Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Spring Festival, China

Stunning postcard that depicts a singing performance during Spring Festival.



Castle of the Moors, Sintra, Portugal

The Castle of the Moors is an UNESCO World Heritage Site
The castle was constructed during the 8th to 9th century, during the period of Arab occupation of the Iberian peninsula, as the central place in an territory that was immeniently agricultural, and which was necessary to protect its population.

Londrina, Parana, Brazil

Londrina was named after the British entrepreneurs who launched railroad stations in the region to ease the transportation of coffee grains from northern Paraná and southern Sao Paulo states to the port of Santos. The Londrina name pays homage to the English capital London (Londres in Portuguese), since an English cotton company made the original investment to settle in this area. The city's population consists of descendants of those settlers, Brazilians from other cities or states, Portuguese, English, Japanese, Italian, German, Polish, African, Spanish, Native, Arabian and Bulgarian Brazilians.

Bali, Indonesia

Pura Ulun Danu
Pura Ulun Danu is a Shivaite and water temple located on the edge of Lake Bratan. Built in 1663 this temple is used for offering ceremonies to the Balinese water, lake and river goddess Dewi Danu.


Russian Giraffe

Little Giraffe - Ksenia Belyaeva
Today seems to be the day for beautiful Russian postcards with equally beautiful stamps!


Flower Tag


Beautiful postcard featuring Morning Glories from a flower tag in the forums at Postcrossing

Moscow, Russia



Beautiful buildings in Moscow. Unfortunately I can't tell exactly what they are as the card is in Russian.

Seattle Space Needle, Washington

The Seattle Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair.  The Space Needle is 605 feet tall at it's highest point and weighs 9,550 tons.  From the Space Needle you can see downtown Seattle, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainer, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay and the surrounding islands.

Polar Bear, China

Beautiful postcard of a Mama Polar Bear and her baby. This was from an Animal Tag in the forums at Postcrossing


The Bund, Shanghai, China

The Bund is a waterfront area in Shanghai, China.  It is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai.

Mogao Caves, China

Mogao Caves is also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas.  The Caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1000 years. 


Legendary Warrriors by Victor Vasnetsov

From left to right, the three heroes are Dobrynya Nikitich, Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich.
Dobrynya Nikitich was known for his strength and bravery. He was best-known as a dragon slayer and for his three-day fight with the dragon Gorynich, which he eventually won.

Ilya Muromets is perhaps the most famous of all the three Bogatyrs, known for integrity and love of his homeland. He too fought at least one dragon, this one with three heads. But he is most famous for two other things. He seemed to do a lot of defending people against invading armies, often seeing off the attackers with suspiciously little help. He also managed to capture, then kill the infamous Nightingale the Robber. This was a half bird-half man, who would attack passers-by with his immensely powerful whistle. Ilya though it seems, had made sure he packed some very good cotton wool for his ears.

Alyosha Popovich was known for his wits. And he used them against, guess what, a dragon. Tugarin was a particularly rude and odious character, but when he soared into the sky on wings of paper to attack, Alyosha knew to pray for rain, which sent the dragon crashing to earth. He then did what any good dragon-slayer does, and chopped the beast into pieces.

Lime Kiln Lighthouse, San Juan Island, WA

The Lime Kiln Lighthouse gets it's name from lime kilns built nearby in the 1860s.  It was the last major lighthouse established in Washington.

Dundurn Castle, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada


One of Hamilton's most-recognized landmarks, Dundurn Castle is a National Historic Site that illustrates the life and times of Sir Allan Napier MacNab (1798 - 1862).

Dundurn Castle was constructed over a three-year period, and completed by 1835. Designed by a young English Architect, Robert Wetherall, Dundurn was built around the brick shell of Colonel Richard Beasley's colonial home. Designed as a fashionable Regency style villa, Dundurn (Gaelic for "strong fort") was nicknamed "Castle" by the citizens of Hamilton. The Castle, with its gardens, grounds and many unusual outbuildings, was one of the finest estates in the province.

Today, Dundurn Castle has been restored to the year 1855 when MacNab was at the height of his career as a lawyer, landowner, railway magnate and Premier of the United Canadas (1854-56). Over forty rooms, above and below stairs, have been furnished to compare the life of a prominent Victorian family with that of their servants. Costumed staff guide visitors through the home, illustrating daily life from the 1850s.


Virginia Map Card


Another map card for our collection! Love that this one features the various state symbols. And I love that it is a map card from my state of birth.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Stone Mountain, Georgia

Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock located in Stone Mountain, Georgia.  Stone Mountain is known not only for it's geology but also for it's enormous bas-relief on it's north face. The largest in the world!  The carving depicts three figures of the Confederate States of America.  Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis.

Chateau d'Azay-le-Rideau, France

The Chateau d'Azay-le-Rideau was built from 1515 to 1527.  It is one of the earliest French Renaissance Chateaux.  It was built on an island in the Indre River at Azay-le-Rideau.

Built on the foundations of a medieval fortress in the heart of Touraine, the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau is the creation of a wealthy financier of François I, Gilles de Berthelot. Standing in the centre of a romantic park, this masterpiece of 16th-century architecture has preserved, with the passing years, all the refinement, elegance and grace of an exceptional Renaissance château. On the Unesco World Heritage list.

Toledo, Ohio



There is a lot to see in this beautiful collage postcard of Toledo, Ohio. First off let me point out my favorite animal the Giraffe :) You can also see Tony Packo's, Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, Toledo Speedway and Sauder Farm & Craft Village among other sites.

Niagara Falls



The American Falls and Horseshoe Falls in the distance as viewed from Prospect Point.

New York State Map Card


Another map card for our collection. :)  Our goal is to have one for every state in the USA and every country of the world.

Ohio Birds

Ohio native birds. Clockwise from top left: American Goldfinch, Eastern Bluebird, Robin, Wild Turkey, Cardinal, Blue Jay, Great Horned Owl and Red Bellied Woodpecker.

Ohio Amish


I love receiving Amish postcards. One thing that I really like about this one is that it doesn't show any faces. The Amish don't like being photographed and especially photos that the person is recognizable. Photos from the side or back are okay.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Kingdom of Bahrain

Traditional Bahrani teapot over looking famous Grand Mosque
We received this lovely card from a swap on Facebook.  There are a couple of Facebook pages for Postcards that I really like and have received some wonderful cards from.


The Al-Fateh Grand Mosque is one of the largest mosques in the world.  It can accommodate 7,000 people at a time! 



Cow Postcard from The Netherlands


Another cow postcard from the tag in the Postcrossing forums. This one comes from The Netherlands.

Lovely cow stamp and a Unesco Stamp (squeee!!)

Cow Postcard from Siberia

Over in the forums at Postcrossing there is a tag for postcards featuring cows. Actually you can find a tag for just about any type of postcard you like. This one came from Siberia.


Oregon


I'd love to go camping or hiking in this forest. How beautiful is that?

Star Trek - Gamesters of Triskelion



How do you make my whole family happy? By sending a postcard that appeals to the whole family of course! The kids and I love the postcard itself and hubby is over the moon that we received a Star Trek card.

Teddy Bears


Bowen and Kayleigh received this very special card. It's really adorable and a special addition to our collection.


The Fruit Seller - Guiseppe Signorini

An art card featuring the painting The Fruit Seller  by Guiseppe Signorini. The painiting is displayed at The Russell-Cotes Art Museum in Bournemouth, England.

Trondheim, Norway


Trondheim is the 3rd largest city in Norway.  It was founded in 997 as a trading post and was capital of Norway until 1217. 

The picture on the bottom right on the postcard is the Old Town Bridge or Gamle Bybro in Norwegian. It was constructed in 1681.  It was built near the original Elgester Bridge which was then allowed to decay and collapse. Originally Gamle Bybro was constructed of wood, but the wood was supported on three stone piers. In the middle of the bridge, an iron gate was placed. This remained a guarded city gate until 1816. At each end of the bridge was a toll and guardhouse.

Gamle Bybro is also known as Lykkens portal (Gate of Happiness), after the lyrics of the popular waltz Nidelven stille og vakker du er ( "Nidelven quiet and beautiful you are") by Norwegian composer Oskar Hoddø (1916-1943). According to tradition, Hoddø wrote the waltz about the Nidelva River one night in late April 1940 while he was standing at Gamle Bybro. Oskar Hoddø was a member of the resistance movement against the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. He was executed in Trondheim on 17 November 1943.

The middle picture is the city's central plaza. On top of the obelisk in the center is a statue of Olav Tryggvason. (The founder of Trondheim) The statue base is also a sun dial.

The picture on the upper right is Nidaros Cathedral.  It was built in 1070 and is the most important Gothic monument in Norway.  It was Northern Europe's  most important Christian pilgrimage site during the middle ages. During the Middle Ages, and again after independence was restored in 1814, the Nidaros Cathedral was the coronation church of the Norwegian kings.

The Narva Triumphal Gate, Saint Petersburg, Russia

The Narva Triumphal Gate or Arch was erected in 1814 to commemorate the Russian victory over Napoleon.  The wooden structure was constructed on the Narva highway with the purpose of greeting the soldiers who were returning from abroad after their victory over Napoleon.  Between 1827 to 1834 it was rebuilt in stone.