Life in Andorra

We lived in Andorra for 7 years. It’s a beautiful and unique country. These are some of our stories.

Risotto Bolognese con Fagioli; The Right Sort, part II

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Risotto Bolognese con Fagioli As on most subjects I've written about, a day later I have more to say. First, lest some think I only meet snooty, class-conscious aristocrats and aristocrat-wannabees, let me say that I met many wonderful people in Andorra, and many of those remain good friends, despite time and distance. Second, lest … Continue reading…

Tuna Cakes; The Right Sort

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Tuna Cakes When one is employed and moves into a new community, there is a network of people in existence (your co-workers) that starts you off to establish your new social life. When one has children and moves into a new community, there is a network of people in existence (other parents) that starts you … Continue reading…

Cannellini and Pasta Soup; Life Lessons and the Portuguese Level

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Cannellini and Pasta Soup Like any country that suddenly finds itself prosperous, Andorra imported workers. Although, in Andorra's case it was even more necessary because the Andorrans were only about 10% of the population. Many Portuguese saw this as a wonderful opportunity.  They would pack up the family, move to Andorra, work ridiculously hard for … Continue reading…

Smoked Salmon Kedgeree; Checks v Cash

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Salmon Kedgeree Life is different here. Sometimes it differs in glaring ways: language, eating habits, food, and sometimes in subtle ways, such as check writing. When we first moved to Ireland we did all the normal things of any move: notified the post office, changed our address, opened a bank account and ordered new checks. … Continue reading…

Breakfast for Dinner; The Story of Turbot

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 Breakfast Hash When we lived in Andorra, after many months of going to the fishmonger, clueless, I realized that I needed to learn fish. My problems:  I didn’t know what the fish were (all the names were in Catalan) and, even if I did know their names I still didn’t know what to do with … Continue reading…

Aioli or Allioli; Festa Major

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Allioli

Allioli One of the things I miss about Andorra is the Festa Mejor Major. We have nothing like that here in bucolic France. Every hamlet, village, town and city in Spain and Andorra has their own Fest Major in the summer.  Where we lived, Andorra/Catalonia, the celebration normally went on for 4 days.  There were … Continue reading…