This must me my record of updates in 1 day and i still have a few more to make. Let's continue.

This Algarve is a meeting card from a mini-meeting that took place 2 months ago in Lisbon. Heidi "dollart" was in Portugal in January and she returned in July with a friend to visit the Algarve sunny beaches. She went on a day trip to Lisbon and met Joana "joana122" and Ana "subtlelens". They signed a few cards and Joana only sent them last week.

"Ponta da Piedade is considered to be one of the most beautiful places in the Algarve. This is a wonderful headland with raising these scupturals cliffs in front of Atlantic Ocean.
This colourful area is located at about 3 Km south of Lagos town, and is an obligatory stop in order to contemplate such a nature beauty. The view is even more astonishing from the ocean, hence it is frequent the passage of many tourist cruises and rented boats that observe the beauty of theses geological formations, pierced with holes and grottoes - one of the largest concentration of sea arches formation, a perfect habitat for all the many species that inhabit here." - in: http://www.guiadacidade.pt/portugal/?lg=en&G=monumentos.ver&artid=17591&distritoid=08&urltitle=ponta-da-piedade

Travelling Envelope - Group 7 * My region

Another travelling envelope from the RR in the portuguese community. This time the theme was "my region", meaning that the participants had to send cards from their regions. I took these 4 cards from the envelope.

A beautiful sunset and a few views from Aveiro.

From Porto a view with the Stock Exchange Palace and the rabelo boats.

My 1st card from Espinho.

A card from Comporta, also a 1st card from there.

Travelling Envelope - Group 8 * Churches

This travelling is from the portuguese community. This one was dedicated to chuches and i picked these 3 cards.

Our Lady of Grace in Vila Nova de Milfontes dates back from the early 19th century. It belonged to the Santiago Sword Order, whoose cross is engraved on the main door.

The Tábua Church is dedicated to St. Maria Maggiore. It was built in the 19th century to replace a previous temple that collapsed.

This church in Montemor-o-Velho, St. Mary of Alcaçova, is an invocation of Our Lady of Assumption. It was built in 1090 but reconstructions and additions over the centuries changed is primitive aspect.

Alpiarça - Portugal

Some days ago Susana "susanaportugal" hosted a lottery in the portuguese community. I didn't win it but she sent me this card from Alpiarça, my 1st card from there.

Alpiarça is a municipality in Portugal with a total population of 8,157 inhabitants located in Santarém District.
The card shows the Town Hall and the St. Eustáquio Church, built in the 19th century.

CN-243560

And the last official of the week is this one from China.
The cards shows how chinese children greet the Spring Festival.

CN-243560, sent by Wu.

"Far and away the most important holiday in China is Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year. To the Chinese people it is as important as Christmas to people in the West. The dates for this annual celebration are determined by the lunar calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, so the timing of the holiday varies from late January to early February.

To the ordinary Chinese, the festival actually begins on the eve of the lunar New Year's Day and ends on the fifth day of the first month of the lunar calendar. But the 15th of the first month, which normally is called the Lantern Festival, means the official end of the Spring Festival in many parts of the country.

Preparations for the New Year begin the last few days of the last moon, when houses are thoroughly cleaned, debts repaid, hair cut and new clothes purchased. Houses are festooned with paper scrolls bearing auspicious antithetical couplet (as show on both side of the page) and in many homes, people burn incense at home and in the temples to pay respects to ancestors and ask the gods for good health in the coming months.

"Guo Nian," meaning "passing the year," is the common term among the Chinese people for celebrating the Spring Festival. It actually means greeting the new year. At midnight at the turn of the old and new year, people used to let off fire-crackers which serve to drive away the evil spirits and to greet the arrival of the new year. In an instant the whole city would be engulfed in the deafening noise of the firecrackers.

On New Year's Eve, all the members of families come together to feast. Jiaozi, a steamed dumpling as pictured below, is popular in the north, while southerners favor a sticky sweet glutinous rice pudding called nian gao." - in: http://www.chinavista.com/experience/spring/spring.html

US-803377

A beautiful Autumn view from the Great Smoky Mountains in the USA.

US-803377, sent by Renae. Renae also has a postcard blog: www.thelaptoptraveler.blogspot.com

On the back of the card: "Autumns colors reach their peak October 15-31 in the Smokies. By mid-September the foliage starts to change in the northern hardwood forest above 4500 feet before spreading into the hardwoods in lower elevations. Reds generally are red maple, pin cherry and mountain ash; yellows are American beech, yellow birch and yellow buckeye."

AT-60341

This is an official from Austria but the card is from the Karpathos Island, Greece. The card shows the ruins of the Paleochristian basilica of Agia Fotini.

AT-60341, sent by Anneliese.

"Karpathos is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. The island includes the municipality of Karpathos plus the community of Olympos. Part of Olympos also extends north to the neighboring Saria Island. From its remote position Karpathos has preserved many peculiarities of dress, customs and dialect, the last resembling those of Crete and Cyprus." - in: wikipedia