#153

Received: March 28th, 2014

From: Claudia (Rome, Italy)

Depicts: Piazza Navona (Rome, Italy)

Incredible: this card that reached me in just two days! And this ones explains exactly and perfectly why I love Italy so much. Piazza Navona is one of my favorite places in Rome (yes, I was lucky enough to visit the city for three days in 2008) and also has an important role in one of the books I liked the most ("Angels & Demons") by Dan Brown, so I was really happy that Claudia chose this one for me! What I didn't know was why the square had that name: it turns out that Navona means 'big ship' in Italian and that, way back then, Roman Emperors used to close it from the public and reacreate sea battles there. Claudia also told me that this isn't her favorite square in Rome, that it's the Piazza di Spagna - which I absolutely love too.

Postcard stamps:

So you have the notion: I pay 0,70€ to send a card to Claudia, and she pays 0,01€ to send a card to me. Can I go and live in Italy now? Thanks!

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#152

Received: March 27th, 2014

From: Vitor & Rose (São Paulo, Brazil)

Depicts: Praia Grande (São Paulo, Brazil)

Yes! I have a postcard with a famous Brazillian beach! And even though I liked the other two cards a lot, this was definitely the one I liked the most, since one of my dreams is to be able to step on a Brazillian beach myself!

Postcards stamps:

None, since it came in an envelope.

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#151

Received: March 27th, 2014

From: Vitor & Rose (São Paulo, Brazil)

Depicts: São Paulo, Brazil

In this card, Vitor told me that São Paulo has 12 million inhabitants - and what struck me the most what that 12 millions is more than the entire Portugal population. So the city where he lives has more people in it that my whole country, and I feel really little knowing that!

Postcards stamps:

None, since it came in an envelope.

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#150

Received: March 27th, 2014

From: Vitor & Rose (São Paulo, Brazil)

Depicts: Guararema (São Paulo, Brazil)

Before I talk about the card itself: this is my 150th card already!! It seems like only yesterday I was reaching the 100th... well, and in reality less than a month passed by! In 25 days I got 50 cards, how awesome is that? Oh, and this number also means that now I have more postcards received through direct swap than through the site itself... And once again, this card with a "meaningful number" came from people I appreciate! Vitor and Rose are a Brazillian couple that I contacted in order to get a card from Brazil, since I didn't have any, and they were amazing and so, so nice from the first moment I talked to them, I instantly started liking them a lot! We have been talking and my appreciation for them only grew! Vitor wrote this card and told me this is Guararema, their hometown - Rose stays there during the week with Pucca (their dog) and then Vitor and their children join them to relax amidst all that quietness and niceness!

Postcards stamps:

None, since it came in an envelope.

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#149

Received: March 26th, 2014

From: Polina (Svietlahorsk, Belarus)

Depicts: Sports

Sports cards are always welcome and a nice change, since I like sports and unfortunately don't get too many cards about them, any of them. And it was even nicer to get an "official" card from the site, since they've been so rare lately!

Postcard stamp:

I'm in love with this stamp and I'm deeply saddened that Portugal doesn't have anything like it!

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#148

Received: March 27th, 2014

From: Anja (Booischot, Belgium)

Depicts: Views from Antwerp, Belgium

Anja and I exchanged cards once before (when she sent me one of the most beautiful cards I have!) and we both agreed to keep exchanging, and since the postal service in Belgium apparently works beautifully, I got this card only three days after Anja said she'd send it to me! Antwerp is another place I haven't visited yet, but that I've heard a lot about - I remember perfectly that the first time I heard about was in 7th grade, when we were reading "The Danish Knight" by the Portuguese writer Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, and then I heard a lot about it in the following years in my History classes. And now I get a card from there with beautiful, beautiful buildings! Can I pack my bags and go there now, please? And Anja also recommended other cities for me to visit: Gent and Brugge! So now I have four on my "wishlist", with Brussels there too!

Postcard stamp:

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#147

Received: March 26th, 2014

From: Milda (Attiki, Greece)

Depicts: Santorini, Greece

This postcard right here is definitely one of my favorites EVER! If there's one thing I've learned through Postcrossing, is to never underestimate places you don't know, because they all guard secrets and pretty much all of them are beautiful and would deserve a visit, if I had the chance (and the time and the money, of course) to do so. But I've also learned, over and over, that the places you want to visit the most will always be the places you wanted to visit the most! And I've always, always loved Greece and want to visit is as soon as I can (especially since I saw the movie Mamma Mia! in 2008), so, as I told Milda when I thanked her, this postcard really is like having a dream come true.

Postcard stamps:

The card wasn't beautiful enough (irony, of course!) so she had to send me super beautiful stamps too! The third one just gets me.

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#146

Received: March 25th, 2014
From: Sandro (Barcelona, Spain)

Depicts: El Raval Neighborhood (Barcelona, Spain)

I've been managing to get a lot of postcards from Barcelona, which at least means I've been lucky enough to get to collect many different perspectives of the city, and here's one I still didn't have: the old city. This is the "El Raval" neighborhood, which is said to be one the most colorful of the ones in the city! Sandro told me it's one of the city places he likes the most - and even though I'm not sure if I went there when I visited last Summer, I really like the vibe of the old city too.

Postcard stamp:

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#145

Received: March 25th, 2014

From: Sara (Los Llanos de Aridane, Spain)

Depicts: Views from Canary Islands, Spain

I've been very lucky in my task to get as many cards from as different places in Spain I can, because I've been able to get every direct swap I have requested. Sara was really nice and she sent me this beautiful card with many views from the different Canary Islands - they're Lanzarote (I've already been there in 2009, when I went on a cruise and I rode camels!), Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria (I think I was already there too, but I was very little and I don't remember it at all), Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma (where Sara lives) and El Hierro. It's awesome how I seem to find so many coincidences through Postcrossing: Sara visited the North of Portugal about 14 years ago and one of the few cities she visited was mine! And mine is so little that it's really an awesome coincidence that she was here.

Postcard stamp:

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#144

Received: March 25th, 2014

From: Silvia (Cornellá de Llobregat, Spain)

Depicts: Park Güell (Barcelona, Spain)

I can't describe how much I love this card! I spent a few hours in Park Güell this last July and they're still a few of the best hours I've had in the past year all together! I love Barcelona - I know, I've said this about a million times in this blog already! - and Park Güell is definitely one of my favorite spots and so I'm really happy I get to have a little memory from it close to me.

Postcard stamps:

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#143

Received: March 25th, 2014
From: Jeanette (New York City, USA)

Depicts: Times Square (New York City, USA)

My dear Jeanette never disappoints: this is the second card I get from Times Square and I love it even more because it shows a lot of things I love from NYC, including the place itself, the famous yellow cabs and people, lots of people! I love it and makes me want to go there one day even more.

Postcard stamp:

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#142

Received: March 24th, 2014

From: Cristina (Getafe, Madrid)

Depicts: Calle de Alcalá (Madrid, Spain)

Cristina was a sweetheart for sending me such a beautiful card and I found out we even have a lot of things in common - we both like figure skating, and we both skate (well, I don't anymore, but used to for years) and we both sing and we both love the Summer and Madrid. I'm really happy I proposed this swap because it really was worth it - and finally I got a card from Madrid, I still didn't have any!

Postcard stamps:

Even if stamps aren't the thing I notice the most, it's so nice to get ones from Spain that aren't that "I love Spain" one!

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#141

Received: March 21st, 2014
From: Jeanette (New York City, USA)

Depicts: Peace Fountain at the Cathedral Church of Saint John, the Divine (New York City, USA)

This was the last of the five postcards I've been talking about. This one shows the Peace Fountain, which sculpted by Greg Wyatt, and dedicated in 1985 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It's a 40-foot high bronze sculpture encircled by 120 bronze animals sculptures that compose the Children's Sculpture Garden. Also, Jeanette added that she has two twin daughters, in addition to another son I already knew she had, and it was nice to suddenly get to know such a fun detail!

Postcard stamp:
None, since it came in an envelope.

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#140

Received: March 21st, 2014
From: Jeanette (New York City, USA)

Depicts: Chapel of St. Saviour at the Cathedral Church of Saint John, the Divine (New York City, USA)

Four out of five in this "collection" and this one is the one I liked the most. Plus, Jeanette told me that James Gandolfini's funeral was held in these grounds which is always another interesting fact to add to the ones I'd already gotten.

This shows the St. Saviour's Chapel, the first portion of the Cathedral to be completed. Designed by Heins and La Farge, it is dedicated to the Slavic peoples. The carvings at the entrance and on either side of the principal windows were designed by Borglum, who modeled the heads on Mount Rushmore.

Postcard stamp:

None, since it came in an envelope.

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#139

Received: March 21st, 2014

From: Jeanette (New York City, USA)

Depicts: The great choir and sanctuary at the Cathedral Church of Saint John, the Divine (New York City, USA)

The third out of five cards. Jeanette told me she visited this church in a field trip in middle school and that the one interesting fact she remembers is that the cathedral is the length of two fields! So huge. Its grounds start from Amsterdam 110th Street to Amsterdam 113th Street.

In the picture you see the Great Choir of the Cathedral and the Sanctuary with the High Altar. The Choir stalls were hand carved in Philadelphia. The Great Columns around the High Altar were quarried as single shafts in Vinal Haven, Maine. Each of 55 feeth high and weighs 130 tons.

Postcard stamp:

None, since it came in an envelope.

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#138

Received: March 21st, 2014
From: Jeanette (New York City, USA)

Depicts: The Narthex at the Cathedral Church of Saint John, the Divine (New York City, USA)

In this card (the second out of five), Jeanette told me about the three peacocks that live in the Cathedral's gardens. There's two that are blue/green, Harry and Jim, and another one that's white, Phil, and they roam around all year long. Also, it's extremely rare but the peacocks have happened to fly out of the grounds and people called the church to pick them up again - those peacocks are famous, huh?

Oh, and in the picture you can see the Narthex, which is the formal entrance area the the West End of the Cathedral. The Great Rose Window, shown here with the State Trumpet and Lesser Rose Window, is 40 feet in diameter and contains over 10k pieces of stained glass.

Postcard stamp:

None, since it came in an envelope.

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#137

Received: March 21st, 2014

From: Jeanette (New York City, USA)

Depicts: West front of the Cathedral Church of Saint John, the Divine (New York City, USA)

This was the last of the five postcards my dear Jeanette sent me about a cathedral church that's near her apartment in New York City. This is one of her favorite places in NYC and it's about 5 minutes away from her home, walking. She advised me to go see it if I ever go to NYC and I hope I do!
The West Front of the Cathedral contains the tracery for the Great Rose Window, which is 40 feet in diameter. The Cross on top of the Central Portal (over the Bronze Doors) is 14 feet high and is cut from a single piece of granite.

Postcard stamp:

None, since it came in an envelope.

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#136

Received: March 21st, 2014
From: Natali (Chisinau, Moldova)
Depicts: Traditional ceramics from Moldova

Natali was another one of those lucky swaps I chose! She sent me not only this card (that I'm counting because it's written and stamped and my collection is only about those), but also fourteen more that are about flowers! Plus, she sent me a bus ticket from Chisinau, a yellow smiley sticker, a little silver plastic butterfly, a fridge magnet and a taxi company ticket! Nice to get some souvenirs from so far away.

Postcard stamps:

I loved all of them, but especially the one in the far right, the one with the FIFA World Cup 2010 stamp!

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#135

Received: March 21st, 2014
From: François (Manchester, United Kingdom)

Depicts: Manchester Markets (Manchester, United Kingdom)

François proposed the swap to me and I gladly accepted it, because I love United Kingdom and Manchester is one of the (many) cities I haven't had the chance to see yet, but I'm hoping I'll go one day. Until that happens, I'll stick to postcards, and here is another nice one!

Postcard stamp:

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#134

Received: March 21st, 2014
From: Grietje (Groningen, The Netherlands)

Depicts: "Woman in a corset", Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

This is one of those postcards that are worth it because of the words in its back - not that I didn't like the picture, because I did and it's different from the other ones I've got - but because Grietje mentioned one of my biggest passions: football. And she told me last year she got her husbands tickets to go see Barça vs. Real (one of the dreams in my bucket list) and today that game happens again (although in Real's stadium), so it was another nice coincidence, because I only read this today, even though I got the card a few days ago already.

Postcard stamp:

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#133

Received: March 21th, 2014

From: Helena (London, United Kingdom)

Depicts: Houses of Parliament (London, United Kingdom)

My first "colour splash" card and I love it. I loved UK, I love London, and I love this view, both the Houses of Parliament and the typical red buses! Plus, yet another coincidence: I chose Helena randomly and then I found out she is Portuguese just like me!

Postcard stamp:

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#132

Received: March 21th, 2014
From: Daniel (Villach, Austria)

Depicts: Views from Carinthia, Austria

Daniel proposed this direct swap to me and I gladly accepted because I love Austria and I haven't been disappointed with the few cards I've gotten yet - and this was no exception. First of all, it's so original, I've never seen one with so many views before, and then each little view is so beautiful! I love it.

Postcard stamp:

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#131

Received: March 19th, 2014
From: João (Ponta Delgada, Portugal)

Depicts: Pico and São Jorge (Azores Archipelago, Portugal)

It's always good to get cards from other countries, but it's also awesome to get to know your own country, especially places you haven't visited yet. And since last week I got a card from Madeira (a place where I was twice already), I really wanted to get a card from Azores too, because I never even went there. So I found João and contacted him and when we talked we got to the conclusion that his mother is from my hometown, which was a really nice coincidence - I love coincidences, yes. And he knows and likes my city, which is always really good to know too! Plus, he sent me this beautiful, beautiful card, with Pico, the highest place in Portugal! I love it and it proves to me that Azores is really one of the Portuguese places with the most natural beauty.

Postcard stamps:

João also told me this stamp shows part of a museum that his grandparents built in 1996, and that it was a real dream coming true for his grandfather. How cool is that?

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#130

Received: March 18th, 2014
From: Sabina (Sopot, Bulgaria)

Depicts: Kukeri

I chose Sabina to exchange cards with because I realized we had a lot of coincidences in our profiles and when I talked to her I found out even more, which was funny. She then sent me this card of Kukeri, one of the most famous Bulgarian traditions: people dance dressed like live monsters to scare off all of the other bad creatures. Always good to know more!

Postcard stamp:

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#129

Received: March 18th, 2014
From: Mary (Krasnoyarsk, Russia)
Depicts: Cat skating

Mary was a real sweetheart and sent me a card showing two of the things I like the most: cats and figure skating! Plus, the stamp is to die for... These are the kind of official cards I really like to get, when people take my wishes into account!

Postcard stamps:

The stamp on the right has the Ice Palace "Big", according to Mary - and I love the Olympics!!

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#128

Received: March 18th, 2014
From: Sharon (Los Angeles, USA)

Depicts: U.S. Route 101

I proposed Sharon a direct swap and she kindly sent me this card from Los Angeles, with the famous U.S. Route 101 that I've seen so many times in movies and TV shows!

Postcard stamp:

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#127

Received: March 17th, 2014

From: Hrvoje (Bjelovar, Croatia)

Depicts: Views from Poreč, Croatia

This is my only third card from Croatia, and once again it proves to me what I already knew: that the country really is wonderful! I am dying to go visit it. This is Poreč, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Postcard stamps:

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#126

Received: March 17th, 2014
From: Drazenka (Velbert, Germany)
Depicts: Views from Velbert, Germany

I may have a lot of postcards from Germany already, but I didn't have one from Velbert yet, and I definitely didn't have one my friend Drazenka yet, so I love this card dearly. As I told her, I love the pictures in it, even if she doesn't, and I love what she wrote in the back even more, as I love her. So this is yet another one of my favorites!

Postcard stamp:

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#125

Received: March 17th, 2014
From: Jeanette (New York City, USA)

Depicts: Betty Boop

Another original card from my dear friend Jeanette - this one shows Betty Boop riding in NYC's subway, giving the numbers showing behind her! Jeanette told this cartoon exists since 1930, which was news to me - of course I knew Betty Boop, but I had no idea when she first appeared. Oh, and it was really funny because Jeanette decorated the card with St. Patrick's day stickers and the card arrived exactly on that day!

Postcard stamps:

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