Palmyra, Syria

hey everyone....seems like lately ive got into the non-posting mode..as usual i could bring up a bunch of excuses..but hopefully, from now on, thing will improve at least a bit...not coz i have extra free time...but simply coz FINALLY i got a lap top, and FINALLY i can say goodbye to all the struggle and fuss i had to encounter by a simple opening of a Word Doc. Now all the scanning and uploading of cards feels like working at the speed of light...it even feels weird coz im so much not used to it...
Of course...work has been consuming most of my time lately, but i dont want to complain...even though im tired and all, i dont honestly mind it....i started making this update two days ago, but due to all those other obligations i had to postpone it till now..i still have stuff to do, but i just had the urge to move from the dead point here...coz if i dont, i never know when i will have the chance for the next update...esp. since next week i may not be able to do it at all...eventually, ill tell you why :)

And as always when i disappear like this, i try to make it up by giving you a nice treat with some not so every day card...and for today ive chosen Syria...and not only its a rare country and first one in my collection from there, but its also written and stamped and its even a UNESCO :)))

This is the Palmyrian Theatre in Palmyra....it was used for wrestling ceremonies with wild animal and it has 13 sitting steps....hmmm, i wonder if in Syria they consider number 13 unlucky as well or no...

This theatre is located in an oasis so it was an important stop for caravans of traders and was known for its palm trees.

Perfect card!

 

All I know about these two stamps is that they were issued this year....and if im not mistaken, its showing Bashar al-Assad, the President of the Syrian Arab Republic...

Chania, Greece

An amazing card that came as a real surpise from my dear Anastasia...and funny thing is, as I already told you, i started this update two days ago and had chosen the cards to post, and today, i received another card from Chania, and this time it was an official one! And my second Greek official card...but ill get to that issue when ill show you cards :)

This picture has probably been photoshopped...but its still an amazing one! I just really love the colours, i love the houses and how the sun reflects against them...i love the colours of the sky, the water, the mountains....
Anastasia says that Chania is the most beautiful town in Crete...have never been there, but i wont object at all..compared to Athens or even worse, Thessaloniki, this town seems to be lovely! And no offence, but i dont like concrete jungles like Thessaloniki is..or Skopje...so no political feelings involved here...just to avoid misunderstandings...
Chania is a mix of Venetian, Turkish and Greek culture On the card you can see the Venetian harbour and the old town.
Reminds me actually of some old quarters of towns in Brazil or Chile...

Anasty! You know im more than thankful for all the amazing Greek cards you had sent me! You are just great! :)

Texas, USA

A new addition to my US map card collection and it comes as an official :)

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Here are the usual facts from the back of the card that come along with every US map card of the states.

State Bird: Mockingbird
State Flower: Bluebonnet
State Tree: Pecan
Capital: Austin
Motto: Friendship
Statehood: Dec. 29, 1845 (28th State admitted)

Well, not many facts given...hope you wont mind if i just ramble a bit

You know what happened to me this morning....i woke up out of nowhere, all in panic that i have overslept...then i took a look at the time and saw that it was around 6:30am...meaning i was ok...and then after a few seconds i said to myself..hey, why the hell do you panic, it Saturday today, and i went back to sleep, trying to make the schedule for the day and all...and as i was doing that i was also wondering how could it be Saturday, since I couldnt recall things i have been doing the week before...so for quite some time i was lying in bed, negotiating with myself, which day the hell is it today...somehow i was convinced it was Saturday, but then on the other hand, there was a small voice inside of me telling me that if i keep thinking like that i will REALLY oversleep and be late and all...and yeah, can you imagine how shocking it was to find out that its actually Tuesday =|

there are 3 nice stamps on the card. The one on the left is the 3-cent "make up rate" stamp which was first issued in June 2002 and features a star highlighted in red, white and blue. The middle stamp is a self-adhesive stamp issued in a set of 10 stamps in 2008 representing Tropicl Fruits, and you see here the Papaya. The stamp on the right is another one from 2009, a definitive stamp which features a bottlenose dolphin leaping from the water.

Taiwan

My last card for today is another official one, coming from Taiwan, but my decision to show it was because it actually shows a train and i just wanted to ramble in a few words about my last train ride...

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Some of you may know that the weekend that just passed but the one before that, i was on a one day trip to Belgrade (as all my Belgrade trips end up to be), and as usual, i took the train to go back home. I think that if i had to spend all my nights sleeping on a train (in the bed wagoon of course)  I wouldnt mind one thing. I just love the solitude of the cabin, and then just hearing and feeling the sound of the train wheels...its nice to be sleeping while you are actually moving like that...feels like someone is singing you a lullaby :P

But really...its some specific, one of a kind feeling...esp coz outside it was extremely cold and on the inside it was nice and warm...and then you wake up, and open your eyes around dawn and you see mountains and trees moving in front of you...the only thing i dont like are the moments when borders approach...and when going from Belgrade to Skopje the border time is around 6am...so not the most convenient one, but i think i can neglect that fact and enjoy all the rest.

And if you are asking me about the train on the card...I honestly have NO idea where in Taiwan is this, its not even stated on the card...so its just some train...out there...in Taiwan

 

need to find some adequate Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese etc stamp sites written in English...otherwise i feel really ignorant...wanna guess why?

Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

Pheww....finally, here i am...and i better scribble down something before i fall again into one of those emotional turmoils...ive been in such a state for like two weeks...and its been getting worse and worse each day...I thank God to the bits and pieces of sunshine he brought me today...i know they wont last for long...the upcoming periods wont allow it...but at least, for the time being, i need to enjoy it as much as possible...right?

and ill start today with one lovely and cheerful card from dear Sainara....well, its always indeed a pleasure to receive a card from the Netherlands Antilles...but its a double pleasure to receive it from dear people..

the card shows the Feeding time at the Donkey's Sanctuary...Sainara says how she remembers donkeys walking around freely while growing up. But then, with the growing population and increasing car accidents involving donkeys, a sanctuary was made and the majority of the donkeys reside there now.

Thats really cool actually...to have donkeys roaming around freely...or horses...or elephants...or some other animals...as long as they wont be able to do you harm. Its nice for them to have all that freedom in the world.
Here, in our ZOO, not only the animals cant walk around freely, they are even in danger from all those people with lack of consciousness, who feed them inappropriately, even though there are huge signs which say that its strictly forbidden to feed the animals...just recently one of the camels had died suffocating from a bag of crisps...totally miserable...and i dont get it how people can be so reckless...but they just dont seem to care...at all.

 

I suppose this stamp is issued regarding Christmas holidays...its from December 2006, but i dont have any further information about it unfortunately!

Sainara, thanks a lot again, not just for this, but for all the great cards you had sent me!

Haapsalu, Estonia

A great card from dear Janek, who sent me a train card just right after i had put them on my wishlist!! Thanks so much Janek!!! :D

Estonian Railway Museum is located in the Emperor's Pavillon of the historic Haapsalu railway station. Belonging Locomotives and railcars to the museum are exhibited behind the station building and can be visited free of charge. 10-18 Museum is open all year round from Wednesday to Sunday. Discount of 10% is available for groups over 25 people.

I think that if i ever get to Estonia, this will be on the top list of things id love to see...and id love to take my dad there too...as a gift for him.

and a set of amazing stamps!
the small one on the left is a definitive issued in 2006 under the subject of Flora, representing the Liverleaf. The two big stamps were issued in 2002 regarding the 10th anniversary of the reintroduction of the Estonian Kroon. This souvenir sheet features the portraits of the poetess Lydia Koidula and the journalist, writer and teacher Carl Robert Jakobson, key elements of the 100 and 500 kroon notes respectively.

thanks a lot Janek...as alqwa

Hong Kong

A shiny Hong Kong card that came as a surprise from Relie and Licia..

It shows brightly lit neons signs of Nathan Road in Kowloon.
It sure IS bright! Relie says that this is the land of neon lights, dim sum, loud people, congested streets and great shopping. And thats so much NOT me. Id only like to try the dim sum...but all the rest is just not my cup of tea...no no no, not even the shopping...i actually hate shopping and i dread when i have to do it...and even then i dont really put loads of efforts but try to buy what i need at the first/second/third shop possible...shopping annoys me...the only kind of shopping i like is postcard shopping or getting stuff from a huge supermarket (so that means food and coffee and such) provided i actually have enough money to put in the trolley all that i want. But when it comes to clothes and make up and such...then please, dont call me to keep you company....thank you :)

 

this bird stamp comes from a set of 16 definitive stamps issued in 2006 regarding the Fauna, where this one represents the Red-whiskered Bulbul.

Durmitor, Montenegro

One of the numerous cards i bought to myself during my stay in Montenegro this year.

And i really like this edition of huge cards they have...not only coz they are huge...but they have beautiful images as well!
This card shows the Lake Škrčko below the Bobotov Peak (2,523 m), the highest peak on Mt. Durmitor.
And Durmitor is also one of the two UNESCO whs in Montenegro, so now i finally have Montenegro complete...boy...this sounded as if Montenegro had 20 UNESCO whs and now, after loads of hard work, i had finally been able to collect them all.
Unfortunately, this is one of the places in Montenegro i didnt manage to visit even though i wanted to...but there were no excursions organized for there in particular, so unless you arrange it on your own, you dont have much of a choice of how to get there...so maybe next time ill be more lucky and have the chance to go there...it definitely is a beautiful place and more than worth seeing.

It's a nice day for a White Wedding....

So there we go...the day has come...and its just a matter of hours until the actual event takes place...well, ok...ill have one more extra hour to sleep due to the winter time change to which im thankful for...

oh...and no no no...its not MY wedding we are talking about, no panic :))
a friend of mine is getting married, and since we are/were kinda close, i just wanted to sort of commemorate it...and its also like an excuse for my absence in posting here too...so i better post something than nothing, right?
and honestly, its this card that had me inspired and i thought it would be VERY appropriate to post it today than any other day...if you are about to say that my OWN wedding would be more appropriate...well, i dont have the heart to keep this card in darkness till then honestly :P

personally im not a wedding fan...but its nice to attend some...the one that is about to come is still something i cant categorize unfortunately, and i dont feel like im going to a wedding at all nor that something important is happening...but i wont go into details...at least not in public coz it wont really be fair

why i dont like weddings? i dont know...im just not that kind of a social type of a person (im a complicated type of a person in case you hadnt figured out by now)...i dont like all that fuss revolving around the weddings and i most of all dont like the *i have nothing to wear* moment...which stroke me big time this time...and all that with the thanks to my awful eating habits lately, since ive come to the conclusion that nothing fits me...and i just feel ridiculous in whatever i wear...my only attempt to do something about it was to refrain from chocolate and sweets and stuff....for the past 3 days...a real sacrifice, no? and my body is craving for some cake, so i guess once the wedding is over, ill get my dosage with a less feeling of guilt...

and speaking of the card...those thoughts perfectly describe ME! i cant explain it in short terms, but how i judge things is often totally different from what my common sense tells me to do...and i often follow the 'my own judgment' than the 'common sense' thing...whether its a right or wrong thing to do, i dont know...but thats how i do it...and with no intention to actually switch to 'common sense'....oh well...maybe someday...one day....maybe :)

my biggest thank you goes to Chris for sending me this card...first of all for the reasons why he sent it to me, and second, for actually giving me a material to make today's post and for sending me such a handy and convenient card for this occasion :)
oh, and one more thing...its Chris to blame, why i have developed a soft spot for the Anne Taintor cards and why they are on my wish list now...yeah Chris, its your fault, shame on you! :))))

well...in order not to blame me that i totally rant of other stuff, here are the stamps from the card..

and...Marija dear...i wish this day to be the most memorable one for you and i hope you have a life full of joy and love and happiness...and we are sorry that we wont be able to attend the ceremony from the beginning, but we hope you understand (and you know who we all are...sorry! =[....)

Bulgaria

I know this will be surprising to many, but for me, postcard wise, Bulgaria is a rare country (esp. for written and stamped cards) even though its so close to here...but there, i have more Brazilian cards in my collection, than Bulgarian....ironic....

and i got this one thanks to the Slavic RR.....probably my favourite RR ever...
The only place i have been to from the places shown on the card is actually Sofia...and even that was time time ago (i cant count my visit in 2006 regarding the DM concert coz then i didnt see a single thing from Sofia except the Locomotiv stadium where the concert was held)
I was wondering...if Bulgaria hadnt imposed the visa issue, would i have been visiting it more often or would it have been the same as now...ive never been there on a summer holiday even though its a huge trend among Macedonians...id like to see the *new* Bulgaria though...or the one that developed after entering the EU...
Well, since there is also the Rila Monastery on these pictures, ill label this under UNESCO as well..even though its just a small image and not a single view card....i still have my doubts about this issue, and whether i should label such multiview cards as UNESCO...but for now i still stick to it.....the other day i tried to update my UNESCO list with the sites im having but its a bit tough, as counting my postcards is as well...and btw, im also sick and have an annoying cold and just feel f***** up in general coz of it with total lack of energy and desire to do anything...plus there are some other things in question which add up to it, but more about it some other time...

the huge stamp was issued in May this year and comes from a set of 4 stamps representing Fauna and Night Birds of Prey...Owls in particular, and here the Strix Uralensis is shown.
the other smaller stamp comes from a set of 6 definitives issued in 1999 representing Historical sites, fountains...