Andorra was an easy drive from Montserrat, through breathtaking mountain scenery. The further north we went, the more Catalan flags we saw.

When I edited the photos, I found we had loads of views of snow capped peaks taken through fly-spattered windscreen! Don't worry, I've deleted them! We were stopped at a police roadblock but after a look inside the car and being told we were headed for Andorra we were told to continue.

Entering Andorra was a shock - the roads were empty and the scenery beautiful, until we entered Andorra. Immigration waved us through without looking at our passports and we immediately joined a traffic jam with buses and motorbikes weaving through the traffic. Massive hoardings reminded us of Las Vegas and/or Piccadilly Circus, the difference being that I don't understand Catalan. I can read passably well in English, French, Spanish & Italian, but Catalan looks plain weird, I just don't get it.

Andorra exists to service the duty-free needs of both Spain and France. We will fill the tank before leaving as it's 30c/L cheaper than Spain. huge shopping malls jostle with theme-park restaurants. We replaced Andy's stolen phone at half UK price and got a lovely Desigual shirt too - that's all his shopping for the year done. Every second shop sells alcohol, tobacco and perfume. Every third sells cameras, phones and electronics. CS gas, bullet-proof vests and surveillance gear can be had, and we found a huge model shop with aircraft, cars, radio control gear and 4 stroke model aero engines. Sadly, it was closed. There were also many fashion shops.

A river runs through the centre of the town, very fast-flowing from snow melt-water and cooling the air effectively but we were still in T shirts at 11pm. We walked back to the hotel through a social housing project, with schools, day care centres, tennis courts and children's play areas at its heart. At 7pm it was full of cheerful youngsters and children, clean and safe - so different from those in the UK. The other thing that struck me was the sculptures, have a look at the photo album.

Over dinner, the restaurant proprietor explained what it is to be Andorran; they like their French and Spanish neighbours, appreciate the Catalan desire for independence but enjoy their special status as an independent principality. They like being different!