Via Airmail

Chartres Cathedral: Labyrinth and Nave

Isn't this beautiful?  A friend very kindly sent it to me as I've been reading Greek mythology and had been reading about the minotaur in his labyrinth.  I didn't realize there was a famous labyrinth in the nave of Chartres Cathedral in France.  It dates from the early 13th century.  Obviously it's quite a different sort than the one in Crete.  It looks quite amazing.  Did you know that labyrinth and maze are not interchangeable terms.  A labyrinth has only one path, whereas in a maze there is a choice of paths.  I think this is an absolutely amazing postcard and had to share it here!  

Please note: Image is by ©Alain Kilar
Check out his website Promenades-angeliques.ch

(Much appreciation to M. Kilar for allowing me to share his amazing image here)!

Paris: Harmonie des blancs

A friend in the Netherlands who I do direct swaps with regularly was in Paris last week on vacation and she sent this marvelous postcard of images in white.  I am very visual and think this is a stunning card, and love it when they follow color themes like this.  A nice image to end the work week with!

She mailed the card when she returned home, so the stamps are Dutch, but I thought I'd give you a peek as they are pretty cool and all new to me.   Not sure what the two on the left signify, but they are certinaly colorful!

Per Catharina a bit on the story behind the two stamps on the left:

"Since 1924 with exception of the war years 1942-1944 in The Netherlands each year so called Children's Stamps are issued. These are stamps sold by children for charity causes for children in october each year. Every year there is a different design. The one at the left is from 1992 and is by Flemish illustrator and designer Ever Meulen, the second one is from 1987 by author and painter Charlotte Mutsaers."

Paris Bouquinistes & Passerelle des Arts

Serendipity.  The Postcrosser who sent this card to me also works (rather I think she is training to work) in a library.  I love these Paris street scenes.  In the background is the Passarelle des Arts, a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Seine.  Wouldn't you love to browse these bookstalls?  Look at the variety of postcards and magazines?  Sigh.  You can see another similar postcard here.

On the back is a Lettre Verte stamp.  This is a "green"/eco-friendly stamp that means less fuel used to deliver taking slightly longer to arrive than regular first class delivery.  Indeed this took eighteen days to arrive from Paris, but it was well worth the wait!

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Postcrossing card #18 

Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France

A new library card to add to my collection!  This is from a Postcrosser here in the United States, who noted I collect library postcards.  The postcard has a vintage feel to it and specifically shows the reading room in the Bibliothèque Nationale, which was built in 1862 by Henri Labrouste.  According to the card it has nine domes, each with an "eye" providing natural light from above.  The roof is supported by twelve slender iron columns. 

And a quote on the  back:

"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library,"

--Jorge Luis Borges

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Postcrossing card #11

Paris Booksellers

One more official Postcrossing postcard from Germany.  The postcard shows French booksellers who set up shop in the city center outdoors.  Isn't it wonderful?  I'd love to stroll by and browse.

The stamp on the flip side is very cool, too.  It is a UNESCO stamp of Altstadt Regensburg, which is on the WHS list.   I don't know enough about stamps to know how it works and which countries have UNESCO stamps and which don't, but it's very pretty.

So now I wait patiently for some the cards I've mailed to arrive so I can get another one myself.  I still have one original card travelling--32 days and counting to China.  Fingers crossed it doesn't go missing.  What happens after two months and it expires?  Do I still get to send out a new card?  And what happens if it finally arrives much later and is registered?  Is it simply added to my list of received cards?

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Postcrossing card #9

Ville du Roi Stanislas

 

A French Postcrosser very kindly swapped cards with me so I could begin adding to my UNESCO World Heritage collection.  Now I have two cards (so many, many more cards to go, but you have to start somewhere!).

This is the Ville du Roi Stanislas in Nancy, France.  I'm told Nancy is in the Northeast part of France with 106,000 inhabitants.  Stanislas was a king in Poland and his daughter was married to Louis XV of France.  The palace was built between 1751-1755.   

You can read more about it here.

And the stamp on the back of the card.

An Abundance of Cards, part 1

I seem to be accumulating a backlog of postcards.  This has apparently be a very good mail week for me, so I'll split my newest arrivals in half.

First, my third 'official' postcrossing card.  I've got five cards traveling, four that I've mailed have made it to their destinations, and I have now received three cards from fellow postcrossers.  This one came from someone living in a neighboring state.

This is Echo Lake and Mt. Evans.  According to the sender the road up Mt. Evans is the highest paved road in North America (elevation at peak 14,260').  Quite breathtaking.

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Postcrossing card #3

I should have one more card en route.  Where will it come from?  And hopefully some of my cards will find their way into the recipient's mailboxes soon. 

As someone who loves books Hay-On-Wye is something of a dream destination.  I'm told the whole town is given over to books--new and secondhand and all subject matters.  Maybe someday I'll get there.

As a nice change of pace, the back has a stamp of Edward VIII rather than the traditional shot of the queen.  I'm hoping to get a card of Queen Elizabeth this year, however, since she is celebrating her Diamond Jubilee.

Traveling further across the pond and across the English Channel a card came from Thionville, France.

This is the Town Hall at dusk in Thionville (Moselle) located in northeastern France.  If you click on the link to the Wikipedia you can see a slightly different angle of the Town Hall.

And I have to share the stamps as they're so pretty.

And a map of Washington state for my collection.  Three states down, 47 more to go!