A Wonderful Surprise

My beautiful friend Ellu sent me this fantastic card as a surprise from her trip to Rome recently and… because she’s amazing, stamped and posted it from Vatican City! Wonderful girl! So, obviously this shows the Colosseum, recently declared one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Building of this enormous construction started in 70 AD and continued throughout the Flavian Dynasty and was used for public spectacles, including, of course, gladiator battles. Yes, yes, all of our minds think wistfully of Russell Crowe in his heyday, but let’s focus on the beauty of this ancient building instead, shall we? It could hold 50-80,000 people (Wembley Stadium holds 90,000 and that was built two thousand years later, to give a little perspective) and was used until the early medieval era for entertainment purposes. Over the years it has been ruined by earthquakes and stone-robbers but still remains in pretty spectacular condition. What a wonderful card!

A Postcard from Vatican City!

This quirky postcard comes from my friend Toby who’s on holiday in Vatican City at the moment. He tells me the ‘weather is here, wish you were nice’. Typical! Awesome card though, really never thought I’d have Vatican City in my collection!