One of the luxuries of being quasi-retired is the availability of “guilt-free” time. You ask, guilt-free? When working, a near-universal truth is that taking time off often comes with an element of FOMO – keeping up with the office happenings while away – creating an element of guilt. Quasi-retirement means guilt-free time – there is no over-stuffed inbox which requires days to clear, while someone continues to stuff.

This Spain/Andorra trip was my first such taste of guilt-free travel and vacation. Jeanne had signed up for a yoga retreat in Begur, Spain in the Costa Brava region, about 2hrs north of Barcelona on the mediterranean coast. It seemed a great opportunity to spend time in Barcelona, and a bit of hiking in Andorra. Why Andorra? Because it’s there AND it has mountains! We’d had a great time in the Pyrenees, around Pau, France, so this was an opportunity to explore a different part of the Pyrenees.

And away we went – planning, maps, travel sites – doing the research, collecting the ideas.. The research is part of the adventure – countless hours of dreaming, almost a creative activity of creating something out of nothing. The internet is the brushes, and MS Word and Excel are the canvases on which to create the itinerary.

Read more about our adventures in Barcelona – including, of course, the Sagrada Familia – and Andorra, with its amazing mountain scenery!