Last cards of the month

More cards today, 7. 1 from USA, 5 from Brazil and 1 from Portugal.

The brazilian cards were sent by Tito "tito.garcez", 3 of them are a lottery prize and 2 are surprise cards. This is the surprise week. Let's see what happens tomorrow.

The Prescott Rodeo is the oldest in the USA. The card was sent by Carol "adobe".

That is a place that protects the numerous dunes and primitive landscapes of the rivers and sea. Placed on a branch of land that projects itself into the ocean, the small village of Mangue Seco gets isolated from the noise of crowd as well as to the moviment of the continent.- in: http://www.brasiladentro.com.br/en/hotels-inns/bahia/mangue_seco_ba This place village is located on the border between Bahia and Sergipe states.

João Alves Filho bridge in Aracaju, capital city of Sergipe state.

Church of Our Lady of Rosário in Coronel Xavier Chaves historic city in Minas Gerais state. It was built in 1717.

São Francisco de Assis Church in São João Del Rel, Minas Gerais, inaugurated in 1774.

Our Lady of Conceição Church in Prados, also in Minas Gerais, from the 18th century.

An handmade card sent by Paula "geminiscp". These are the portuguese postcrossing meeting participants. The meeting was in Lisbon on July 19th. On the card you can see Carla, kryx87, geminiscp, mariadocostume, susanaportugal, valdagua and ludovico.

Expo 2008 Zaragoza - Spain

This post is dedicated to the Expo 2008 in Zaragoza - Spain, because 21 of the 24 cards i've received yesterday were brought from there and Paulo, the sender, asked me to make a post about it. But, what is Expo 2008?? "Expo 2008 is an international exposition held from 14 June to 14 September 2008, held in Zaragoza, Spain, with the topic of "Water and sustainable development". The event is being placed in a meander of the river Ebro." - in: wikipédia

On this card we can see the "Water Tower, one of the most emblematic buildings of Expo 2008 and its vertical icon. It was designed by Enrique de Teresa. It is 76 metres high with 10,400 accessible square metres. At the upper floor, there is a 720 square metres panoramic bar with fantastic views over Zaragoza. Inside the tower there is a 23-metre-high sculpture called Splash, which represents a Splash of water, "the arrival of life on our planet".The Splash sculpture based on dynamic simulation systems was designed by Pere Gifre from Ikonic Arts.
The Water Tower hosts the exposition Water for life where "audiovisual media and lighting pay a key role in the way the contents are communicated". - in: wikipedia

This is the Aquarium. "This thematic pavilion is the biggest freshwater aquarium in Europe with 300 species of fauna from different rivers around the world in 60 tanks or terrariums. Rivers represented are:
The Nile: It contains species of the great African lakes. It also has crocodiles and an exhibition on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
The Mekong: In this river visitors will find species of the Himalayas, gardens from the river's lower course, the Pacific Ocean and coral reefs.
The Amazon river: It is divided into three different areas. The first of them is the Amazon jungle with its coconut trees and mangroves. The second area is about the Amazon forest while the third area is the mangrove swamp with an exhibition on the Atlantic Ocean.
The Murray-Darling river: This exhibition begins in the flooded regions and goes through desert areas. It finishes with a video exhibition about birds.
The Ebro: It is also represented in two areas. The first area is a mountain cave and the second is the course of the river. There will also be an exhibition on the Mediterranean sea.
The "World River": It represents the past, when "all the continents were united as a single island surrounded by ocean". - in: wikipédia

More than one hundred countries, plus dozens of companies and NGOs, participate in Expo 2008. These are some of the cards Paulo got on the Switzerland pavilion and from the spanish region of Andalucía pavilion.

And even more cards, these ones from Russia and Croatia pavilions and some others.

If you want to some more informations about Expo 2008, this is the official site: http://www.expozaragoza2008.es/

RAS Cards Day

Well, well, well, today was a great postcard day, if I counted right, i've got a total of 24 cards today, 24 surprise cards :o that's true. Today i'll show only 3 of them, i need to take a picture of the other cards, they are just too many to post them here one by one.

These 3 wonderful cards, are RAS cards sent by Américo "valdagua". He saw my album of cards i would like to receive and sent me 3 of them. These cards are so beautiful and make me proud of my beautiful country :D

"Cabo da Roca (Cape Roca) is a cape which forms the westernmost point of both mainland Europe and mainland Portugal.
It was known to the Romans as 'Promontorium Magnum' and during the Age of Sail as the Rock of Lisbon. The Portuguese poet Luís de Camões (16th century) defined Cabo da Roca as the place "where the land ends and the sea begins" - in: wikipedia
The lighthouse on the card is the same lighthouse on the stamp.

"Albufeira is a Portuguese city and a municipality in the Algarve region. Its name came from the Arabic al-Buħayra = "the lagoon".
The architecture of the town ranges from typically Algarvian narrow streets with pale white and sometimes tiled houses to very modern tourist developments. The apartments near the newly built Marina e Bryn are a unique spash of pinks, blues and yellows, dubbed Legoland by the local inhabitants." - in: wikipedia

"The Vasco da Gama Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge flanked by viaducts and roads that spans the Tagus River near Lisbon, capital of Portugal. It is the longest bridge in Europe. The bridge was opened to traffic on March 29, 1998, 18 months after construction first began, just in time for Expo 98, the World's Fair. It's name celebrate the 500th anniversary of the discovery by Vasco da Gama of the sea route from Europe to India." - in: wikipedia

Portuguese RR - Landscapes

I was just waiting to received the last card of this RR to show all the cards, and it arrived today.

Pope's Square and Curral Mountain in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais - Brazil. Card send by Luciana "lucca".

A multiview of Rio de Janeiro, sent by Valéria "vbformig", showing diferent view of the city, such as Sugar Loaf, Christ Redeemer, Maracanã Stadium, etc.

This is the card sent by Susana "susanaportugal" showing the Tagus river seen from the Portas do Sol park, where Santarém Castle was located.

Finally, the card sent by Ana "ninocas", Marinha (Navy) Beach in Algarve. "It is one of the most beautiful and emblematic beaches of Portugal. in 1998 it was awarded the distinguished "Golden Beach" award by the Portuguese Ministry of the Environment because of its outstanding natural qualities. As well, pictures of the beach have often been used in promotional material and "Guides to Portugal" distributed around the world." - in: wikipedia

Litomysl - Czech Republic

A great new unesco card from Czech Republic sent by Milan "littlebig". Now i've 5 of the 12 unesco sites from there.

Litomysl Castle was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999. The noble family of Pernstejn's rebuilt the original Mediaeval castle into a Renaissance castle in the second half of the 16th century. Despite of later reconstructions of interiors especially at the end of the 18th century the appearance of the castle remained almost intact including the unique scoring decoration of facades and fronton. Litomysl Castle is an outstanding and immaculately preserved example of the arcade castle, a type of building first developed in Italy and modified in the Czech lands to create an evolved form of special architectural quality. - in: http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/litomysl.html

Manaus - Brazil

Today i've received 3 cards from Brazil. Mauro, the sender, saw my blog and said he would like to send me some cards and the cards arrived today. They are from Manaus, the capital city of the Amazonas state, one of the brazilian states missing in my collection. It's quite hard to get cards from there, so it was a good surprise when i opened the envelope.

Thank you Mauro!

"Manaus is a city in the northern part of Brazil and capital of Amazonas State. Located on the Rio Negro near its confluence with the Rio Solimões, it is the chief port and a hub for the region's extensive river system. It is also a common point of departure for tourists visiting the rest of the Amazon region.
Situated on the banks of the Rio Negro (meaning Black River, because of the dark color of the water), Manaus is an important centre for ecological tourism." - in: wikipedia.

"Rio Negro Palace was built at the height of the rubber boom has been transformed into one of the city's leading cultural centers, home to several small but excellent museums. Built by a Manaus rubber baron in the early years of the 20th century, the main palace is wonderfully ornate, with rich tropical hardwoods used for floors and doors, and banisters and moldings. Some rooms have been decorated with lovely period furnishings; others now serve as display spaces for modern Brazilian art and sculpture. The palace served as the state governor's mansion for many years; there are some artifacts from that period, but it's the building, not the history, that impresses." - in: http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/central-and-south-america/brazil/manaus/attraction-detail.html?vid=1154663251601

Floatings houses!

Tongariro National Park - New Zealand

A few days ago i was just cheking some tags on the postcrossing forum, when i decided to saw which cards Adrienne "adriennegarry" was offering on the "you choose tag 2". I immediately fell in love with this card and I had to tag her! This is now, one of my favorite cards and i've just added volcanoes to my wishlist :)

On the back of the cards: "Tongariro National Park, in the central North Island, encompasses some of the most active volcanoes in New Zealand. Captured during a moment of perfection are Mt. Ngauruhoe, in the foreground, and Mt. Ruapehu behind."

"Tongariro National Park is the oldest national park in New Zealand, located in the central North Island. It has been acknowledged by UNESCO as one of the 25 mixed cultural and natural World Heritage Sites.
Tongariro National Park was the fourth National Park established in the world. The active volcanic mountains Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro are located in the centre of the park." - in: wikipedia.