Europe

Early this summer I took a lovely two-week trip to Northern Spain. We traveled to Mallorca, Valencia and Barcelona. Each spot was filled with its own brand of enchantment. There were so many things that I loved about Spain  - the architecture, the late leisurely lunches complete with cava (and often dessert), the opportunity to stumble upon the most charming restaurants and bars in little alley ways and the laid back Euro attitude of course. (Naps at 4pm every work day?  Hey sure, sign me up.)  I was also pleased with many of the environmentally friendly efforts I noticed in Spain. I struggle with dubbing these efforts "environmentally conscious" because it seems to be almost organic, as though the Spanish (and many other European countries for that matter) feel there would be no other way to live. However, we know this isn't really the case.  There is a consciousness behind Spain's efforts. Just a few examples - in 2006 Spain made wind energy their primary source of power, and in 2007 Spanish Socialist government made plans to provide citizens grants to make their homes more environmentally friendly. Here are some of the more pedestrian observations I had in Northern Spain...