.grn.es/la_deu/can_blanc/ind_canblanc.htm) a very beautiful place
to stay and rest. To find out what you could do at Olot I recommend
you to visit www.turismegarrotxa.com/index.asp?docId=119&seccio=3&MenuID=119

Anyway you can find every single hotel in Spain at a very nice lodging
guide called www.hotelsearch.com

For your skiing I recommend you Andorra or Baqueira. 

Andorra is a very small country in the Pyrenees between Catalonia or
Andorra. There you can find many ski resorts and nice lodging, my
favorite hotel is www.apsisarthotel.com. You can find all kind of
information at www.hotels-in-andorra.com or www.andorra.ad

Baqueira is a ski resort in a beautiful valley called Aran. In new
year is the high season and rates are high but there you can find and
see Madrid's and Barcelona high society where I include King Juan
Carlos and his whole royal family and ex president Jose Marķa Aznar.
If you go for Baqueira I recommend you the beautiful and nice Rafael
Hotel La Pleta (www.rafaelhoteles-lapleta.com or
www.slh.com/spain/baqueira__lleid/hotel_baqple.html). For more
information and pictures you shoud visit www.baqueira.es. Baqueira has
a lot of parties and things to do for new year's eve.... but I've
heard it's expensive.

The dates you're going to Andorra and Baqueira are high season so you
better hurry up to make your reservations.

I hope this information will help you but if you need anything else
don't hesitate to contact me.

Luis