GR-25367

My very 1st official from Greece.

 Photo: S. Mamidis Photography © 20102

GR-25367, sent by Dora.

Ermoupolis is a town on the island of Syros, located 78 nautical miles (144 km) south-east of Athens, in the Cyclades. The city was founded during the Greek Revolution in the 1820s.

CZ-193833

An official from Czech Republic. I don't get many officials from there.

 Argus

CZ-193833, sent by Pavla.
A snowy view somewhere in the world.

PL-464414

Another painting card, this one from Białystok, in northeastern Poland.

 Author: Jaroslaw Glod

PL-464414, sent by Justyna.

Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. The card shows the Market Square.

RU-973163, RU-979952 & ES-167275

Two russian and one spanish officials cards but all the card are from Russia and the last two were both sent by forum members.

 RU-973163, sent by Maria.
This is a painting of the Alexander Nevsky Chapel in Krasnodar by Konstantin Pechurichko.

 RU-979952, sent by Anasty.

I've traded before with Anastasia, mostly Unesco cards. This time she sent me this lovely bridge located in the Tsaritsyno Park in Moscow.

The estate is known from the late 16th century, when it belonged to Tsarina Irina, sister of Tsar Boris Godunov. At that time it was called Bogorodskoye. In 1775, when the estate was bought by empress Catherine the Great, it received its present name, which means “Tsarina’s”.

The 18th-century architecture ensemble was built (though not finished) following the order of Catherine II in pseudo-Gothic style, after projects of the Bazhenov and Kazakov, and it is the only 18th-century architectural ensemble of such dimensions in Russia.

Around the palace, in the park there are a number of pavilions, pergolas, arbours, artificial grottos, decorative bridges (early 19th century, architect I. Yegotov), and a Russian Orthodox temple “Source of Life”, as well as a modern recreation center with an upscale restaurant. - in: wikipedia

ES-167275, sent by Anna.
Anna is known in the forum as "bogdanovskaya" and i've also traded with a few time. She sent me my 1st St. Petersburg cards. I've many from there but none with the St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral.

St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral is a large Orthodox church in the style of the Elizabeth Baroque, located in Saint Petersburg.

The Cathedral was built in 1753–1762 by architect Savva Chevakinsky as a marine regimental church on the sea regimental court in place of a earlier wooden church. Freestanding four story bell tower with a tall gilded spire was built in in 1755–1758.

St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral consists of two separate churches. The lower Saint Nicholas Church is located on the first floor, while the upper Epiphany Church is on the second floor. The altar of the upper church was consecrated in the presence of the Empress Catherine II, who told the newly built church to be called a cathedral. The main shrine of the cathedral—a Greek icon of St. Nicholas made in the XVII century with a portion of his relics—is located in the lower church. - in: wikipedia

Lighthouses

A few days ago i've decided to get rid of some cards and opened a thread offering 3 of my cards for 1 card macthing my wishlist. I've received very good offer and the 1st cards started to arrive last week. 

These 2 were sent by Annina from Finland and show lighthouses in Sweden and France.  

 Aquarupella © Inger Perron

Tylön is situated in Halmstad Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, just off the coast from Halmstad. The Tylön island is mainly covered by green meadows and is a nature reserve well known among nesting birds like eider, black-backed gull and herring gull. Tern, eared owl and peregrine falcon are also among the visitors.

The lighthouse was built 1870 but is no longer in use, it was closed 1968.

The island was used by fishermen during the seventeenhundreds and there are also ancient remnants on the island dating back to the bronze age.Visits to Tylön is prohibited during most of the year for the protection of the birds. - in: http://nokotahorse.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/west-coast-lighthouses/

Aquarupella © Yann Arthus-Bertrand - Altitude

This is my 2nd card of the de la Vieille lighthouse in Brittany, France.

"La Vieille" lighthouse, located in Finistère region was built from 1882 to 1887 on the Gorlebella  rock ("the farthest rock" in Breton language).
It gives security to the Sein current crossing, together with La Plate tower.
Located on Plogoff city limits, it is state owned.
La Vieille's "hell" is famous for its isolated location at sea in a rough zone.On top of that, it took almost ten years to build and was the penultimate french lighthouse to be automated resulting in the relief refusal by its keepers in 1995, as a protest. - in: http://www.alrocreation.fr/en/Vieille_EN.html

FI-1446041, FI-1455404 & FI-1461326

Summer is finally here but this high temperatures make me wish for a colder weather. I really don't like summer, i'm a winter kind of person and that's maybe why i like snowy views.

 RP Studio

 FI-1446041, sent by Minna.

Winter is the longest season in Finland.  Winter usually begins in mid-October in Lapland and during November in the rest of Finland, though not until December in the southwestern archipelago. It thus takes about two months for winter to proceed from Lapland to Åland.

 Photo by LKA / Lassa Rautiainen

 FI-1455404, sent by Niina.

Permanent snow covers open grounds about two weeks after winter begins. The snow cover is deepest around mid-March, with an average of 60 to 90 cm of snow in eastern and northern Finland and 20 to 30 cm in southwestern Finland. The lakes freeze over in late November and early December. The ice is thickest in early April, at about 50 to 65 cm. In severe winters, the Baltic Sea may ice over almost completely, but in mild winters it remains open except for the far ends of the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland.

 Karto

FI-1461326, sent by Esa.

In summer the mean daily temperature is consistently above 10°C. Summer usually begins in late May in southern Finland and lasts until mid-September. Summer in Lapland starts about one month later and ends a month earlier than the south coast.
The regions north of the Arctic Circle are characterized by "polar days", when the sun does not set at all. The northernmost parts of Finland have 73 such days every year. Even in southern Finland, the longest day (around Midsummer) is nearly 19 hours long. The warmest day of the year comes about one month after aphelion, i.e. around July 20, in the whole of Finland. - in: http://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/seasons-in-finland

NL-1278134 & NL-1282959

And now 2 official from The Netherlands.

 Van Leers

 NL-1278134, sent by Minou.

Boxtel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands.

The town was the site of the Battle of Boxtel fought in September 1794 during the Flanders campaign. It is often principally remembered as the first battle of the future Duke of Wellington. - in: wikipedia

NL-1282959, sent by Sanne.
This is a partial view of Strijen's church.
Strijen is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland.

FR-215785 & FR-217023

I don't get official french cards that often but in the last 2 weeks i've got these 2.

  © Les Editions André - Grenoble / Photo Patrick Blanc

 FR-215785, sent by Aliette.

I've been to Lyon a few years ago, 6 i think, but i don't remember seeing this fountain, located in the Place des Jacobins. The fountain, La Fontaine des Jacobins, was added in 1856.

Photo: ML/RG Collomb

FR-217023, sent by Cynthia.
A lovely snowy view somewhere in a french mountain.

Porto - Corsica

From a spanish island to a french island, now i've a card from Corsica. This is the 1549 quadrangular Genoese watchtower overlooking the sheltered Golf of Porto.

The card was sent by Telenn.

Photo by Pierre Dominique Natali

The Genoese towers are vestiges of the Genoese heritage after their occupation of Corsica.

The Corsican littoral is constellated with these towers, which are now one of the symbols of the island. These vestiges are classified Monuments historiques (historic buildings).
The construction of these towers started in the 16th century, at the request of village communities to protect themselves against the pirates.
These towers continued to cause multiple problems for the Genoese authorities; their isolated locations made them prime targets for pirates and constructional defects caused collapses. Several inventories of the towers were carried out but no precise number could be determined. The Republic of Genoa also had to deal with many financial conflicts, quarrels of communities, defection of guards, unpaid debts, and requests for supplies or weapons.

Consequently, from the end of the 17th century, and until 1768, date of the conquest of the island by France, the number of maintained towers decreased considerably.  By the end of the 18th century, few towers were still intact.
Today the Genoese towers represent a considerable heritage. Of the 85 towers existing at the beginning of the 18th century, 67 still stand today. Some are in ruins; others are in very good state. - in: wikipedia

Serra de Tramuntana - Spain

Tomorrow the Unesco committee i'll start deciding which world sites will be classified as Unesco World Heritage Sites. Portugal has 1 candidate and i can't wait to see if it will classified or not.

Serra de Tramuntana, in Spain, was one of the sites added to the World Heritage List last year. This card was sent by Fabienne "famalubel".

To have all the spanish sites, i only need now a card of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula.

 Photo by Laia Moreno

The Cultural Landscape of the Serra de Tramuntana located on a sheer-sided mountain range parallel to the north-western coast of the island of Mallorca. Millennia of agriculture in an environment with scarce resources has transformed the terrain and displays an articulated network of devices for the management of water revolving around farming units of feudal origins. The landscape is marked by agricultural terraces and inter-connected water works - including water mills - as well as dry stone constructions and farms. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1371

Lisbon International Postcrossing Meeting

Two weeks ago i was in Lisbon having lots of fun with a great group of postcrossers. Like in every international meetings, it was wonferful to meet some old friends and meet new ones.

  © Edição Vistal

I've sent this card to myself and i realized a few days ago that i forgot to sign my own card :o

The postcrossers at the meeting were, from Portugal: pilotOne, geminiscp, leugim, joaninha, aninalsfriend, Ana, Paulo, maique, rita_simões, blicas blocas, ninocas & dudu, nadering and her friend Carolina, now a postcrosser.  From Netherlands: Tjitske, Astrid1978, Telenn, Jetske and for a few minutes, also Moonwell. From Belgium Lotty; from Switzerland Masito; from Spain dardo; Anjaaustel from Germany; fisherman from Ireland and dollart and kilona from Finland.

Lamego Sanctuary - Portugal

This is a portuguese card but it was sent from Finland. Lamego was one of the places Heidi "dollart" visited a few weeks ago, before the International Postcrossing Meeting in Lisbon.

The card was sent during a meeting in Jyväskylä last weekend.

 © Objecto Anónimo, Lda

The monumental baroque - rococo Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies is famous for its marvelous granite staircase, with 686 steps, decorated with tiles, allegorical fountains, small chapels, and statues that leads to a baroque church with views over the town.

The construction began in the late eighteenth century and continued until the early years of the twentieth century.

There's an annual pilgrimage to the site on September 8th as part of a festival that starts at the end of August consisting of torchlight processions, a fair, concerts, and dancing.

PT RR - Group 72 * Churches

I've received 2 of these cards long time ago but i was waiting for the 3rd card to post them all together. Now that the 3rd arrived, here are them. The 1st card was sent by Tânea, the 2nd by Vitória and the last one, by Gisely from Brazil.

 Edição Casa das Estampas

                                                     

The lovely Our lady of Peneda Sanctuary is located in Gavieira, 35 kms from Arco de Valdevez.

It was probably built in the end of the 18th century. It is believed that in this place a small chapel was built in order to remember the apparition of Our Lady of Peneda, which cult developed and motivated the construction of the sanctuary.

This worship place is constituted by the Virtue Stairway, with statues representing Faith, Charity and Glory, dated from 1854. The main church was finished in 1875.

© al-garbdistri

This is the main church in Armação de Pêra, Algarve. It was inaugurated in 1960 and it was built thanks to the effort and contributions of the local population.

 Photo by Sérgio Ricardo de Freitas

 These are 3 churches in Belo Horizonte, Our Lady of Lourdes, a gothic temple built in 1923; S. José Church built between 1902-1910, in manueline style with dutch influences and the neogothic Boa Viagem Basilica built between 1913-1932.

US-1702603 & US-1708952

In the next few days i've of lots of time to make updates. Yesterday i hurt my left food, a sprain, and i've to stay home for a few days. I can't go out and go shopping and sending postcards but i can receive them and make updates.

 Photo by Bill Daniels

 US-1702603, sent by Carol.

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument is the slightly tautological name given to an area northeast of Flagstaff containing the results of much igneous activity - several colorful cinder cones formed by extinct volcanoes, and large expanses of lava and ash, mostly unobscured by vegetation and still pure black in color. The dominant peak is Sunset Crater; as with the other cones its slopes have distinctive dusky red-brown patches formed by oxidised iron and sulphur, which caused John Wesley Powell, who was the first modern-day explorer of the area in 1887, to name the mountain 'Sunset Peak'. The contrasting colors of the cinders provide the most unusual aspect of the national monument but the jagged and twisted lava fields are also quite spectacular. Sunset and the neighboring craters are just one small part of the San Francisco volcanic field, an extensive region of nearly 2,000 square miles that contains some 600 identified volcanoes. - in: http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/sunset_crater_volcano/national_monument.html

 Photo by Gail Atkinson

US-1708952, sent by Bekah.
This is one  of the winning pictures in a local photo contest in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Ceará - Brazil

A few days ago i've received these 4 cards from Brazil, all from Ceará, one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It was a surprise from Mauro, who lives in Água Branca, in Piauí state.

 Photo by CHACON

Fortaleza  is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. Fortaleza has about 25 kilometres (16 mi) of urban beaches, 3 of them are on this card, the Náutico Beach, the Meireles Beach, where locals and tourists go to stroll, and is also the area with the highest number of hotels in Fortaleza and the Iracema Beach, abohemian beach, with bars and nightclubs.

Photo by CHACON 

The Theatro José de Alencar is theater in Fortaleza. It was officially opened on June 17, 1910 and features eclectic architecture of the theater in art nouveau style.

The cornerstone of the theater was launched in 1896, the center of the square of the Marquis Herval today square José de Alencar, but the original design was not realized. In 1904 it was officially authorized the construction of the Theatro José de Alencar, by law 768 of 20 August. On June 6, 1908 the works officially started, and the cast iron parts that make up the structure of the theater were imported from Glasgow, Scotland. - in: wikipedia

 Photo by CHACON

Canoa Quebrada, known as the pearl of the east coast of Ceará, Brazil, is an international tourist beach resort 164 km from Fortaleza, in the municipality of Aracati.

This small fishing village, among dunes and cliffs, has good views and is becoming popular with tourists. The nights of Canoa Quebrada are known for animation and diversity.

The Tourism Authority of Ceará rates Canoa Quebrada as the most important tourist attraction of the state, after Fortaleza.

Tourist activities include outdoor activities such as excursions in dune buggies, horse riding, sailing in a 'jangada' boat, mountain biking, sandboarding, kitesurfing and windsurfing. - in: wikipédia

Photo by CHACON

Praia das Fontes (Fountains Beach), located in Beberibe, 91 km's from Fortaleza, has that name due to the many natural semi-mineral fountains that flow from the sand cliffs, real colorful sand canyons that follow the whole shore at that delightful beach.

IL-18862

This is my 1st official card from Israel. It shows the Church of the Holy Sepulchre within the Christian Quarter of the walled Old City of Jerusalem.

 Photo by Garo Nalbandian

IL-18862, sent by Hanna.

This t is the holiest Christian site in the world. It stands on a site that is believed to encompass both Golgotha, or Calvary, where Jesus was crucified, and the tomb (sepulchre) where he was buried. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been an important pilgrimage destination since the 4th century. - in:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-church-of-holy-sepulchre