We just got back from a great trip into the mountains for some family ski time. The Pyrenees run along the border between Spain and France. We ended up in a mountain valley called Val D’Aran in Catalonia which has its own language and culture that is distinct from other regions of Spain. Driving there, we noticed a sudden change in the architecture once we crossed from one side of the border in Aragon to Catalonia. The houses all had slate roofs and had a French feel to them. The valley we stayed in is dotted with little tiny villages that sit at the bottom of the valley, below the snow line. In fact, the mountain range in this stretch of the mountain range was not that high, only about 2000 meters (or 6500 ft). The town we stayed in was called Garos and looked to only have a population of 100-200 people.
It hadn’t snowed in a couple of weeks so there wasn’t much snow and what was there was either man made or kind of icy, but that didn’t stop us from having a great time! Both kids had half day lessons each day and improved noticeably from the last time we went skiing.
We had two great days of skiing and at the end of the second day, we had to try the chicken broth drink that was on tap at all the bars. The bartender told us that Spaniards are very evolved in drinking this stuff. The kids were fans too.
But then that night, Kaia showed up at our bed in the middle of the night complaining of a hurting belly. What 10 years of parenting has taught me is you do not invite your kid into bed when they come to you in the middle of the night with an upset tummy. But, I was so tired. At least I put a garbage can by the bed before passing out again. And sure enough, a little while later, the yakking started. It seemed that everyone belly felt a little off. It must have been a stomach bug. Kaia and Vance stayed in for the last day of skiing while Jett forced me to ski more than I’ve ever skied in one day!
We also celebrated Tres Magos in Garos. The kids left their shoes by the heater at night and got some presents from the three kings! Wow! How did they find us all the way in the mountains??
A bunch of photos didn’t upload properly in the last “Catching Up” post so check out the new photos!
SF family in Madrid 
Love this! The town looks like the sound of music! And look at all you ski pros!
On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 6:23 AM SF family in Madrid wrote:
> sffamilyinmadrid posted: ” We just got back from a great trip into the > mountains for some family ski time. The Pyrenees run along the border > between Spain and France. We ended up in a mountain valley called Val > D’Aran in Catalonia which has its own language and culture that is dis” >
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