Kotor - Montenehro

Last friday i've received a great envelope from Macedonia sent by Ana. She knows i collect unesco cards and surprised me with two 2 great unesco cards. One of them is this one from Montenegro.

Thanks Ana :D 

 

Kotor is a coastal town in Montenegro.The old mediterranean port of Kotor, surrounded by an impressive city wall built by the Republic of Venice and the Venetian influence remains dominant among the cultural influences.

The cathedral on the card is the St. Trypon Cathedral, built in honor of St. Trypon, patron and protector of the city.

This cathedral was consecrated in 1166 and is one of the two Roman Catholic cathedrals in Montenegro.

The cathedral was damaged and rebuilt after the earthquake of 1667, but there were not enough funds for its complete reconstruction, thats why the 2 towers are so different from each other.

In 1979 another earthquake damaged the cathedral but it has been salvaged and the restoration works just finished a few years ago.

PT RR - Sunset

I'm hosting a RR on the portuguese community and this time i decided to join a group, the sunset group. I've received cards from 3 different countries, Italy, Portugal and Brazil.

Diana "patzow" is a portuguese girl living in Milan. She sent this card showing the Navigli.

"The navigli was a system of navigable and interconnected canals around Milan. Five canals made up the system: Naviglio Grande; Naviglio Pavese; Naviglio Martesana; Naviglio di Paderno; Naviglio di Bereguardo.

The first three were connected through Milan via the Fossa Interna, also known as the Inner Ring. The urban section of the Naviglio Martesana was covered over at the beginning of the 1930s, together with the entire Inner Ring, thus sounding the death knell for the north-eastern canals. Commercial carrying continued on the Naviglio Grande, but the decline was steady and by the sixties it was over for good." - in: wikipedia

I already have an huge collection of cards sent by Ana "ninocas", this is another card sent by her. The cards shows part of Óbidos Castle walls.
" The town of Óbidos is located on a hill and is still encircled by a fortified wall. The well-preserved mediaeval look of its streets, squares, walls and its massive castle have turned the picturesque village into a preferred tourist attraction in Portugal.

In 1210, King Afonso II donated the village to his wife, Queen Urraca. Since then Óbidos has often belonged to the Queens of Portugal, giving rise to its informal title as Vila das Rainhas (Queen's Village). Several queens enriched the village with donations from the Middle Ages until the 16th century." - in: wikipedia

Jucy from Brazil sent this Cabo Frio card showing the Feliciano Sodré Bridge, inaugurated in 1926.

Américo's cards

Américo is on holidays in Algarve and he sent me these beautiful cards from there.

© Michael Howard photography www.mikehowardphoto.com This is my 1st card from Tavira.
Tavira is a portuguese city situated in the east of Algarve, on the south coast of Portugal.
The moorish occupation in Tavira between the 8th and 13th centuries left its mark on the agriculture, architecture and culture of the area. That influence can still be seen in Tavira today with its whitewashed buildings, moorish style doors and rooftops.

© Michael Howard photography www.mikehowardphoto.com

Another city in Algarve and this is also my 1st card from there.

On the card there's the Main Church, a temple from the 18th and 19th centuries. The church most striking feature is its elegant bell tower.

© Michael Howard photography www.mikehowardphoto.com

Algarve is a synonime of beach and sun, so Américo had to send me a beach card.
Camilo Beach is a small beach in between golden cliffs, with interesting rock formations. its waters and limpid and calm, great for diving and scuba diving. The access to the beach is made throught a long stairway.

Furnas Lagoon - Azores

Today i've received great mail but i still need to scan the cards.

This week i've only received mail yesterday and monday, so let's see monday's cards.

This from S. Miguel Island in the Azores archipelago. Furnas Lagoon is just one of the few lagoon on the island. This is the 1st card i received from Lurdes!!

Surprise cards

Two of my friends from the portuguese community surprised me with 2 cards from my wishlists. Thanks Susana and Paula.

One my churches wishlists i've a few from Santarém. This one on the card is the Graça Church, built between the 14th and 15th centuries in a mix of mendicant and flamboyant gothic styles. It has a magnificent main portal and rose window that shows the influence of the Batalha Monastery.

Pedro Álvares Cabral, the discoverer of Brazil, and his wife are buried here.

This card from Madeira was on my favorites album!

Santana is a city on the northern part of Madeira, famous for it's triangular traditional houses made of straw. The straw roofs are renovated every 4 - 5 years. These are rural houses used by farmers in the past and nowdays are Santana's tourist attraction.

More photo contest cards

This week i've received 2 cards related to the photo contest, 1 from Brazil and the other from Portugal.

Valéria "vbformig" sent this Jacinto Machado card, a city in Santa Catarina state, Brazil.

One of the touristic spots of Jacinto Machado is the Serra Geral National Park and it's canyons, the Fortress Canyon, on the card, is just one of them.

Also from a National Park, this is the S. Bento da Porta Aberta Sanctuary, located on the Gerês Mountain, part of the Peneda-Gerês National Park.

This portuguese sanctuary dates back from 1640 but the part of the sanctuary, as we know it today, was built between 1880- 1895.

Hollókó - Hungary

New card in my unesco collection, Old Village of Holloko and it's surroundings in Hungary.

I got this card throught the "you choose unesco tag" and it was sent by Lilia "childish" from Bulgaria.

"Hollokö is an outstanding example of a deliberately preserved traditional settlement. This village, which developed mainly during the 17th and 18th centuries, is a living example of rural life before the agricultural revolution of the 20th century." - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/401