Memphis and a steamboat adventure

I must say it has been an adventure to find any information about the steamboat pictured in this beaufiful card. I could make out the name on the picture - "Island Queen" - but the information found in the Internet was quite confusing. It seems there was an "Island Queen" operating from 1905 to 1922 in round trips between Cincinatti and Coney Island. She was consummed by fire in 1922. In 1925, a second "Island Queen" was built and resumed the previous trips. In 1947, her fuel tanks exploded, killing 19 persons. And after it, there was no obvious record of another steamboat named "Island Queen", although the picture seemed quite modern. After a bit of research, I concluded that the steamboat in the picture is an excursion steamer, a part of the Memphis Queen Line fleet, operating nowadays.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to sail on such an amazing steamboat? It must be an amazing experience. I would love to visit Memphis and the Mississipi river one day...

The card was sent to me by leni.

Source: wikipedia, http://www.ragtime.nu/islqueen.htm, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kycampbe/memoriesislandqueen.htm,

http://www.steamboats.org/traveller/lower-mississippi-river/memphis.html

Merry Christmas!

Cards in the Mail wishes all of you out there a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year. May you see all your dreams come true and find hapiness. And, of course, may your mailbox be always full of extraordinary postcards.

Have a wonderful hollyday season. ;)

Picture: taken from the Internet.

My sad little house...

No, this is not a postcard. It's a picture of my house taken by my neighbour.

I live near a small brook (water stream) that was mostly dry. But on the night of the 15th of December, a waterspout in the northen side of the island caused floods on several places. The brook that ran in front of my house rose 3 metres (~9 feet) and took half the property. It happened in a few minutes and we had to run from the house, in the middle of the night with the rain pouring down on us. We actually thought the brook was going to take the house and our lives. Fortunely, it was just a scare and of course a few material damages. Nothing we can't replace. The only bad thing is the fact that we have to move now. It's not safe to live here anymore. But we are still counting our blessings. There where other families that lost everything. Their houses, their clothes and furnitures, their hole life. And that's terribly sad.

But life goes on, and we, terceira islanders, are survivors.

Anyway, I am currently packing and busy, busy, busy.

Mail damages...

I am usually a lucky girl, specially with all things related with mail. I rarelly loose any cards and mine usually arrive well at other people's mail boxes.

But this time, bad luck rang my door bell and left this at my door step. This is the sort of thing that makes me very angry. This envelope, sent to me by edward, from Taiwan, arrived a while back at my mail box looking like this. It seems it caught a bit of rain, although it arrived dry. It also had a stamp missing.

The two cards inside where damaged too. One of it was glued to another. It was a beautiful bridge card for ny bridge collection.

Unfortunely, I'm sure I'm not the only one with such problems. If any of you want to share your story, send me an e-mail and I will post it.

Postcard Friendship Friday - Tartu University

I've always had a thing for singleview cards of beautiful buildings. Maybe it's because my best friend is an architect, or maybe it's because I love beauty in all its forms. The truth is that this kcard is quite stunning.

It was sent from Estonia and shows the University of Tartu. It took me a while to identify the building, because there is hardly any written information on the back of the card. It is located in Tartu, the 2nd largest city in Estonia. Regarded by most Estonians as the country's "national university", it is the highest ranked university in Estonia. It was established by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in 1632.

In the photo you can see its main building, built in 1809 in the neoclassical style. It houses the oldest museum in the University - the Art Museum.

It looks quite amazing. I wouldn't mind attending a few classes here myself. I would be proud of it. Hey, maybe one day - who knows, right?

source: wikipedia

For more informations about PFF, see http://www.cpaphilblog.com/

Pavlovsk's Park

This card sent by larisa, from Russia, shows the Rose Pavilion, one of many in Pavlovsk's Park, sourounding its Grand Palace.

Pavlovsk is a town located 30 km (19 mi) from St. Petersburg, Russia, near the Slavyanka River. It was granted in 1777, by Catherine the Great, to her son Paul upon the birth of his first son. In 1780, the scottish architect Charles Cameron was made responsible for the construction of a Grand Palace in Pavlovsk, to be used as a Country Residence of the Russian Imperial Family. The construction and most landscaping was concluded in 1825. The residential complex harbours an imense park, a Palace, several pavilions and monuments, covering around 1,500 acres. It holds a collection of rare furniture, porcelain, glass works and art. After Paul's death, the Palace became the residence of its widower, Maria Fedorovna.

The Rose Pavilion was erected in the 19th century and it was designed by A. Voronikhin. It is surounded by rose gardens, hence its name. Everything in its decor was based on the rose theme. For several decades it was a gathering place for artists and writers.

The complex was destroyed during WWII and was later restaured.

I was already impressed by the card's beauty but after doing a quick search on the Internet I was stunned by Pavlovsk's beauty and rich history. If you have the time, I suggest you do the same. You won't regret it.

source: wikipedia; alexanderpalace.org

Coimbra

This wonderful card was sent by susanaportugal from Portugal, signed in the back by all the participants in the 3rd Postcrossing meeting in Portugal. Unfortunely I couldn't be there. I guess that's the price I have to pay for living in an island - it gets hard to go to the mainland. Anyway, it was such a great surprise to get this card!

The card shows Coimbra, one of the oldest cities in Portugal. It's a college town, growing around the University, one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest in Portugal. The specific site shown in the card is the "Largo da Portagem" (english: Square of Toll). It owes its name to the fact that this was the place where the taxes were collected over the goods that arrived in the city, coming from the South.

In the picture you can see the square of Joaquim António de Aguiar, a notorious 19th century portuguese politician born in Coimbra. In 30th of May, 1834 he issued a law that extinguished all religious orders in Portugal. Due to this he was nicknamed "O mata-Frades" (english: "the friar killer").

I've visited Coimbra a while ago but I don't remember going to this square. Anyways, the city is quite beautiful, full of history and legends. A place you should visit...

Source: google.