First cards of 2008

Today was a day for surprise cards, all from different countries. And the 1st cards of 2008 are from Canada, Singapore, Brazil and Portugal.

A surprise card from Marie "renegade_cavalcade" showing the holiday season lights up Nathan Phillips Square and Old City Hall in Toronto.

The Lion Dance from the Visit Singapore Project, sent by "ClaireAnn88". The Lion Dance is a traditional chinese performance and common sight during Chinese New Year celebrations. These performances are always a captivating visual display of strength, agility and coordination.

Jatiúca Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in Maceió, the capital city of Alagoas state. This is a RAS card sent by Luciana "Lucca".

Another surprise card, this time, Tomar Castle sent by Zé "Zepombal". "The castle of Tomar was built around 1160 on a strategic location, over a hill and near river Nabão. It has an outer defensive wall and a citadel with a keep inside. The keep, a central tower of residential and defensive functions, was introduced in Portugal by the templars, and the one in Tomar is one of the oldest in the country. Another novelty introduced in Portugal by the templars are the round towers in the outer walls, which are more resistant to attacks than square towers. When the town was founded, most of its residents lived in houses located inside the protective outer walls of the castle." - in wikipedia.

Scotland

Glasgow Museum and Art Gallery. Sent by "morgaine".

Caledonian Canal, Corpach, Scottish Highlands.

"The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William.
It runs some 100 kilometres (62 miles) in a North-east to South-west direction. Only one third of the entire length is man-made, the rest being formed by Loch Dochfour, Loch Ness, Loch Oich, and Loch Lochy. These lochs are part of the Great Glen, a geological fault in the Earth's crust. There are 29 locks (including eight at Neptune's Staircase), four aqueducts and 10 bridges in the course of the canal." - in wikipedia.

Last cards of 2007

These are my last cards of 2007.

"Santorini is a small, circular archipelago of volcanic islands located in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km south-east from Greece's mainland.
Santorini is essentially what remains of an enormous volcanic explosion, destroying the earliest settlements on what was formerly a single island, and leading to the creation of the current geological caldera. Its spectacular physical beauty, along with a dynamic nightlife, have made the island one of Europe's tourist hot spots". - in: wikipedia.

This beautiful card was sent by Eva "evaofadawn".

A nice RAS Card from Grad Prem in Slovenia, sent by Tina "Athena125".

"Mateus Palace is considered one of the jewels in the Portuguese Baroque with its beautiful gardens leading on to a huge estate. The interior of this Nasoni-designed masterpiece features worked wooden ceilings, furniture from a range of periods, 17th and 18th century paintings, and a library home to a rare edition of the Portuguese classic ‘Os Lusíadas’." - in: http://www.visitportugal.com/

Card sent by "zepombal".

Grand Mosque - Oman

"The Sultanate of Oman is a country in southwest Asia, on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates on the northwest, Saudi Arabia on the west, and Yemen on the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the south and east, and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast". - in: wikipedia.

The construction of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat started in 1995 and was inaugurated by Sultan of Oman on May 4, 2001.

The card was sent by Henry "silentcity".

Cards after Christmas

After 2 days without cards because of Christmas, today i received 9 cards. I'll show the 3 unesco cards i got from Brazil.

"Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto (Black Gold) was the focal point of the gold rush and Brazil’s golden age in the 18th century. With the exhaustion of the gold mines in the 19th century, the city’s influence declined but many churches, bridges and fountains remain as a testimony to its past prosperity and the exceptional talent of the Baroque sculptor Aleijadinho."

"This sanctuary in Minais Gerais, south of Belo Horizonte was built in the second half of the 18th century. It consists of a church with a magnificent Rococo interior of Italian inspiration; an outdoor stairway decorated with statues of the prophets; and seven chapels illustrating the Stations of the Cross, in which the polychrome sculptures by Aleijadinho are masterpieces of a highly original, moving, expressive form of Baroque art."

"Diamantina, a colonial village set like a jewel in a necklace of inhospitable rocky mountains, recalls the exploits of diamond prospectors in the 18th century and testifies to the triumph of human cultural and artistic endeavour over the environment." - in: http://whc.unesco.org/ All these cards were sent by tito.garcez.

Encamp - Andorra

"Andorra officially the Principality of Andorra is a small landlocked country in western Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. Once isolated, it is currently a prosperous country mainly because of tourism and its status as a tax haven. The people of Andorra are currently listed as having the highest human life expectancies on Earth, at an average of 83.52 years." - in: wikipedia.

Almost Christmas

The 3 cards i got today, 2 from Portugal and 1 from Austria, were like christmas presents and i really liked all of them.

Sibylle "Robin67" sent me another beautiful card, this time a card from Tragöss, a municipality in the district of Bruck an der Mur in Styria.

From Ana "ninocas" a wonderful Monserrate Palace card, "an exotic palatial villa located near Sintra, the traditional summer resort of the Portuguese court. It was built in 1858 for Sir Francis Cook, an English baronet created visconde de Monserrate by King Luís. Monserrate turned to an English architect, James Knowles Jr., for designs. Though its Moghul-inspired details are unique in Portugal, its eclecticism is a fine example of the Sintra Romanticism, along with other nearby palácios, such as the Pena Palace." - in wikipedia.

Finally, from Zé "zepombal" a Porto de Mós Castle card. "This castle was conquered to the Moors by the first king of Portugal, Dom Afonso Henriques, in 1148, and successively rebuilt over the centuries until it reached its present appearance in the 15th century, with two turrets crowned by cone-shaped roofs of green tiles and a beautiful sculpted loggia." - in: http://viajar.clix.pt/geo.php?c=170&lg=es