Montevideo, Uruguay

Yup...here it is!   101!   No no no, not 101 Dalmatians....its the 101st country! :)
I know some of you voted for Uruguay and you were really close actually, and i DID expect Uruguay to arrive, but Uzbekistan just forestalled it and arrived first...i hope you dont feel as in all those lottery/bingo games where it always takes *just a tiny tiny little* to have won the grand prize, but that tiny little, always seems to be missing....

Well, i must say that i LOVE my Uruguay card...not coz its  from a new country, but first, the card is just beautiful, second, it has a flag picture on it, and third....it comes from Montevideo and has the name written on the front of the card!!! I think you may know that i have a soft spot for places' names, and that some of them just sound really appealing to me for whatever reason...well, Montevideo is just one of them...it feels as such a strange and interesting and just lovely name...
In this lovely night view, you can see the Independence Square...here is whats written at the back of the card:
It emerged as a result of the demolition of the Fortress Walls. Carlos Zucchini started building it in 1837 and it was redesigned by Bernardo Ponchini in 1860.
The monument of our national hero, José Artigas, is situated in the middle of the square.

Do you know what they say about Uruguay?
Uruguay used to be South America's best-kept secret, with a handful of Argentines, Brazilians, Chileans and non–South Americans in the know popping in to enjoy the pristine beaches, the atmospheric cities, the huge steaks and the happening nightlife. Then the peso crashed, the place became a whole lot more affordable and people got curious. They came, loved it and went back home to tell their friends. Who came, loved it and went back home to tell their friends.

I love this self-adhesive, unusual stamp...well, stamps which differ from the 'regular' rectangular shape, are unusual to me. The stamp was issued in December 2008, belonging to a series of stamps representing flowers and shows the Flower of the CEIBO (National Flower).
Now, i dont know if this kind of a large rectangular cancellation is typical for this part of the world...i have it on my cards from Costa Rica and Nicaragua too...well, i find it interesting...i find loads of things interesting, esp. the ones that differ from the traditional things, or at least the ones that *I* am used to...