Ålesund, Norway

well, my last card for today is another one sigh-provoking...ahhh...

this card was for a LOOONG time in my favourites! I mean, how can it not be...just look how magnificent this place is with all these lovely colours and surrounded by water! Plus it is Norwegian :)
the entire city of Ålesund burnt down in 1904 (except for one house in the middle of the city) and it was rebuilt in the Art Nouveau style. It feels like living in some fairy tale!

btw, I just remembered that today on the news I heard today was one year since the bomb attacks in Oslo and the island of Utoeya. Maybe I should have chosen a different card instead of Ålesund but while choosing the cards I honestly had no idea today was the day....plus, well, I dont feel like commemorating such a bad thing right now...however, may the victims rest in peace, and may this never happen again

the stamp is from the set of 6 issued in 2009 representing the Norwegian tourism...this one in particular shows the Stottafjorden in Meloy, Nordland

and a huge thanks for this card go to dear Catherine from Norway, who sent it to me, and my dear Rajko monster, who actually asked Catherine to send it to me as a RAS. Thank you both soooo much!! If it wasnt for you, I would not have had this card in my collection! <3

And ok, I guess it is time to announce the short holiday this blog will take..at least there will be no updates until August 10, though you can always drop by and read some of the previous stuff :)

Enjoy your summer wherever you are or wherever you may go...and keep fingers crossed i manage to find some postcards to send :)))

Hugs to you all!!!!

Madeira, Portugal

two dear friends of mine visited Portugal this summer...the dates were unfortunately inconvenient for me, so I couldnt join them..it is really a pity since it would have been soo cool to visit Portugal! But work is work, and comes first...and maybe some other time Ill have the chance to go.

they also went to Madeira for a few days and were really nice to drop me a postcard! :)
they say it is most flowery island, with lovely beaches.And this card is so nice and colourful that it definitely makes me believe it! Plus, I missed the chance to get a swim in the ocean....for the first time in my life...

the stamp comes from a set of 3 stamps issued in 2011, representing Traditional Festivals

I also had to include this card, since this Botanical Garden Cable Car is represented on one of the small pictures in the previous one :)
The Botanical Garden Cable Car has a total of twelve cabins, each with a capacity of 8 seated places, allowing the visitor a dream trip with a magnificent view over the beautiful Madeiran landscape. This trip allows a panoramic view along a 1600 metres route.
 The round trip is approximately eighteen minutes, being the maximum speed of 4,2 metres per second

UNESCO Headquarters, France

For some reason I keep confusing myself that this card comes from Brussels when it actually comes from Paris...I dont know, maybe i just have this general idea in my head that all those important buildings are situated in Brussels :)

And it is nice to see UNESCO's Headquarters! After collecting UNESCO cards for so long, and struggling with many of them since many come from such rare countries and are like impossible to get, it is nice to see where all these crazy ideas and decisions come from :)
The building is located on the Place de Fontenoy, and was inaugurated on 3 November 1958.
Nicknamed the ‘three-pointed star’, the entire edifice stands on seventy-two columns of concrete piling. It is world famous, not only because it is the home of a well-known organization but also because of its outstanding architectural qualities (here in the dark I honestly cant see any architectural qualities...or I may be at the wrong building since three more buildings complete the headquarters site. The second building, known affectionately as the "accordion", holds the egg-shaped hall with a pleated copper ceiling where the plenary sessions of the General Conference are held. The third building is in the form of a cube. Lastly, a fourth construction consists of two office floors hollowed out below street level, around six small sunken courtyards. The buildings, which contain many remarkable works of art, are open to the public.

the stamp was issued in a set of 2 in 2010 and is UNESCO related. The French Post regularly issues since 1960, some official stamps for UNESCO, which can only be used on mail from the headquarters of this United Nations agency devoted to science, culture and education. On this stamp, the Alpaca is depicted, and with these stamps UNESCO wants to remind us of the endangered species throughout the world. An alpaca is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in appearance

Dhamaka Lake, Pakistan

So, my fellow dear readers..this will be the last post before me taking off on my holidays...I cant believe it that the time has almost come! Now im in the state of panic...and in realization that I should have bought a new suitcase...mine is just NOT enough...but well, I guess Ill have to manage..Im in the middle of packing, and as usual I have no idea what to take..Im sure ill take stuff that are extra and I wont need, and that i will 'forget' something important...the beauty of all travels, eh? :))

So before I go, here is one more update, with a few lovely cards :)

First comes from dear Vera who has moved to Pakistan and who was so kind to search for some of my favourite cards so that she can send them to me! And I dont know if I had said this before, but Pakistan has AMAZING postcards and STUNNING nature in general!
The lovely card here shows the Dhamaka Lake in the Swat valley, which is situated in the north of Pakistan. It has an ancient history, but its recorded history begins with Alexander the Great, who entered Swat in 326 or 327 BC. Swat in the past used to be home to the Buddhism that spread from there to other parts of Asia (China, Bhutan, Tibet and even Japan). Many monasteries have been founded there, where Buddhist monks used to live and Buddhist teachers educated their students.
Probably another reason why this card is so appealing to me is coz it is related to Alexander, so it feels close to heart :)

Before I get down to the stamps, please take a look at the artistic beauty here..makes the card sooo beautiful and special, and I also REALLY appreciate the effort and the time that Vera took to decorate my card like this! Love it!!
As for the stamps..the one on the right was issued this year, commemorating the 150th Anniversary of St Joseph's Convent School in Karachi, while the other one...it should be a definitive..but i cant tell exactly from which year...the other definitives of that kind were issued in 1994, but this one of Rs.28 does not seem to be among them...so any help is welcome :) thank you soo much again dear Vera!!

Georgetown, Guyana

Hello guys and gals!! Someone has finally decided to write down a few words here! Yup, as most of you know, Im back from my holidays *sniff* =/. It's been like 10 days already...and I had prepared the cards last week..but I just couldnt get down to posting...I dont know why..something always came up...or i just felt tired in general...or i was dealing with the latest touchnote addiction...khm khm khm...a rather cool thing I must admit...gives you endless opportunities...though on the long run, i wont really like it...but for the time being, it's been fun...give it a try if you want, while it is still free...just that you'd need to use it through a FB account...even if you dont have one, a temp. account can always see the light of the day :)

Anyways, while I was away (and once I came back), some great mail has arrived....just that my mum sort of mixed some things up, that is, old and new cards, so it took me some time to figure it all out and put things in the right place.
And let's see where do we start off today...well, a brand new country of course!! All the way from Guyana! No, not French Guyana...this is just Guyana...though they are not far from each other...all you need to do is cross Suriname and voila...you are in the other Guyana :)

this awesome surprise comes thanks to dear Despina in Greece, who applied for the good-fairy role to help me out with my collections!! <3

The card shows two important places in Georgetown, Guyana's capital. At the top, you can see St.George's cathedral which is one of the tallest wooden church structures in the world and the second tallest wooden house of worship after the Todaiji Temple in Japan. It is an Anglican cathedral and has been designated as a national monument.

The bottom picture shows Georgetown;s National Library, which is actually very close to St.George's Cathedral (both are situated on Church street). The library celebrated its centenary in 2009 and is said to offer lending services to prisoners. Hmm, I guess that makes it special...I dont know..Ive never really researched the issue of libraries and prisoners..I know prisons should have their own entertaining areas (TV, radio, books, cards...), so I guess here things work differently...cool!

the stamp comes from a set of 9 definitive butterfly stamps issued in 2003.

Σας ευχαριστώ πολύ και πάλι Δέσποινα!!
And thanks a lot to Karline too, who was kind to send me a card!

Castle Hill, New Zealand

one more card for today, coming from the far away New Zealand

the card shows the Castle Hill, which is a location and a high country station in New Zealand's South Island.
The hill was so named because of the imposing array of limestone boulders in the area reminiscent of an old, run-down stone castle and in 2002 it was named a "Spiritual Center of the Universe" by the Dalai Lama. Hmmm...
The back of the card says: "Looking across the plains of Castle Hill Station in the Canterbury high country. The hills and mountains rise steeply above the farmland. The outcrops of rock shapes are a famous feature of this area. So, many people stop here, for a quick photo or a walk in the hills. It is on the way between Christchurch and Arthur's Pass.

well, does look like an enchanting place!

I wonder if this is how post offices save on their air-mail labels, by splitting them into two :D
As for the stamp, it is from a set of 5 Native Trees' stamps issued this year, with this one showing the Kowhai...which I have no idea what it is, so Ill have to look it up once I finish this last post :)

thanks for reading and see you soon :)

Turnersee, Austria

Dear Earney often sends me nice surprises when she travels around and this time was no exception :)

the card shows a lovely view of the Turner Lake under the Alps.
Originally the lake was called Sablatnigsee, but in the 20th century, after the Austrian “Turnerbund” had erected their youth camps near the lake, it was named Turnersee. It is the vestige of a large, after Ice Age lake that besides the Turnersee also included the Sablatnig Meadows.

such a lovely peaceful place..Im sure id enjoy a holiday here

the stamp was issued this year, under the name "Bavarian-Upper Austrian Provincial Exhibition".

thank you Earney!!!