Sometimes It´s Good to be Small!

A bit fuzzy view of Andorra la Vella from the bus window.

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Andorra is a small country that sits in the mountains between Spain and France and is only about 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC.  The official population is about 70 thousand people but since it is a huge tourist hub there are always more people around.  A LOT more.  An estimated 11.6 million tourists visit annually for the skiing, shopping, etc.  We were a bit surprised to arrive and find there was still snow in the area.  (So much for staying in warm climates so we don´t have to pack a lot of clothes.)  The place is clean, pretty, and unbelievably full of stores.  Andorra represents a shining example of what free trade advocates say would happen to any country which throws its economy wide open.  The gap in the theory is that the flood of business Andorra gets is largely due to the fact that France and Spain don´t have the same kind of openess.  What happens if Spain and France really opened up?  Luckily for Andorra the world will almost certainly never find out!