Costa Rica!

This stunning card from Erick in Costa Rica shows some fantastic views of his country and a cute little squirrel monkey. Erick tells me that despite its small size, Costa Rica is full of exotic surprises and interesting destinations. Definitely a must-visit for me some time!

Gosaikunda Sacred Lake

This beautiful card showing Gosaikuna Lake in Nepal comes from German Vanessa, whose boyfriend is Nepali. What a beautiful card! I love it! The lake is considered incredibly sacred to the Hindu religion, believed to be the dwelling of several of their deities. Every year thousands of pilgrims flock to the place to pay their respects. What a great card of a very special place.

A Glimpse Of My Future

This awesome card comes from my postcard-bestie Ruhan, in South Africa, during a trip he took into the wilds of his country! And wow, do I love it! It shows the Blyde River Canyon in the very north of the country which he tells me is the deepest green canyon in the world at 732 metres! Amazing! Its original name was Blijderivier but it was changed to Blyde River to seem more Afrikaans. I can’t believe how beautiful this area is and Ruhan even send this card with a promise that if I make it to South Africa next summer, he will take me there! Well, that just makes me even more certain that I have to go! What a stunning card!

Dutch Carnival

This amazing card comes from Ilja in the town of Bergen Op Zoom in the Netherlands. It shows one of her own fantastic photos of their internationally famous Carnival, of which Ilja has even been kind enough to send me a link to more photos she has taken! What an amazing photographer she is! I spent ages looking at all the photos! She tells me every year over 20,000 people come to see the Carnival and that her favourite part is the firemen, shown here, who spread confetti from their firetruck – aimed at open windows and pretty women! Ha! Apparently even the church tower is dressed in costume and can even speak! I just love this card and the real window it opens into another culture!

A Hungarian Spa

One of my weirder postcards in my collection! It’s just so strange that I love it! This one comes from Laci in Hungary and is only my second card from the country. Apparently Bukfurdo is one of Europe’s most famous spas and it is situated only a couple of miles away from where Laci lives. The powers of Hungary’s healing waters were first made famous by the Romans and even today people flock to these places! Great card!

Lagos

This card comes from one of my best friends – Kate (and her boyfriend, Andy) to me (and my boyfriend). Very chatty, as ever, Kate tells me all about how wonderful the Algarve is – in Portugal, where they were on holiday. She says the weather was fantastic, allowing them to spend most days at the beach and that they even managed to go sea-kayaking into some caves which just sounds awesome! Apparently fish became a large part of their diet and, at the time she wrote the postcard, they’d tried over 13 types! Just sounds like an amazing holiday! And this card is stunning!

Hear Me Roar

This great card comes from Jan in Canada as part of a swap and it is SO awesome! I just love it! As with many Game of Thrones fans, Tyrion Lannister is probably my favourite character. I love his wit and sharp-tongue but also how fantastically he is described and developed both in the books and the show. So here he is in all his glory, played by the awesome Peter Dinklage. The title of this post is very (incredibly) geeky – Hear Me Roar being the Lannister family motto. Anyway, Jan designed this card herself as she said she looked far and wide but could not find an actual Game of Thrones card – understandably difficult, I’ve looked myself! She suggests someone should make a book of them! Great idea – any takers?! She asks what my favourite and least favourite parts of living in Guernsey are, stating the lack of shopping would be her downfall! Ha! Well, my favourite bit would probably be the proximity to a beach in summer. My least favourite? How small it is. I miss being able to roam! Great card, thanks Jan!

Monet’s Garden

I received this pretty card from my friend Dan on his holiday in France, it shows one of the 250 paintings that make up Monet’s ‘Water Lilies’ series – painted in his garden in Giverny which Dan visited. Monet, one of the most famous artists of all time, lived from 1840-1926 and I really think his work is beautiful! Thank you Dan!

A Fremantle Sunset

This beautiful card comes from Jelena in Australia who asked to swap after reading my blog. Of course, I said yes, and received this beautiful card from her hometown of Fremantle. She tells me it is a port town just south of Perth (which I knew) but more interestingly, I think, is the fact that they are so isolated that they are more likely to holiday in Asia than in the eastern states of Aus! Fascinating! Thanks Jelena!

A Vintage Kenyan Card

From my mum’s collection of vintage postcards from around the world comes this one showing a Kenyan Masai girl (I think it’s a girl, but if I’m being horribly offensive or presumptuous here, do feel free to correct me!). My mum sent it in a parcel with some tights I’d asked her to send as she said it might ‘offer me alternative thoughts re leg-coverings’, well, they’re definitely beautiful! That being said, however, neither my mum nor I are particularly sure on the very colonial caption ‘East African Types’… hmmm… apparently it was part of a series of cards called “Africa in pictures” too. Well, regardless, it makes a lovely addition to my collection!