vamos al parque

Sometimes it's difficult for me to gauge just exactly how doomed the world is. Having been worried and working toward preserving it for the past 20 years, I figure that everyone must be concerned to some degree. Mustn’t they?

Here in Spain I have so far had cause to wonder. It seems to me that Madrileños pasan olímpicamente (could give a damn) about not just the health of the planet but, going by the contents of most restaurant menus, their own as well! (Vegetables are a rarity and, when they are present, they tend to be either overcooked or from a jar.)

So on goes our search for food we want to eat and for products we feel good about buying… The frustration this search is evoking in us is probably exacerbated by our extra-fond memories of Konohana Family Farm, the mind-blowingly awesome organic cooperative farm that sent us the most divine vegetables and other awesome products weekly back in Tokyo (in fact there will be an Our World 2.0 story and videobrief on it soon).

Nonetheless, we soldier on in our research. This morning we did find something we can try, when it reopens from summer vacation in September (yes, many stores close down for the whole month of August). We took our first family walk to the biggest nearby park (Parque de Berlin) and as we ate breakfast at a sidewalk table near the park afterwards, a sign caught my eye: El Super Ecologico.com. They deliver and their website is quite extensive but I’d prefer to check it out in person before doing any ordering since the organic shop we have right across the street has a website too and baby, reality looks a little different in person (many of the veggies completely shrivelled, the breads of an undetermined age)!

Anyway, the G-dog sure was in a good mood today, what with the first morning family walk since we arrived here 10 days ago. She had gotten used to them in San Juan, and obviously misses them like she does the padres, and Alain when he’s at work. But Little Miz will have more attention tomorrow afternoon when A’s brother and two teenage nieces arrive. They’re leaving the next day for a few days visit in San Juan and then they’ll be back to spend next weekend with us. That should liven up our quiet lives a bit!