Posties and by that I mean more postcards.

Here are some more postcards for your viewing pleasure.
This first one if from Germany. The sender says that at the Baltic Sea coast at some time during the year there is an invasion of millions of ladybugs and that the houses and streets are covered in them, that everything is red. That sounds like a great time and place to visit Germany.


This next one comes from Finland Northern Lights at the top and reindeer at the bottom.
This last one is from Warsaw, Poland. The sender tells me the legend of how Warsaw was named. In her words:
"this city is called the way it is because a long time ago a young fisherman lived here, His name was Wars and he fell in love with a mermaid called Sawa, who lived in the river which flows next to this city. Soon after they met they got married. Everybody call the town they lived in Warsaw (Warsawa) from their names."
I love learning things like this from postcards. So interesting.

And Now...
Tip Today - Pack a few snacks in your car for road trips even if you plan to stop for all your meals it is nice to have just in case.
Quote Today - ″A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” - Moslih Eddin Saadi
Dreaming Of - San Antonio

Postcards from Moms Around the World.

I joined a Round Robin on Postcrossing for Moms from around the world to exchange postcards. I though it was interesting to see the different kinds of cards that Moms will send.


This first one comes form New Mexico, this is definitely one of those things I have always wanted to see the hot air balloon races.


On to flowers from Germany
What looks to be a beautiful beach but I know that way up in Cape Cod it is usually too cold to really enjoy it.



This is the one I enjoyed receiving the most simply because it is the one that I am least likely to visit in my life. I don't know exactly why I feel that way, maybe because I am not religious enough for it to be worth the risk.




And Now...
Tip Today - Just do it.
Quote Today - “There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it.” - Charles Dudley Warner
Dreaming Of - Just doing it.

Postcards China, Czech Republic, Australia

This first one comes to me from the Czech Republic, the only problem with the ones with multiple views is you can't really see any of the pictures, they are each too small.

When I received this one from Australia I was so happy but again it is a multi-view and so small. I spent three weeks in Australia when I was a teenager and loved every minute of it.

This one gets thrown in with the multi-views because I can't figure out which way you are supposed to look at it. The words are printed so that the way you see it now is the correct view but the stalactites and stalagmites in a cave just don't go that way so I am not sure at all.

And Now...
Tip Today - Make sure that your passport is valid for a minimum of six months from the date of your return
Quote Today - “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Dreaming Of - taking a nap

Postcards from Latvia, Portugal and Lithuania

Postcards seem to be all I have going on in the travel department right now. Which isn't entirely true but I hate to discus what my travel plans are because they have been changing so much. I guess there is one trip I know for sure I will be taking and that is to go to my family reunion over the second weekend in August. So, I will begin sharing that with you here.

This one comes from Lisbon, Portugal. These trolly's look like so much fun to ride. It also looks like your first ride in one might be a little scary but still so much fun.

This one comes to me from Latvia. It's so beautiful and mysterious I want to hop on a plane right now.

This one if from Lithuania. The sender informs me Trakai is the ancient capital of Lithuania and houses the famous Trakai castle.

The thing all of these postcards have in common is their ability to make me want to go there as soon as possible. I would give almost anything to put the things I need in a backpack and travel for months at a time.

And Now...
Tip Today - Never travel with original birth and marriage certificates but do get certified copies for your trip.
Quote Today - “To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” - Freya Stark
Dreaming Of - Our trip to San Antonio, yep we are going there again.

Postcards

Ok here is was fascinates me about these three post cards. Look at the similarities between the buildings. You can obviously see that these three different cultures have some of the same influences.
This first one is from Russia and the sender informs me that the building is a church and is very typical of the Russian North.

This next one is a monastery in China and was a favorite place of the ancient emperor as a summer resort.

The last one comes from Korea. Unfortunately I can not tell you what this building is as the sender did not include that information and I do not read Korean but it is beautiful. If I had to guess I would say it is a temple of some kind. Making all of these buildings religious in some way.

I am fascinated by everything these buildings have in common. Can you even imagine what else they might have in common if you could tour them all?




And Now...
Tip Today - Do not pack your expensive jewelery or items of great value if you don't absolutely have to, they are safer at home.
Quote Today - “People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home.” - Dagobert D. Runes
Dreaming Of - The details of upcoming giveaways.

Postcards

This first card came to me from Germany. The title of the artwork on the card is Where Goes The Music and was painted by Michael Ferner. These guys are fuzzy at first I thought it was just their clothes but then I realized everything was fuzzy.
This card is from Hungary and is the first card I have ever received from that country. It is an illustration from a very famous Hungarian illustrator called Reich Karoly. I would love to read one of his storybooks some day.
Some handmade cards just aren't very good, the people sending them try but they just don't fit together very well at all. This one however is great, there are pictures of the city, art and pictures of real live people they look like they are clipped from a newspaper and that is great, I love seeing the real people.



And Now...
Tip Today - Bring a glue stick w/ you while traveling so you can paste all tix stubs, mementos, etc. into your journal. - this tip from @travelmile
Quote Today - “He who does not travel does not know the value of men.” - Moorish proverb
Dreaming Of - Our upcoming trip to San Antonio and not coming home afterward.

Postcards 2

Here is the great thing about these first two. I received them both on the same day from two different people with two different postcrossing ID's and as you can see they are both from Suomi, Finland. How weird is that? It's never happened to me before but I have to say that although the system of how address' are picked for you over at postcrossing is supposed to be random I get a LOT of address' in Finland and I get a LOT of postcards from Finland. Now I like Finland as much as the next guy (you do like Finland, don't you?) but unless the amount of users from Finland way out number that from the rest of the world there is something up with the randomness of the system. No matter, I still love the postcrossing project.

Both cards make it look like a nice place to visit. I don't really love the cards where they take two or three perfectly nice pictures and put them next to each other or on top of each other. Like the red house with the stream in the second postcard, that is a beautiful picture that could carry a card on it's own but they have thrown form flowers on top of it and a weird boarder around it and that is not attractive.


This one came to me from China actually from Susie in Shanghai to be more specific. It looks like such beautiful country. So much of it looks completely untouched or at least not paved over like so much of America and other places for that matter. China is definitely on my list of places to visit.


This one I have misplaced and so can't give you any information on it but it is cool looking and a little weird.


Oh Italy how I long to visit your...your...your everything! I copied this from the official orta website :
The area around Lake Orta has long been a favorite tourists, thanks to the quiet beauty of the landscape, its fascinating history and its wealth of artistic treasures - principally Romanesque and Baroque architecture.

Lake Orta lies to the west of Lake Maggiore, in the northern Italy. It is a minor star in the costellation of the subalpine lakes, but all the fascination and the history of the larger lakes seem to be concentrated in this short space.



And Now...
Tip Today - FYI In Europe they don' usually give away free water at restaurants and a lot of the time they drink sparkling water not regular water.
Quote Today - “Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” - Jack Kerouac
Dreaming Of - Taking the Little Guy somewhere exotic not just to Grandma's house

Domestic Postcards

In addition to the lot of postcards I receive from international destinations I also receive a few from right here in the United States of America. Each one reminds me time and again how many wonderful things we have right here in our own country. These are a few of those cards.

This one was sent to me through postcrossing from Maine (in case you haven't figured that out already). A little house that just screams out to tell it's story surrounded by Lupine flowers that bloom throughout Maine in the late Spring and Early Fall. If I were in Maine during this time of year I would probably drive right by this spot never even slowing down but that would be a shame. A good photo should show us these little things that we would otherwise miss and a good postcard is no different. This one succeeds for sure.

When I here "Santa Barbara" I think big city, traffic and crowds. In my mind Santa Barbara gets lumped in with L.A. but this postcard makes me think a little differently. One day I will have to visit Santa Barbara to set the record straight.

Weird Postcards

Recently I joined a weird/odd/strange round robin for postcards on postcrossing and I finally received all the cards from all the other participants and wanted to share them with you here.

This first one was sent to me from France and it smells fishy to me. LOL, OMG, knee slapper that one.
Sorry, I really am sorry about that stinker. I did it again, somebody stop me!

This next one comes to me from Dallas, Texas. There are reasons why I don't see myself ever living in Texas and although I don't have a clue what this postcard means I think this might be one of the reasons.

This card comes to me from Russia and although I don't think it is as weird as the other two it is definitely cute. The postcrosser who sent it to me informs me that the statement on the front translates to "Dreaming is not Harmful"

And Now...
Tip Today - List, list, list. make lists of everything from clothes to toiletries to electronics and accessories. Then mark them off the lsit as you put them in your suitcase.

Quote Today - “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” - Lao Tzu

Dreaming Of - Sleep lots of wonderful sleep

More Postcards

This one comes to me from Portugal, this looks like a great little place to grab lunch right on the river though which river it is I don't know because it does not seem to be listed anywhere on the card.

This postcard came all the way from South Korea. I can't read the caption on the back (it's in Korean) but this looks like a very interesting place to visit

This postcard makes Sao Paulo look like a big over populated city. Nothing but big buildings everywhere. It's a big difference from the sun and beaches vision that we are always fed of Brazil.

The first thing I thought of when I received this card was "Bond, James Bond"

And Now...
Tip Today - When going camping or even a road trip place a drier sheet in your bag with your clothes to keep them smelling clean for days.

Quote Today - ″A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” - Moslih Eddin Saadi

Dreaming Of - money...isn't that sad

Learning From Postcards

Getting postcards is so great, the ones from different parts of the world are so much fun. I learn things too. Like this card above. It took me a while to figure out what the card was depicting since I don't speak (or read) Czech but I finally found a website that when translated for me by Google was filled with lots of information on the event. It is a march through the woods that have been decorated and filled with actors portraying fairytale characters. It seems to mostly be an event for families and children, it looks like fun to me. You can find more info and lots of pictures of the festivities at this website.
I also found this video on You Tube, you don't have to understand what they are saying to know the kids are having a good time and that it would be a fun event to attend with kids for sure if you were ever in the Czech Republic around May or June. It seems like different villages have their own marches through the woods on different dates mostly during those two months.









And Now...
Tip Today - If you need to pack using just a carry-on, then pick one that is big enough to hold about five outfits and three or four books. A great bag is a school backpack! - From 1000tips4trips.com

Quote Today - "Most travel is best of all in the anticipation or the remembering; the reality has more to do with losing your luggage." -- Regina Nadelson

Dreaming Of - A day off from the terrible twos

Postcards

I get a lot of really cool post cards through postcrossing. Today I received four more:

This one from the Ukraine depicting the Kyiv. monument to princess Olhe.

This one from Washington State of Mount Rainier, the highest volcano in the contiguous 48 states.

This one sent from Germany actually depicts the Vltava River in Prague where the sender went on a class trip last year.
This postcard makes me want to plan a trip to Prague just to take a day of leisurely strolling over those bridges, picking up some lunch and eating it in a local park...oh that sounds like heaven.

And last but certainly not least This one from Russia of the Tolzhsky Monastyr on the Volga River.
This postcard was very well writen and informative, the picture was also taken by one of the bloggers on the site listed on the card. check it out at www.yarfor.me

Maybe I should make my own postcard.

Postcrossing

I have found something that I just love. It is postcrossing! What you do is simple. You get 5 address' for people all over the world. Then you send them each a postcard. Each postcard you send has a special tracking number that is entered on the postcrossing website when received. When one of your postcards arrives at it's destination you receive an email letting you know, then you can request another address and send out another postcard. While all this is going on you are also receiving postcards from other people and registering them on the website. I love it because I get to pick out and send postcards to people which is great for me because I love stationary and anything having to do with writing, also I love getting postcards from all over the world. They have such interesting things on them. The map above shows my postcrossing map. The pink lines are tracking the places I have received postcards form and the blue lines are tracking where I have sent postcards.