Snow and Wine

I did the stupidest thing. Well, another stupid thing. I went onto my balcony when I first woke up to take in the sunrise as I do most mornings, and I saw that the Pyrenees to my north were covered in snow! Or so I thought. When I went out again 30 minutes later to test the weather for what I’d wear that day, the snow was gone! OMG. It was just a large white cloud sitting on top of the mountains. And I’d sent the photo to four friends proclaiming that the snow had arrived! I had to backtrack and admit my stupidity. But it looks like snow, right??

A couple of weeks ago, French winemakers staged a protest against the importation of Spanish wines, claiming the imports create an unfair competitive advantage in the local market, which is already experiencing a surplus of wine. About 500 protesters just across the border from Spain in France intercepted trucks transporting Spanish products. They lit tires on fire to stop the traffic to search for trucks carrying Spanish wine. Two tanker trunks carrying red wine were emptied onto the highway spilling over 2,400 liters of Spanish rosé on the road and and a tractor trailer carrying pallets of Freixenet Cava was opened and the contents smashed onto the ground, bubbles fizzing out, destroying 10,000 bottles of Spanish cava. Another truck transporting tomatoes was emptied, the cargo splattered onto the road. What a mess!

Also interesting (to me, anyway), I read that Spain is planning to address climate change by cancelling short-haul flights within the country for routes that could be replaced by train journeys of 2.5 hours or less. Around 35 percent of domestic flights in Spain – most of them to or from Madrid could be cancelled, and replaced with high-speed trains. The move is supposed to reduce emissions by around 10 percent without affecting total travel times. France has already banned this type of in-country flight and more flight routes within France may be discontinued in the future.

In other news, of questionable relevance, Princess Leonor, Daughter of the current King Felipe of Spain and granddaughter of disgraced former King Juan Carlos, pledged her allegiance to the Spanish Constitution in a ceremony this week on her 18th birthday before the joint session of the Spanish Congress and Senate. Leonor is the presumptive heir to the throne. Of course, if she’d had a brother, even if younger, he would have been heir. As Barbie would say “the Patriarchy!” Her father, King Felipe VI of Spain, took the same oath on his 18th birthday in 1986 and took the throne in 2014 after his father, King Juan Carlos abdicated due to his plummeting popularity. Juan Carlos left Spain in 2020 for Abu Dhabi after allegations of corrupt business dealings with Saudi Arabia became public, in order to save his son from further embarrassment. Following her oath, Leonor asked the Spanish people to put their trust in her. The Presidents of the states of Cataluyna and of the Basque Country did not attend the ceremony. She seems very poised for 18.