Happy Hollidays!

I wish everyone a great Christmas and a Happy New Year, full of wonderful momments and hapiness.

And to all postcrossers and card/stamp collectors I wish a great New Year of happy swaps. May your mail box always be full :)

Os Imigrantes - Domingos Rebelo

Of all the amazing stamps I have in my collection, this is probably my favourite. It was issued in 1999 by the CTT (Portuguese Postal Services) and depicts a painting named “Os Imigrantes”, painted by the Azorean painter Domingos Rebelo.

Domingos Rebelo, born in the city of Ponta Delgada, S. Miguel Island, in 1891, was a professor and a painter. He exhibited his first painting when he was only 13 years old. When he was 15 years old, due to his talent, and with the support of many people, he left the island to study in Paris, where he remained for six years. After returning to the island and marrying, he worked for thirty years in the same school where he studied, which today is named after him. In 1942, he settled in Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, doing several murals and paintings and getting involved in the National Arts Academy. He eventually died in that city in 1975.

He was a deeply religious person and gave a lot of importance to family and religion. Through out his life, he was always interested in helping and orientating young Azorean painters. He had a big impact in Azorean culture and Art, becoming the most known Azorean artist of all times.

Os Imigrantes (The immigrants) is his best known piece. It was painted in 1926 and shows local people in Ponta Delgada’s Harbour, waiting to leave the island and immigrate to other places in the world. It is considered a regionalist themed painting, because of its details: the traditional Azorean clothes, the Azorean guitar and the small frame next to the woman (it shows an image of Saint Christ of Miracles, a very important religious devotion in the islands).
I think it’s a remarkable painting, done by a remarkable painter.

Source: Wikipedia.

Busy bee :)

I have been so busy lately, that I have had no time to post here. But I´ve received some incredible cards. I will try and post a new topic tonight.

Hugs to all!

Santorini

This remarkable card was sent by neojojo. It depicts the town of Oia and the caldera, in Santorini, Greece. Santorini is what remains of an enormous volcanic explosion, destroying the earliest settlements on what was formerly a single island, and leading to the creation of the current caldera. Its spectacular physical beauty, along with a dynamic nightlife, have made the island one of Europe's tourist hotspots. Its typical architecture with white and blue colors is well known around the world.I adore this card! One day, when I became a very rich person, I will certainly visit this dream place.

Source: Wikipédia.

Pelourinho vs. Angra do Heroísmo

What are the odds of two different photographers, at different times, take two similar photographs of two different places? Well, I don’t know, but they must be slim.

Well, the above card was sent by baiana, from Brazil, and it shows Pelourinho, the historic centre of Salvador, the capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador was founded in 1549, with the objective of becoming the headquarters of the Portuguese sovereignty in Brazil. Most of the buildings architecture was styled in colonial architecture (Portuguese baroque) and it has a unique look. The houses, buildings and churches still maintain the colourful colours that were usual in the 17th century and nowadays it’s a cultural centre. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 and it includes places such as the Governors’ Palace, the Church of San Francisco, the church of Carmo, etc.

The bellow card (from my album for trade) shows the Town of Angra do Heroísmo, which was the first place in the Açores to be elevated to the status of city, in 1534. It has a special place in Azorean History as one of the most important locations in the archipelago. For many centuries, Angra do Heroísmo was an obligatory stop to caravels, carracks and galleons full of riches, which brought wealth to the city. It has many palaces and convents, churches and forts. Originally, it was simply called Angra ( in English cove or harbor) because it had a cove that allowed the protection of big ships from the winds and other dangers. In the 19th century the name was changed to Angra do Heroísmo (English: of Heroism) in recognition to the courage and heroism of its inhabitants during the Portuguese Civil War.
In 1983, UNESCO declared its Historic centre a World Heritage Site. The site includes the fortifications of S. Sebastião and São João Baptista, the City Hall, the Cathedral, the town square, etc.

Both cards are amazing and depict incredible places in the world. I find them beautiful, especially because they are so similar…

Source: Wikipedia.

Roter Sand Lighthouse

As I’ve said here before, I adore lighthouse cards, especially the ones that show lighthouses surrounded by water (wave-washed lighthouses).
I received this one from Germany, sent by eryore1974 and it shows the lighthouse of Roter Sand, located somewhere in Lower Saxony. It’s a very beautiful lighthouse.

Source: Wikipedia.

New Job!!!

I will be starting a new job today. I am nervous, nervous, nervous... Oh, well. I'll hope it will all go well...

Anyway, I guess I won't be able to post here until the weekend, but please, don't dispair. I will be back! :)

Almeida

A week ago, my best friend brought me a stack of postcards. He lives in the mainland (in Lisbon) and is here for the Holydays. Among all the great cards he brought me, there was this awesome one. He visited the site and because he knows I love History he thought I might like this card. Well, he was right.

It shows the Fort of Almeida, located in the town of Almeida, in the border with Spain. It was built in the 17th century and it’s a star fort, built in Vauban style. The Fort is a National Monument since 1927.

I had never heard of it until my friend gave me the card – a fact I find unforgivable. How is it possible that such beautiful places are not known by the public?

Source: Wikipedia.

Moomin Stamps

Before joining the Postcrossing Project, I had never heard of the Moomin. Now, I find them quite interesting.

The Moomins are characters created by the Finnish illustrator and writer Tove Jansson and they appear in nine books, five picture books and a comic strip. They have also been the basis for numerous television series and films. There is even a Theme Park in Finland!
The stories are set in a fictional place in Finland: the Moomin Valley. The Moomin family comprises of the Moominpappa, Moominmamma and their son, Moomintroll. All the stories are quite philosophical and they depict values such as tolerance, love, friendship, generosity and respect for others.

These stamps, issued in 2007 by the Finnish postal services, were sent to me by various postcrossers. I adore them! :)

Source: Wikipedia.

Dallas

This beautiful card arrived a while back from veeder, in the USA. It shows Dallas’ skyline at dusk and the architectural details in the left building are incredible.

Dallas is the 3rd largest city in the State of Texas and is the largest inland metropolitan are in the country without a navigable link to the sea. Its importance derivates from its historical importance in the oil and cotton industries.

It’s a city I would love to visit!

Source: Wikipedia.

Mistery Bridge

This beautiful bridge card, sent from Japan by lovelypostcard24, shows an incredible bridge spanning the Mississippi river, the second largest river in USA. Now, the question is which bridge?

The card doesn’t have much information and calls it the Mississippi River Bridge. A little online investigation revealed that there at least 21 bridges over the Mississippi River and none are called that. After seeing many, many photos, I narrowed it down to three possibilities: the Black Hawk Bridge, the Savannah-Sabula Bridge and the Crescent City Connection. But I am still unsure of which one it actually is! Can anyone help me? :)

Lighthouse of Capelinhos II

I love maxicards and I collect them. They are the perfect combination of my two favourite hobbies: stamps and postcards. This one I bought on-line, on the CTT (Portuguese postal services) website.

It shows a beautiful view of Capelinhos and the stamps shows a vintage photo of the volcanic eruption on the site, in the 50’s. It's beautiful!

Yosemite National Park

These two beautiful cards were sent by acossa, from the USA. They show the Yosemite National Park, located in east central California. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984 and it is visited by over 3.5 million people every year.

These cards are amazing. It must be an incredible place to visit.

Source: Wikipedia.

Casa Milà

Casa Milà, or La Pedrera, is a beautiful building built between 1906 and 1912 in Barcelona. It was designed by Antoni Gaudí, the famous Catalan architect and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

I am a huge fan of Gaudí’s architecture. I think it’s magical, intense and inventive. They are quite magnificent!

This great card was sent by luisieme, from Spain.

La Mancha

La Mancha is located in the Castille – La Mancha autonomous community, in Spain. It is an arid, but fertile plateau of Central Spain, well known by its viniculture and cereal production. But its most well known landmarks are La Mancha’s windmills, which gain international fame because of Cervantes’ “Don Quixote de La Mancha”.

This is a beautiful card, sent by Gabriela, from Spain.

Source: Wikipedia.

Saint Louis

This amazing card was sent a while back by juliee, from USA. The colours are incredible: all those shades of purple on the sky and the lightning... just fantastic.

Saint Louis, or the Gateway city, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was named after King Louis IX of France and its most recognizable symbol is the Gateway Arch, which can be seen in the postcard’s picture. The Arch is made of stainless steel and stands 192m tall, being the tallest monument in the country. It is a part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which was established to commemorate three historical moments: the Louisiana Purchase; the first civil government west of the Mississippi River and the debate over slavery began by the Dred Scott Case.

It’s a quite stunning card.

Source: Wikipedia.

Lightouse stamps

Today, I feel like doing something different. I tried new recipes for lunch; changed the order of my room’s furniture and now I will write about something new: stamps.

I’ve loved stamps since I was a little girl. I used to keep them in a box and I would spend hours staring at them through a magnifying glass. Now, I keep them in an album and don’t stare at them as often, but I still love them. They are beautiful pieces of history, miniature pictures of a country’s life, culture and beauty.

Among my favourites are these lighthouse stamps. Some of them are from my album; others are on the back of postcards. They come from various countries: Germany, Spain, France, USA, Japan, Canada, Estonia, Australia, and of course, Portugal.
Aren’t they gorgeous?

Palace of the Lost City

This is an impressive card, isn’t it? Well, it doesn’t feature a mysterious location or a grand city view. The building in the card isn’t a breathtaking palace or an incredible building. No, the image in this beautiful card sent by mrsc, from South Africa, shows the Palace of the Lost City: a 5 star hotel located in Sun City Resort, Rustenburg, South Africa.

If one day I wake up a millionaire, this is were I will spend my holydays, enjoying life with lavish comfort and entertainment. Until then, I have to conform myself to this sofa and this computer.
Well, I guess it could be worst...

Source: Wikipedia.

Lighthouse of Penedo da Saudade

The first time I saw this card in an album for trade, I immediately knew I had to have it in my collection. The sky and ocean colours were just magnificent. Fortunately, susanaportugal was kind enough to send me one.

This lighthouse is located in Penedo da Saudade, a site in the parish of S. Pedro de Moel, in Marinha Grande, Portugal. The lighthouse’s name is difficult to translate to English because there is no accurate English correspondence to the word “saudade”. I will translate it for nostalgia and “penedo” for cliff. Hence, its name in English would be something like Cliff of Nostalgia.

The site was originally donated by the King in 1463 to the Count of Vila Real. It remained in the family for several centuries, until the last count was executed for treason in 1641. The legend says that the countess weeped every day until her death, on the top of the cliff, for her beloved husband and that’s how the site earned its name.
Some say they can still hear the countess’ cry’s in the wind...

Source: Wikipedia.

Back to the blog

I haven’t posted anything for a while because I’ve been busy, busy, busy, with a creative writing workshop. It was very interesting and lots of fun. But now I am back and will try and keep this blog updated with some old and new postcards.

The Erasmus Bridge or Erasmusbrug

Completed in 1996, the Erasmus Bridge is an astonishing cable stayed bridge, located in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

It is often called “The Swan” because of its asymmetrical pylon. Very elegant and sophisticated looking, this bridge was designed by Ben Van Berkel and it has the largest and heaviest bascule bridge (moveable bridge) in West Europe.

The card was sent from The Netherlands by elicat.

Source: Wikipedia.

Alhambra

Alhambra is a fortified palace located in Granada, Spain. It was the residence of the Moorish rulers of Granada between the 13th and 15th Centuries, until the conquest of Granada by the catholic Kings, Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragorn.

The last Moorish monarch to reside here was Muhammad XII, known as Boabdil, before he was sent to exile by the Catholics Kings. Behind stayed his daughter whom was taken by the Spanish and became King Ferdinand’s mistress. Later in life, she became a catholic nun.

The Alhambra is well known for its unique Moorish Art and Mudéjar style. It is listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Site.

This breathtaking beautiful card was sent by rhea_silvia, from Spain.

Source: Wikipedia.

Brooklyn Bridge

Well, yes, I have a thing for bridges. A very big thing. And this card, sent by linda718, from USA, is just beautiful. It shows the New York’s iconic Brooklyn Bridge, built between 1870 and 1883. It was the first land connection to Manhattan and was designed by John Augustus Roebling in Gothic architectural style. It has six driving lanes and an elevated walkway for pedestrians.

As a symbol of New York City, it has featured in films, TV series and books, having it’s own part in American Culture.

Source: Wikipedia.

Bled

Before joining Postcrossing I knew nothing about Slovenia, now this country is in my “to visit list”. Every Slovenian postcard I receive makes me breathless. Such stunning landscapes, beautiful villages and city views and lush forests...

This one, sent by tinkara, shows Bled Island, in the glacial Lake Bled. It is Slovenia’s only island and it’s quite small. In it there are only a few buildings and a church built in the 15th Century, The Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary, a popular site for weddings.

This card’s image is breathtaking, with the Julian Alps in the background and the swans in the lake. It makes me dream of being there...

Source: Wikipedia.

Kõpu Lighthouse

Lighthouse cards from Estonia are always so beautiful and I was very excited when I received this one.

Kõpu lighthouse is the oldest Estonian lighthouse and it’s also the third oldest operating light in the world. It is located in the Kõpu Peninsula, in Hiiumaa Island. It is 600 years old, being lit for the first time in 1531. This great card was sent by soom, from Estonia.

Source: Wikipedia.

Mount Ruapehu

This is an incredible photograph. We can really see the power of Nature, often beautiful and scary at the same time. This eruption of Mount Ruapehu, above Chateau Tongariro, occurred in 1995 and the photo was taken by Tim Whittaker of the Hawke’s Bay Herald Tribune.

Mount Ruapehu is the largest active volcano in New Zealand, located in North Island, in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. It is considered one of the most active volcanoes in the world, with an average of a major eruption every fifty years and smaller ones every couple of years.
The card was sent by adriennegarry, from New Zealand.

Source: Wikipedia.

Holy City of Mashad

When I received this wonderful card in the mail, sent by ipuenktchen, from Iran, I was thrilled. Never, in my wildest dreams (especially before I joined Postcrossing), had I though I would get a postcard from Iran. But there it was, this amazing postcard of the Holy City of Mashad, the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in Shia Islam.

Here is located the Imam Reza Shrine, as shown in the postcard. This shrine contains the mausoleum of Imam Ridha, the eighth Imam of Twelvers. During its existence, since the 9th century, it has been destroyed and reconstructed several times. It is a place of pilgrimage in the Muslim World.

Source: Wikipedia.

Lighthouse of Capelinhos

Every Azorean, at one time or another, has heard of the Lighthouse of Capelinhos. It is located in the village of Capelo, in Faial Island, which was the site of an off-shore violent volcanic eruption in the 50s: the volcano of Capelinhos. It caused the destruction of many houses and two parishes were evacuated. It was such a scary event, that it led to a mass departure from the Azores to North America, especially the USA, where the Senate approved the Azorean Refugee Act.

The lighthouse was inaugurated in 1903 and ceased its activity in the 29th of September of 1957, due to the eruption. It was the closest building to the eruption and was damaged and covered in ashes. Nowadays it’s being turned into a belvedere and close to it is a Museum.

I’ve visited this site a couple of years ago. It is quite stunning.

Source: Wikipedia.

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and one of the most important cities in Europe. Through out time it has had a significant impact in History, being in fact one of the founding cities of the Western Civilization.

Rome has also had an impact in culture and the arts, housing many relevant buildings and monuments built in various architectonical styles, such as renaissance, baroque and neoclassicism.

In the card, sent by effemmedia, from Italy, we can see three important churches (from left to right): Saint Ivo alla Sapienza, St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican and Saint Agnese in Agone.

Source: Wikipedia.