NL-977260

An official from the Netherlands sent by a 4 year old boy :D

NL-977260, sent by Finn.

Oostburg is a town in the south-western Netherlands. It is the largest town in the municipality of Sluis, in the province of Zeeland.

As of 1 January 2005, its population is 5,008. It received city rights in 1237. - in: wikipedia

Rotterdam old view

A few days ago i tagged on the Portuguese Speaking Countries tag. Veerle tagged me back and sent me this card.

This a reprint of an old view of Rotterdam.

Hangman

Leninha is a teacher and the 1st school where she taught is located in Castelo de Vide. That was in 94/95 and that was when she bought this card.

She sent it was a prize for guessing her sentence on the hangmans game.

CA-215806

The last time i've received an official from Canada was in May of 2010 :o It was about time to get a new one from there. This one shows the Saint Joseph's Oratory, is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine on the west slope of Mount Royal in Montreal, Quebec.

Photo by Tibor Bognar

CA-215806, sent by Zack.

In 1904, Saint André Bessette, C.S.C., began the construction of St. Joseph, a small chapel on the slopes of Mont Royal near Notre Dame College. Soon the growing number of visitors made it too small. Even though it was enlarged, a larger church was needed and in 1917 one was completed - it is called the Crypt, and has a seating capacity of 1,000. In 1924, the construction of the basilica of Saint Joseph's Oratory was inaugurated; it was finally completed in 1967.

Father Paul Bellot, an architect, completed the dome of Saint Joseph's Oratory (1937-39). The Oratory's dome is the third-largest of its kind in the world after the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro in the Ivory Coast and Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, and the church is the largest in Canada.

The basilica is dedicated to Saint Joseph, to whom Brother André credited all his reported miracles. These were mostly related to some kind of healing power, and many pilgrims (handicapped, blind, ill, etc.) poured into his Basilica, including numerous Protestants. On display in the basilica is a wall covered with thousands of crutches from those who came to the basilica and were allegedly healed. Pope John Paul II deemed the miracles to be authentic and beatified Brother André in 1982. In October 2010 Pope Benedict XVI canonized the saint. - in: wikipedia

US-1441234

This is my 1st official with the Statue of Liberty.

US-1441234, sent by Emily

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi.

The statue, a gift to the United States from the people of France, is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet. The statue has become an icon of freedom and of the United States. - in: wikipedia

The Statue was completed in France in July, 1884 and arrived in New York Harbor in June of 1885 on board the French frigate "Isere" which transported the Statue of Liberty from France to the United States. In transit, the Statue was reduced to 350 individual pieces and packed in 214 crates. The Statue was re-assembled on her new pedestal in four months time. On October 28th 1886, the dedication of the Statue of Liberty took place in front of thousands of spectators. She was a centennial gift ten years late. - in: http://www.statueofliberty.org/Statue_History.html

Postcrossing Meetings in São Paulo - Brazil

In less than a month, a few brazilian postcrossers had two meeting in São Paulo. The 1st took place on December 11th and the 2nd on January 15th. Both cards have been sent by Déa and also signed by (1st meeting): Adriana, Daniel, Heloísa and Renato; (2nd meeting): Adriana, Heloísa, Karla, Daniel and Fernanda.

Photo by: Cândido Mariano

The Octavio Frias de Oliveira bridge is a cable-stayed bridge in São Paulo, Brazil over the Pinheiros River, opened in May 2008. The bridge is 138 metres (453 ft) tall, and connects Marginal Pinheiros to Jornalista Roberto Marinho Avenue in the south area of the city.

The bridge deck is unusual due to its form, which is similar to an "X", crossing at the tower. The "X" is 76 meters wide at its base and 35.4 meters wide at the top.

It is the only bridge in the world that has two curved tracks supported by a single concrete mast. The two curved tracks, one at an elevation of 12 meters and the other at an elevation of 24 meters, have approximate lengths of 900 meters each.

At the end of December lights are put up on the cables and illuminated to create color effects like those on a Christmas tree. The bridge is also lit up on special occasions during the year and is often used for automobile advertisements on television. - in: wikipedia

Photo by: Roberlandes O. Coelho

Liberdade, (Portuguese for "Liberty", "Freedom") is the name of a district in the subprefecture of Sé, in São Paulo, Brazil. It is home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan in the world and has been growing since the 1950s.
The entrance to Liberdade is marked by a nine-meter tall red torii (a Japanese arch that marks the entrance to Shinto temples) since 1974. This towering structure, situated on Rua Galvão Bueno, is a distinctive representation of the neighborhood.

The Japanese presence in the neighborhood began in 1912.

Liberdade is a meeting spot for many groups, especially among young people who are interested in Japanese culture. - in: wikipedia

PT RR - Group 66 * Churches

This RR was probably the last i joined last year but one of the cards only arrived this year. The 1st is from Brazil and the other two from Portugal.

Photo by: Sérgio Ricardo de Freitas

This time Giselly sent by a card from Ouro Preto. The city contains numerous churches, many famous for their religious art and baroque architecture. The card shows an interior view of the Our Lady of Pilar Church.

This is the richest and more exquisite church in the state of Minas Gerais. It was built between 1711 and 1733! To decorate the interior it were used more than 400 kg (880 pounds) of gold and silver powder.

Photo by: Fernando Guerra

Although i already have many cards from the Fátima Sanctuary, i didn't have this view yet, sent by Gracinha.

The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary is a Roman Catholic Marian basilica in Fátima, Portugal. Its construction began in 1928 and it was consecrated in October 1953.

The basilica is built at the site of the Marian apparitions reported by three Portuguese children in 1917 and known as Our Lady of Fátima. The tombs of Blessed Francisco Marto, Blessed Jacinta Marto and Sister Lúcia, the three children, are in the Basilica. - in: wikipedia

Gráfica Bastos LDA

Vitória sent me my very 1st card from Mangualde, a town 54 km's from my city.
This is the Our Lady of the Castle Church.