We are staying in our 6th hotel of this trip right now. And only 50% of these hotels have had air conditioning. This had led to a few restless sleeps where it was simply too hot. In one of our hotels, we had to ask them to bring a fan up to our room. But hey, this is Europe. I'm sure everyone thought we were spoiled North Americans. Interestingly enough, not having AC forces you to be more aware of the environment around you. Very quickly you learn that if you don't shut the blinds or shutters when the afternoon sun is shining in, you are going to end up with a room that is too hot to sleep in. I try to be mindful of this back home in Toronto, where we do have AC, but there really isn't the same imperative to both design and then operate around climate and local conditions. Active mechanical systems do much of this for us.
Today we rented a car so that we could go and explore other parts of Mallorca. We went to three different beaches and coves on the southeast coast, and they were some of the most beautiful public spaces I have ever seen.
Along the way, we stopped at an Aldi to grab picnic supplies. I love Aldi. It's amazing how much less expensive everything is here compared to back in Toronto, even once you do the EUR to CAD conversion.
As soon as we pulled in, the first thing I noticed is that every single parking space had permeable pavers. Here are two photos. The second photo is to also show you their EV charging spaces and one of the two cats that seems to live at the store.
Permeable pavers are, of course, useful because they help to reduce surface runoff. Meaning, they allow some amount of water to filter into the ground, which is not the case with impermeable surfaces.
Considering that Toronto has already had two major flood events this summer alone, I think it behooves us to take note. When is the last time you've seen permeable pavers used in a public parking lot in Canada or the US? Serious question. I can't think of an example.
Having a store cat could also be a good idea.
We just checked into our hotel in Palma and one of the first things I noticed is that as soon as you open any of the windows/doors, the AC automatically turns off. A message on the thermostat then alerts you that it will come back on once you close the windows. I haven't yet figured out how this particular hotel room is sensing that things are open, but it's relatively easy to do this at home through smart thermostats and sensors like these. I make a real concerted effort to do this manually, and so it's great to see it automated in a hotel room, where people are naturally going to care less about wastage. Europe is so far ahead of North America when it comes to energy efficiency.