Three hours by bus and I am now in Andorra. It is a tiny county wedged high in the Pyrennes between Spain and France. The towns are absolutely beautiful. The tourism office has an easy job. The county appears to be entirely devoted to skiing, private banking, and shopping. The streets are clogged with people carrying snowboards and skis and wearing expensive designer snow suits. The banking industry here is reportedly light on those nasty regulations and questions that plague “legitimate businessmen” with chronic excess liquidity. And there are plenty of places to spend that money.
Ironically, with all the rich folk in the country, it is truly a shopper’s paradise with a vast selection of high quality merchandise at prices that even I could not resist. I have really enjoyed leading a minimalist lifestyle these past five months and yet, what did I find myself buying? Kitchen knives of course! I ran across some Global knives at about half the price of anywhere else. And a ceramic knife too. I couldn’t help myself; it was too good to pass up. The stores here are absolutely astounding. Take liquor for example; I thought Liquor Barn in California was impressive. I had not seen the selection here. They have every alcohol from every part of the world at low prices. I spent an hour just looking at it all. If only I could buy for the future I would stock up. That “Le Gallon” of Pastis was tempting.
The economy must be doing well. You can’t throw a heavy stone in any direction without hitting a construction site. If fact I stood in one place and counted thirty boom cranes.
Unlike anywhere else I have been, this place feels very safe. The police presence is huge, which is not surprising for a place with this many luxury car dealerships: Bentley, Porsche, Hummer, Maserati, Ferrari, Corvette, etc…. It is a playground of the rich. Accordingly, the unpleasant visage of poverty has been banished from the kingdom. The city feels slightly unbalanced and removed from the realities of life. I feel a little guilty for liking the consumerism of this place so much.
