Portugal x Other Countries RR - Group 2

Kel was originally hosting this RR but she stoped doing it and now Ana "ninocas" re-opened this RR again. I've joined the group 2 and received these cards from Russia, Netherlands and Spain.



Valerie "redlynx" sent this Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius in Sergiyev Posad. In 1993, the Trinity Lavra was inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List. The card shows the five-domed Church of John the Baptist's Nativity, built between 1693-1699 and was commissioned by the Stroganovs. Other 17th-century structures include the monks' cells, a hospital topped with a tented church, and a chapel built over a holy well discovered in 1644.

This is not only a RR card but also a meeting card. This meeting was in Hellevoetsluis, a small village on Voorne-Putten Island in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland.
The card, send by Lotty, shows the St. Nicholas Church, a Roman Catholic church in the centre of Amsterdam.
Officially the church was called St. Nicholas inside the Walls, i.e. the oldest part of the Amsterdam defence works. The architect, Adrianus Bleijs (1842-1912) designed the church basing himself on a combination of several revival styles of which Neo-Baroque and Neo-Renaissance are the most prominent models.

Brian "fisherman" lives in Ireland but she goes to Lanzarote, a spanish island, every now and then.
This is a card of the Timanfaya National Park in the southwestern part of the island of Lanzarote. The parkland is entirely made up of volcanic soil.
"The greatest recorded eruptions occurred between 1730 and 1736. The volcanic activity continues as the surface temperature in the core ranges from 100 to 600 °C at the depth of 13 metres (43 ft), which is demonstrated by pouring water into the ground, resulting in a geyser of steam which is an attraction for tourists.There is only one active volcano, Timanfaya volcano which the park is named after.
In 1993, Unesco designated a Biosphere reserve covering the whole of Lanzarote. The national park is one of the core areas of the biosphere reserve." - in: wikipedia

Coro - Venezuela

I've received 2 cards today and this one from Venezuela was 1 of them. This is my 2nd card from this country and like the other one, it was sent by Jorge and it's a new unesco whs. Coro and its port is on the Unesco World Heritage List since 1993.

The building on the card is the House of the Iron Windows.

"Coro is the capital of Falcón State and the oldest city in the west of Venezuela.

Since the 1950s Coro has been conserved as a national monument, and in 1993 Coro and its port were designated by Unesco as a World Heritage Site. However, in 2005 Coro was inscribed in the List of World Heritage Sites in danger.

From historic, colonial architecture to unique natural scenery, Coro presents a diverse set of tourist attractions. The World Heritage Site conserves an urban landscape of typically 18th and 19th century appearance with cobbled streets and hundreds of historic and traditional buildings. Some buildings reflect the Spanish "mudéjar" (i.e. Islamic) style, others reflect the cultural influence of Holland via its colony of Curaçao. There are interesting churches, a small synagogue and an old Jewish cemetery. Other colonial towns in Venezuela tend not to have conserved their heritage so well, and in any case the cross-cultural influences of Coro are probably unique." - in: wikipedia

Oshakan - Armenia

Yesterday there was no mail because of the holiday and today i've received this armenian card, my 1st card from Armenia. It was sent from Russia by Alisa "marylend".

This is a card from the Oshakan village in the west of the country.

The card shows the Church of Saint Mesrop Mashdots which happens to be the burial place of Saint Mesrop Mashdots, the creator of the Armenian alphabet. The church houses his grave and was rebuilt by Catholicos George IV in 1875.

Palmela Meeting - Portugal

On October 23th, 5 portuguese postcrossers, including me :), had a meeting. The meeting point was Palmela castle. The meeting was supposed to be only 1 day but we extended it till sunday. Anyway, the 1st day it was me, Susana "susanaportugal", Graça "gracinha", Nelinha and Joana "joaninha". Besides Palmela we also have been to other places and on the 2nd day we went to Cascais wanting to buy cheap cards.

I bought a lot of cards there and i've sent me this card with King D. Pedro I statue. The card was also signed by Suana and Joana.

It was a lovely weekend :)

US-874094

My last received official card came from South Carolina, USA.

US,874094, sent by Cristi.

On the back of the card: Raven Cliff Falls, Caesars Head State Park.

A 2.2 mile trail leads to the overlook of Raven Cliff Falls on Matthews Creek in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness. With a drop of 420 feet, Raven Cliff Falls is one of the 3 highest falls in the southeast.

Mackinac Bridge - Michigan

This beautiful Mackinac card with a special postmark was sent by Colleen "choke".

"The Mackinac Bridge is a suspension brige spanning the Straits of Mackinac to connect the non-contiguous Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Envisioned since the 1880s, the bridge was completed in 1957. It is the third longest in total suspension in the world and the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western hemisphere.
The Mackinac Bridge Walk has been held each year since 1958, when it was led by Governor G. Mennen Williams. The first walk was held during the Bridge's Dedication Ceremony held in late June, and has been held on Labor Day since 1959. Thousands of people, traditionally led by the Governor of Michigan, cross the five-mile (8 km) span on foot from St. Ignace to Mackinaw City since 1964. Before that, people walked the Bridge from Mackinaw City to St. Ignace." - in: wikipedia

Not so common african countries

I believe that Angola, St. Tomé and Príncipe and Guinea-Bissau are on many people's missing countries lists. I already had cards from all these countries but only had 1 card from St. Tomé and Guinea-Bissau. The cards have been sent by Paulo. If someone wants to trade with him, just ask, i've his contact.

A card from Luanda, Angola's capital city.

This is my 1st card of St. Tomé and Príncipe on the blog but i've another card from this country in my collection. The card shows some local beaches.
São Tomé and Príncipe is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe.

And a card from Guinea-Bissau with one of my favorite animals, an hippopotamus.