Fairly global

So, Poland. 

The Fair Trade Towns conference was great.  Around 130 delegates representing 24 countries - it was a lot of fun meeting people from all over Europe and even from as far away as Japan, the Philippines and Brazil.  Trying to be a Fair Trade advocate can sometimes feel a bit of an uphill struggle.  It was good to be among others from around the world (it really is a global movement!) and pick up some of their ideas and energy.  It was also an honour to attend the ceremony to celebrate Poznan becoming Poland's first Fair Trade Town.  Go Poznan!

When we weren't conferencing there was time for socializing.  I dined out with other delegates a couple of times.  Being the crowd we were we did a good share of putting-the-world-to-rights, but there was a lot of joking around too.  I'm not a drinker myself, but others certainly made up for me in that respect.  I was surprised and impressed by Polish food - good, hearty stuff and really tasty.  Poznan has hundreds of bars and eateries, to cater for some 150,000 students (many from abroad) attending more than 20 universities and colleges in the city.

On Sunday afternoon, after the conference, we had time to catch some of the St. Martin's Day celebrations - a special festival in Poznan.  Crowds packed the streets.  We missed the traditional procession, but it was interesting to wander around the street stalls.  Most were selling rogale świętomarcińskie - croissants iced with sugar and stuffed with something like marzipan. Yum (see the last photo in yesterday's post). 

That'll do for now - I'll tell you some more tomorrow.