Popular Post Blackham Posted October 8, 2014 Popular Post Posted October 8, 2014 Just came back from my trip to Europe. This time is primarily for my GF's birthday so not everything was cigar related as I wanted it to be, however I tried my best to squeezed some smoking time into the itinerary: Smoked a Quai D'Orsay on Quai D'Orsay in Paris, smoked one in high altitude up on the Pyrenees mountain range, visited the elaborated LCDH in Amsterdam, and of course crazy shopping side trip to Andorra! This post is entirely built up on Chris' original Andorra Report few years back. Without Chris I wouldn't even know such a magical place exists. By no means this is a guide but I want to share my experience, so when you ever decide to go it will be a smooth and pleasant trip for you. I visited two towns in Andorra for cigars, Pas de la Casa as well as Andorra la Vella, these are the two towns you want to make a stop if you want to do major shopping. However if you do not have too much time or you are entering from the Spanish border, it is possible to skip Pas de la casa. *Due to forum rules I cannot disclose the name of the cigar vendor, if you are interested please drop me a PM Getting there: On Friday morning we started our journey from Perpignan, France. We took the N116 westward going towards Andorra. Total time for the trip should be around 2:30 hrs, depending on how fast you drive. First half of the trip is a flat, 2-lane freeway, passing through small town once in a while then you need to decelerate to 50km/h, it's a comfort drive. Once you see the big fortress on your right you'll know it's mountain road time! We passed by Mont Louis (great scenery and if you have time I strongly encourage stopping the car and take a few photos), we also cut through Llivia by accident but it was a nice surprise (visited an enclave/exclave - checked). After some more driving inside the valley you know you'll be getting close, there you have two options: To enter the tunnel straight to Andorra la Vella, or skip the tunnel to reach Pas de la Casa. We didn't take the tunnel because we want to go to the nearby Pas de la Casa for lunch and cigar shopping. After some more hairpin turns and hill climbs we reached the border, going into Andorra wasn't a problem at all, the authorities only asked where we are from and let us pass. Pas de la Casa is a small town with an emphasize on cosmetic/perfumerie, fashion, and tabac/liquor shop. We just parked in the "town centre" near the big roundabout, 3 minutes walk to the cigar store and parking is free to boot. Cigar shopping time! Compared to all of you I am just a newbie, so you will probably have a better eye to spot all those exotic stuff. I will let the photos speak. There's only one staff when I walked in, Jose speaks perfect English and knows a ton about his products. Note that in Andorra there will always be a staff that accompany you inside the humidor, don't feel pressured as they think it is a symbol of professional service to help out their client to pick and export their top 3 boxes of cigar, if you have any questions about cigars and a particular box please feel free. My GF knows that I needed mass concentration in this sea of treasures so she took the initiative and talk with the accompanying staff whenever we're in the humidor. All of them seem to find Canada fascinating and will go on and on with my GF regarding that topic Haul from this store: RyJ Short Churchill jar (interestingly jars have the same price as boxes, so I couldn't resist), Juan Lopez Seleccion No 5 Andorra Regional, Bolivar Panetelas box date Mar, 99, one RA Andorra Regional to smoke during lunch *Something interesting I have noticed, Andorra shops loves to give out freebies along with your purchases. I got a bunch of free lighters/cutter with my cigar purchases. The GF got a bunch of perfume samples and tote bags and they make good souvenirs. Lunch: There's a restaurant nearby the cigar store (I think it's called La Residencia), food is alright, but has a big patio that lets you smoke your newly purchased singles. That's it for Pas de la Casa, next stop is Andorra la Vella. Shopping experience was amazing and we visited twice. Stay tuned. 12
Blackham Posted October 8, 2014 Author Posted October 8, 2014 Left Pas de la Casa, immediately after you leave town there was a toll gate, about 5-7 eur, and that was the only toll we had to pay in Andorra. Trip to Andorra la Vella takes 45min, as stated by Google maps, but we didn't feel it was that much because there were so much to see. We regretted not stopping to take photos, but if you are not in a rush, I strongly encourage that you do. *Study your route to the cigar stores in La Vella! Don't just rely on GPS, we got lost quite a few times in the downtown area because GPS signal were blocked by the buildings/mountains, and the small streets were hard to navigate for a tourist. We got to the area near the cigar store. First thing we notice in La Vella - there was alot of parking enforcements on the street, one in every few blocks to be exact. I get on average 1 parking ticket bi-monthly in Toronto so I definitely don't want to risk parking on the street. So I chose to park in the nearby parking garage in Pyrenees, free parking if you spend around 20 eur (intersection Av. Meritxell and Car. Dr. Molines). Additional parking available if you turn right, we did it on the first night it was around 3-4eur for 5 hours. If you are bringing your SO, here's the plan: She shops at Pyrenees, you shop at the cigar store. Pyrenees is like the Macy's in Andorra, you can get awesome deals if you know what to look for, plus at the end of the night you get the complimentry parking. My GF knows a thing or two about cigar (she said she likes triple coronas) so she accompanied me to the store. Frederick was the one who took care of me at the shop. He has vast knowledge about cigar (and everything else happening on Earth), he has also been to Havana a couple of times so we had quite a great chat aside from the shopping. He also invited me to come back the next morning to enjoy a cigar at their lounge (more on that later). For now, it's photo time! I left with a box of Bolivar Lonsdale, H. Upmann No. 1 (it's for Chris, it will branch into another story in my Europe trip which I am quite thankful), and Quai D'Orsay Gran Corona. Time for some rest. If Andorra = Christmas, then Masia d'en Valenti will be New Years Eve. It is also the dark horse out of our two weeks vacation. Masia d'en Valenti is a warm and cozy inn run by a Spanish couple - Masia the innkeep and Valentino the chef. I picked this accommodation at first simply because it is only 5-minute drive from the Andorra/Spain border so I could make multiple drops in and out of the city. Rate is also reasonable, I paid 75eur/night for a basic room, I think if you add a little bit more you get better room views + jet bath. *The only downside - really hard to find. If you search on google maps they're give you the wrong location. It is a really tiny 1-car exit off the freeway right after you leave border. We came in late (11pm), but nevertheless Valentino came out to the parking lot to greet us and showed us to our room (he even let us pick the one we prefer). Check-in desk is inside the dining hall, as we were busy writing down passport information we noticed a really bold, full bodied smell with garlic/butter/sea salt. There was only one 1 table left in the dining hall, what is Valentino cooking that it filled up the entire dining room with this aroma? Valentino said he was baking escargots. "Uno mas, por favor!" We felt guilty as we just had dinner, but it was the best mid-night snack I've had for a long time. *The sharp eyes will find an anomaly, yes it is a red. It's not world class but it paired really well with the snails. The dish is so good that we decided to have breakfast and lunch there in the next day. Is the inn cigar smoking friendly? I never asked. We were tremendously overwhelmed with the taste of the snails. Plus we needed to get some rest because we wanted to get back to Andorra at 10am to meet with Frederick and enjoy a smoke in the lounge. 2
Blackham Posted October 8, 2014 Author Posted October 8, 2014 I will say it again: Andorra is a beautiful country, people are noble, dress well, orderly, everyone seems happy with their life. The streets are spotless, very modern, with many interesting architectures and designs. Overall it feels different from the surrounding parts of France/Spain. It would be a shame if you go there just for the shopping alone. We headed out at 9:30 from our hotel on the Spain side. It was a quiet Saturday morning, getting back into Andorra was easy, we just drove through the border without needing to stop. *Andorra has a very strong automobile culture, everywhere you'll see anything from tastefully maintained vintage to million-dollar exotics. On our way in we encountered something appeared to be a Mercedes club cruising around. 3 SL Gullwings followed by another 4 CLK-GTRs. Obvious they were too fast so we couldn't catch up with our Fiat Panda nor snap a photo. Before meeting Frederick for a cigar we decided to stop at one more cigar store. Feels like home when I see the sign. Again it is a bit tricky to find, because Google maps won't give you the exact location when you put in the address. It is located within a square and please see above for the exact location. Stock there is amazing, there are alot of boxes that I haven't seen in the previous stores. I walked out with the 2010 Montecristo Edmundo jar, Punch Royal Seleccion 12, and LGC MdO 2 Finally back to Frederick's store. Did I mention you can still smoke a cigar in cigar lounges in Andorra? I picked the Por Larranaga RS, because I really liked the box design. However, despite being a PL fan I did not like this at all. Contrary to the theme of this release, you have to smoke really really slow in order to get only a tiny bit satifaction out of it. GF showed up with 4 shopping bags in hand and I knew I could not afford to light up another one or I will go broke. *Protip - If you are planning for your arrival to Andorra, please cross out Saturday. Why? See the photo below. I could show you a 5-minute video of how many cars we passed by but I think you get the idea. No accidents, just pure volume, it made a 20 min drive into 2 hours. If you have to arrive on Sat, do it early in the morning before 10. *Protip 2 - Fill up your gas before exiting Andorra. When I was there the 95 Sans Plomb was 154 in France and 124.5 in Andorra *Maybe I'm lucky both time we exited Andorra they custom didn't bother to check anyone. Just remember it is 75 cigars per person and you shouldn't have a problem with them. We went back to the inn for more Michelin-star quality food. I'll let the photos do the talking but the onion soup is really something, something that surprised me immensely when I got to the bottom. Chef Valentino loves food, he loves both eating/cooking, and he puts a lot of thoughts in his creation. Best part - My menu costs only 20 eur, GF's is about 40 cause she wanted a big steak with a slab of foie gras that's the same surface area. With a well-fed car carrying two well-fed people, we headed back to France. Route was pretty straight foward, basically go south on N-145, when you reach La Seu D'urgell head east on N 260 towards Puigcerda. Shortly after the road will lead back to Mont Louis where we first came from. *For the paranoid ones (me inlucded), there are no border customs at Puigcerda. That's it for the trip report! I hope it is useful to your trip planning, or even inspire a new travel idea for you. If you have any questions please post them in this thread and I will try my best to answer you, for everything vendor/price related please PM. Some bonus photos from the other segments of my trip: Smoking a Quai D'Orsay on Quai D'Orsay in Paris (Thanks Art for this fabulous 2002 Corona) Morning smoke - the Aude region in France Visited LCDH Amsterdam. Manager Diederek is a sensible gentleman and connoisseur to many fine things in the world. The most tasteful LCDH I have been to, awesome LGC selection too. Thanks for telling me what you thought about the Picadores, I will now set pursue on a few boxes. Apparently you can smoke at LCDH in Andorra too, but I chose the other one because Frederick is cooler. Best feeling in the world, smoking in the comfort of your own home, with windows open and only your boxers on. *This is a flat we rented in Barcelona and the owner is nice enough to let me smoke inside. 4
... Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 Congrats on this nice trip/haul! Definitely worth spending some quality time in the humidor
Smallclub Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 *Something interesting I have noticed, Andorra shops loves to give out freebies along with your purchases. I got a bunch of free lighters/cutter with my cigar purchases. It's a common practice in Spain, to some degree in Switzerland and Germany. But in Andorra, you can even expect a glass of rum and a cigar if the clerk must leave you for a moment, to deal with other customers. Please tell me that you bought at least one box of these Astorias!!!!! 1
Ryan Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 Great trip report! Thanks for the information. I love spending time in humidors like that.
Maplepie Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 Very nice, Joe. Shame you couldn't've timed it with Fred, though Sent by the Enigma on BlackBerry.
cottierm Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 Well done Joe, well done! Waiting for the next pictures. Best, Michel
tjhernandez34 Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 Looked like a great trip, I'm looking forward to more pictures
Blackham Posted October 8, 2014 Author Posted October 8, 2014 It's a common practice in Spain, to some degree in Switzerland and Germany. But in Andorra, you can even expect a glass of rum and a cigar if the clerk must leave you for a moment, to deal with other customers. Please tell me that you bought at least one box of these Astorias!!!!! It's not until after I left Pas de la Casa to find out the Astorias are highly regarded, next time I shall come back with more cigar lore under my belt haha 1
Blackham Posted October 8, 2014 Author Posted October 8, 2014 Very nice, Joe. Shame you couldn't've timed it with Fred, though Sent by the Enigma on BlackBerry. On the bright side, lucky I didn't make any promise between you and Fred. The Barcelona portion was chaotic compared to the rest of the trip, but that's something I'll share at the herf
dangolf18 Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 I can't believe there's boxes like that still in the wild...
Maplepie Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 but that's something I'll share at the herf very fair! welcome back to freezing weather and warm regards!!
kittipong Posted October 9, 2014 Posted October 9, 2014 A very good resources for my trip next two weeks there. Please report more on cigar shop in Andorra la Vella.
Ramrod918 Posted October 9, 2014 Posted October 9, 2014 Looks like a real great time, very nice post! Ty
Blackham Posted October 9, 2014 Author Posted October 9, 2014 A very good resources for my trip next two weeks there. Please report more on cigar shop in Andorra la Vella. An immediate tip I can give you, like Smallclub said, get the Astorias! 1
... Posted October 9, 2014 Posted October 9, 2014 Sounds like the trip of a lifetime, looking forward to the third installment of the journey
ChanceSchmerr Posted October 9, 2014 Posted October 9, 2014 An immediate tip I can give you, like Smallclub said, get the Astorias! But leave some for me
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