CITY OF PORTO

I am now in the city of Porto up in the north of Portugal. It is a very old city and a beautiful place. My hosts last night drove me around to take a quick look at the sights before we went to dinner at a lovely restaurant along the river. This church is just in the square across from my hotel. It is just magnificent at night when it is all lit up. They told me last night that many of the most beautiful old buildings are now owned by the banks. Surprise, surprise.

I arrived here on the train from Lisbon yesterday afternoon. My talk to the Green Party Congress on Saturday seemed to have been well received. I was very impressed with their party which seems very active and issue based. I sat through most of the agenda as did the couple hundred people in attendance. Usually, at such events that I go to, by the end of the day most people have left. Not so in Lisbon....they stayed, the spirit was really fine, and one of their two elected MP's ended the day with a rousing speech calling on their party (which is in coalition with the Communist Party) to stay focused on the issues that matter and remain true to their ideals.

Some Greens in Europe, as they get power, have begun to shave the edges off their opposition to war and other important questions. The German Greens are one such example. The Green Party here seems refreshingly different.

For the next couple of days I will be visiting different communities in the country for touring around and meeting with local activists. I am being treated so kindly it is just remarkable.

More later.