Cats, Portugal

As my final post today (yeah, I can hear your disappointment), are these two cat cards I sent myself from my trip to Portugal this winter...

The first one is a 3D card, and yeah can give you quite a dizzy feeling, while the second one is just an ordinary card.
However, the funny thing is that once they arrived I actually realized it was the same kitties we were talking about, in the same basket and on the same white cloth, haha.  I think that the 3D really deteriorated my perception here
But there is no such thing as too many cat cards now, is there?

Btw, how is the situation with the postal services where you live?
Here, since the airport has been closed (for over a month now). sending of cards has been very limited, it is just like 10 countries to which I may send cards too, but Postcrossing has been great, having adjusted its algorithm accordingly, so I can still take part in it and sending cards to these particular countries only
Well, none of those cards have arrived so far, but taking into account that the first ones I sent just last Monday, and everything is going through surface mail now (incl. countries like Germany or Ukraine), I think it will take a while... but im really curious to see how long will all this actually take now compared to the regular conditions... well as long as cards dont get lost, i dont mind the waiting...
I barely receive any mail... like two weeks ago I received several official cards, all from Germany... and this single official card yesterday from Finland... other than that, my mailbox has been rather lonely... but we will make up to it once this whole nonsense is over...

haha, ok I think i used too many food stamps here, esp. that traditional sweet Cavacas de Resende, from 2019
In the firsr part you can also see something I thought was some kind of bread but seems that it is another kind of sweet pastry, called Bolo de Ança (Ança's Cake). It is from a set of 7 gastronomy stamps issued in 2018. And here we also have one adorable otter, from a set of 6 stamps from 2016, showing mammal predators (i would never consider the poor otter a predator!)

In the second part, besides the sweets, we also have one stamp from a set of 7, issued in 2019, showing Figures in Portuguese History and Culture and this man here is Fontes Pereira de Melo, who was a Portuguese statesman and engineer. He was a leading parliamentarian and political figure of his time. Among other posts held, he was six times Minister of Finance and Minister of Public Works.
I guess he had deserved his spot on a stamp.

So, yaaay, the silence has been broken... hopefully wont be the only post of the year, haha

Anyways, hope you are all safe and sane... feel free to drop me a line in the comments and share your thoughts and experiences... take care, and dont forget to wash your hands! :)

Porto, Portugal

Next is a card that dear Marta sent me from a small meeting held in Porto on November 11th, last year.

If there is something typical about Portugal, it is all these beautifully decorated tiles and these can actually be seen at the São Bento Railway Station! That is really thoughtful Marta! Thank you so much!

There are approximately 20,000 azulejo tiles, dating from 1905–1916, and were composed by Jorge Colaço, an important painter of azulejo of the time. You can see different scenes, events, and personalities depicted on these walls, like the Battle of Arcos de Valdevez and Egas Moniz before Alfonso VII of Castile, D. João I in Oporto, with his fiancé and the Conquest of Ceuta,  the Battle of Valdevez, a meeting between the knight Egas Moniz and Alfonso VII of León in Toledo etc etc etc.

there is even a train sticker on the back of the card :D The stamp is from a set of 4 issued in 2017, representing Trees of the Mediterranean. This one shows a strawberry tree or Arbutus unedo.

Muito obrigada Marta!  ❤ 

Portugal

A card I received from two friends of mine and their holiday in Portugal...

well, on one hand I am thankful for the card... didn't expect them to actually send it to me since in general my non-postcrossing Macedonian friends do not really send cards - they give them to me. However, I think I have kinda spread the bug to some of them and on some occasions I get surprised in the mailbox.
Now the thing I am not thankful for is that when they went to Portugal, they never cared to ask their other friends if they maybe wanted to go to...they did have this habit of selfishly organizing a trip and announcing it after things were settled and all...I still don't know how I ended up going to Spain with them....
Anyways, as I said, another friend of mine and I were really bothered about how they played the whole Portugal thing, but what can you do...at least I got to see Prague that year, but that's not the point here :)

Well, I wanna use this occasion to congratulate Portugal on winning the European Championship.
To get something straight though - I didn't watch the Championship nor I could care any less about it. Ok, I am lying, I did 'attend' one match, the one between Portugal and Poland - here many bars and cafes organize events for watching all kinds of matches and the Championship was no exception. Now, I would never really go to a bar to watch a football match like this, but you see, there is this cool bar in Skopje that I haven't been to in ages (and I used to go there often during Uni days) and on this particular occasion they organized a Depeche Mode night...so how can I miss that??! And it was perfect, cos the sound of the TV was on mute, those interested could just watch what was going on (even though I think it was a boring match), while at the same time DM songs were playing...fantastic, just fantastic!
I had no favourites, but in the finals I was rooting for Portugal, probably for the wrong reasons - in general, I never really root for the home-teams...it always feels set-up...and then Iceland lost against France so how can I cheer for France?!! Of course I can't :) And there you go, they got what they deserved :) Sounds evil, but for me it is all just for fun, cos I really give no s*** about football, unlike tennis for example...there things are completely different :)

And maybe it would be fair to mention a few words about the card...it was sent from Lisbon but I'm not sure if the signs here are from Lisbon only or different places in Portugal. Either way it is a really cool card :)

the stamp is from a set of 4 issued in 2010, representing the Circus Chapito.

Porto, Portugal

Next comes a lovely view of Porto, thanks to dear Alvin

The beautiful colourful buildings are in the old/historic part of the town, which makes this card also a UNESCO whs! Btw, I've noticed many people know the exact number of UNESCO whs sites they have in their collection...as for me, even though I am not like an active UNESCO collector, but I do collect them - I have not even the slightest idea how many I have and which ones I already have...usually I realize that along with my posts...)
Fun facts:
- One of Portugal's internationally famous exports, port wine, is named for Porto, since the metropolitan area, and in particular the caves of Vila Nova de Gaia, were responsible for the packaging, transport and export of the fortified wine. (the first time I encountered the name of this wine years ago, while I was working as a teacher, I was completely lost at it, and at how I should properly pronounce it and what it is exactly and so on.....probably I still sound funny at my attempts of pronouncing it properly...)
- In 2014, Porto was elected The Best European Destination by the Best European Destinations Agency. (and I still haven't visited it...)

the stamp is from a set of 3 "Extreme Sports" stamps issued in 2015, with this one showing Rafting....hmmm, I didn't know Rafting was considered an extreme sport....

Thanks a lot again to Alvin for the splendid card!

Alcobaça, Portugal

And life goes on...with a bunch of more great cards to show!

I received this one for the vacation RR this Saturday as well...showing the Alcobaça Monastery...in Alcobaça, of course, in central Portugal.
The church and monastery were the first Gothic buildings in Portugal, and, together with the Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, it was one of the most important of the mediaeval monasteries in Portugal. Due to its artistic and historical importance, it was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1989.
It is considered as one of the most magnificent gothic monuments in the country. In the church are the tombs of Pedro I of Portugal and his murdered mistress Inês de Castro. Over the centuries this monastery played an important role in shaping Portuguese culture.

the stamp is from a set of 3 Education stamps issued in 2013. It is supposed to represent School Mail.


And I have this other card showing a part of the Alcobaça Monastery, that I received back in 2009...it was sent blank inside an envelope with a bunch of other cards...when I still didn't care too much if I received one written and stamped or a dozen in an envelope...now it is strictly written and stamped..I more care about quality than quantity..I dont need to just pile up cards which do not have the traces and feeling of having travelled...I think you know what I mean ;-)

Açores, Portugal

My last card for today is something which to me at first, second, third glance looks like a lighthouse..but is actually a windmill :)

It is a great maxi-card, showing a nice windmill on the Portuguese island of Açores and Maria, who sent me this one, says that the windmills are something very typical of the island. If I got the translation right, this one is the Revolving wooden mill (or it would be rotary, im not sure)
In 2007, 6 windmills maxi-cards were issued...and now im not sure if this maxi card would have also arrived without the stamps on the back, coz I think the postage does suffice....

Maria used two stamps...the left one comes from a set of six stamps issued in 2012, representing Traditional Festivals, while the other one is an Açores stamp from a set of 7 stamps issued in 2011, representing the Whaling Heritage of Açores.

well, that would be all for today...glad to be back...well, always glad to be back since I seem to have such absences more and more often.

Enjoy your weekend guys!!

Madeira, Portugal

two dear friends of mine visited Portugal this summer...the dates were unfortunately inconvenient for me, so I couldnt join them..it is really a pity since it would have been soo cool to visit Portugal! But work is work, and comes first...and maybe some other time Ill have the chance to go.

they also went to Madeira for a few days and were really nice to drop me a postcard! :)
they say it is most flowery island, with lovely beaches.And this card is so nice and colourful that it definitely makes me believe it! Plus, I missed the chance to get a swim in the ocean....for the first time in my life...

the stamp comes from a set of 3 stamps issued in 2011, representing Traditional Festivals

I also had to include this card, since this Botanical Garden Cable Car is represented on one of the small pictures in the previous one :)
The Botanical Garden Cable Car has a total of twelve cabins, each with a capacity of 8 seated places, allowing the visitor a dream trip with a magnificent view over the beautiful Madeiran landscape. This trip allows a panoramic view along a 1600 metres route.
 The round trip is approximately eighteen minutes, being the maximum speed of 4,2 metres per second

Dolphins, Portugal

Ill close the update today with this lovely lovely dolphin card...ive always loved these animals, but having the chance to see them live recently, they absolutely captured my heart for good!

I won this card in a lottery hosted by Joana and this lovely creature here is supposed to be swimming somewhere around the shores of Azores.
Have you ever swum with dolphins? I havent, but i think that it must be one of the most calming things one could do, when you just forget about all the stress and all the problems, and you just let yourself be charmed by one of the most intelligent and friendliest of animals....i wish i lived somewhere near the ocean, and everyday i could go and play with them, feed them, take care of them....but where i live, im stuck with my cats only :)

a city-transport stamp, issued in a set of 3 in 2008.

thank you Joana for the lovely card...and to everyone else who's guilty for making my mailbox happy :)

till soon...

Cabo da Roca, Portugal

I decided to include two cards here since they both show the same lighthosue but from different perspectives...and either way, it would feel rather pointless to write again some time in the future about Cabo de Roca, when so many other Portuguese cards are begging to be posted :)

PT-158776

This one came as an official, and it says that this lighthouse is on the most westerly point of Europe! Aww, and you know I love it when a card shows such the most xxx point of the world.

This other card was in my favourites and Johanna was so kind and decided to surprise me by sending it to me for the Jan-May RR!
On this other card, the following details are given:
Latitude - 38° 46′ North/ Longitude - 9° 30′ West

Both cards arrived with lovely stamps! The first one has three stamps (yeah 3, I too late realized I hadnt scanned the third one on the left and then after everything was scanned and uploaded, I felt too lazy to do it all over again...but Ill tell you that the third stamp is from a set of 5 issued in 2003 featuring birds and this one in particular shows the Green Woodpecker.
As for the other two stamps you can  actually see, the lighthouse one is actually a stamp issued in Açores, in 2008, while the other one is also a stamp from 2008 from a set of 5, portraying Urban Transport in the Inter-War Years.
The stamp on the second card is an EUROPA one again coming from Açores, as a part of the m/s issued in 2010 representing children's books.  

Talasnal, Portugal

My last card for today is an official one from Portugal.

PT-128177

What I love about it, are the colours...such am amazing combination of blue and green, with the grey colour of the houses blended into all that.
The card shows a mountain village in Portugal called Talasnal...which is a small village made of shale houses, on the heart of the Lousa mountains, at 500 meters high, close to the market town Lousã...and as with the majority of my Portuguese cards, not much more i can tell you about it. I wish the Portuguese and the Brazilians had more of this info translated into English.

the stamp is a rather common Portuguese one, coming from a set of three stamps issued in 2008, representing city transport.

Lisbon, Portugal

I dont often receive official cards from Portugal...and this great one arrived few months ago...

PT-114410

It shows the Oriente's railway station in Lisbon...it is one of the main transport hubs, designed by Santiago Calatrava and built by Nesco. It was finished in 1998 for the Expo '98 world's fair in Parque das Nações, where it is located.

The Oriente station is an inter-modal terminal: Its facilities serve and interconnect several forms of transport. Passengers can change between metropolitan, long- and medium-haul regional and international trains. There are connections into the underground system, national and metropolitan buses or taxis. There is also an airport link and check-in facilities.

And here is the lovely Chopin stamp, issued this year in a set of 4 stamps (along with another Chopin and to Schumann stamps) commemorating the Bicentenary of Birth of these two great men.

Madeira, Portugal

This card also came as a surprise, this time from Janek and his not so long ago made trip to Madeira

An absolutely cool map card of Madeira! I just wish I was more savvy in scanning round cards....I never seem to manage the right angle...and there always seems to be a cut at the bottom line with anything that doesnt have a straight regular bottom line.
As for Madeira, it is a Portuguese archipelago that lies in the north in the Atlantic Ocean and it is one of the Autonomous regions of Portugal. Madeira is actually part of the EU as the outermost region of the European Union.
Well, this is where Madeira is in case someone didnt know

yeah, it is obvious even the stamp is not scanned at the right angle :)
It is a great stamp showing Robert Schumann, issued in a set of 4, this year, commemorating the Bicentenary of Birth of Chopin and Schumann.

Thank you very much Janek :)

Serra da Estrela, Portugal

A card I got from one of the Portuguese meetings....I just love getting the meeting cards...makes me feel special when they think of me :)

Located in inland central Portugal, this beautiful area called the Serra da Estrela is in fact a protected National Park. It is a wonderful place to explore. In the summer it is not getting too hot, and on a clear day you might even be able to see the sea over 150 kilometres in the distance! There is plenty to see and do. Dramatic crags and ravines makes this area a stunningly beautiful drive or hike. There are several walking trails.  In winter this magical area is transformed into a glittering white kingdom.

The Serra da Estrela is also famous for its wonderful cheese called "Queijo da Serra", as well as its smoked sausages.

Here are the signatures of all the participants in the meeting, but my thank-you goes to Marta, coz she is the one who addressed this card for me :)

the card is from a set of 8 stamps issued in 2009 showing the Women of the Portuguese Republic. On this one Angelina Vidal is portrayed, a poet, journalist and professor.

Portugal

Well, here is a card which enriches my flag card collection!

Portugal!
The portuguese national flag is a 2:3 rectangle divided vertically into green at the hoist (2/5 of the flag’s length) and red at the fly (3/5). Centered in this partition a coat of arms consisting on an armillary sphere charged with the traditional Portuguese shield.
there are few versions regarding the symbolism of the flag.
According to one of them, the flag means to symbolize Hope (the green colour) and Sacrifice (the red colour).
According to another one, the green and the red colour were adopted by the republicans without this symbolism, which was added later to give the flag more "dignity". It is a typical case of symbolism emerging from the design.

Portugal

A great card! Not only coz it shows a cat which looks like Kimi, but coz it was sent from one of the Postcrossing meetings!

The card is from the Portuguese meeting which happened in Coimbra, on 31st May. And they thought of me, for which im really happy! As you can see, they had all signed the card...so thats why i wanted to show it to you, i thought its what mattered a lot to the postcard...i think that i know most of the people there :)

There is a huuge meeting coming soon...in Helsinki...and its gonna last for 3 days....and i so much wish i could go...im sure they'll have loads of fun coz apart from writing postcards, they're gonna have some nice excursions and well at some of the Finnish places....uhmm, i hope there will be at least someone at that meeting who will think of me and send me a card....i would really like to have one, from this probably biggest meeting so far! 

As far as this card is concerned, i think that it's Marta's fault why i have it...well, its her signature on my address at least ;)

They used a very nice stamp as well, issued in February 2009. It comes from a set of 7 stamps total, called Bicentenary of Charles Darwin's Birth 1809-2009.

Albufeira, Portugal

I love love love the image on this card....the pink shade just give some special feeling to it, even though pink is far from my favourite colours. But it creates some really nice diminishing light.

Well, Albufeira is a city in the district of Faro, Algarve region. Its name comes from the Arabic 'al-Buħayra", meaning "The Lagoon" and is one of the leading tourist resorts of the region.
Hmmm, the past few days, my attention has been going to 'where am i gonna go on a summer holiday...if anywhere'. Im not some 'beach-craze' kind if person, and i dont really go nuts if i actually spend my whole summer here...but honestly, i really need a break from everything...and would really want to go where its quiet and peaceful, yet, there is a sea or lake....its one of the greatest ways to refresh my whole mind and rest mentally before anything else...i really really need it...and hopefully, ill manage and will be able to go somewhere for at least ten days. Maybe once i get back, everything will seem easier and better :)
Do YOU have any summer holiday plans?

the stamp is self-adhesive and is from a 2008 issue called Public City Transport, 2nd group, presenting the Urban transport in the inter-war years.

The Cock of Barcelos, Portugal

Here is a really really great card thanks to my dear Marta! I simply love such educational cards, cards with legends or those 'did you know' cards....

well, as i usually do it with these kind of cards, i will just copy the text....in order to spare you from staring at it :)
The Cock of Barcelos

At a banquet given by a rich landowner in Barcelos, the silver was stolen and one guest was accused of the theft. He was tried by the court and was found guilty. In spite of the overwhelming evidence against him, he still protested his innocence. The magistrate granted the man a final chance to prove his case. Seeing a cock in a basket nearby, he said: "If i am innocent, the cock will crow!". The cock crowed and the prisoner was allowed to go free...

Heh....maybe i should try something like this :D

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone who celebrates it, to anyone to whom it has the slightest of significance, to everyone out there who treasures it for the love and friendship.
Well personally I dont celebrate Valentine;s...Ive never have...for the simple reason that its a Catholic holiday...Macedonia's main religion is Orthodox Christian...but years ago people started celebrating Valentine;s Day here as well....probably coz they thought its fancy and markets and companies thought it would be a great way to earn money out of it...coz lets face it, everything that gets modern is money consuming...and what bothers me most is that here people celebrate Valentine's Day for the wrong reasons...so if you are with someone, then by default you celebrate Valentine's Day coz the calendar says so, not coz you truly believe in it...i like it that people can express their love and affection but then on the other hand, i dont like the idea of doing it on this day only...just as mother's day...i prefer to give my mum a gift on a day she least expects it than on the one where im somewhat obliged to do so...
Valentine's also somewhat depresses me, coz people so much emphasize it and in general make me feel more aware im alone...yeah, more or less ive always been alone on this day and even if i wasnt, that someone wasnt physically present so again i felt alone....thats why i dont like these holidays....they are all about being with people around you at times when i maybe dont feel like being with people....and that's just depressing...

Here on the other hand we have a holiday called St. Trifun. St. Trifun in Macedonia is considered the patron of the fields, patron of the grape fields and grape growers.

The holy martyr Trifun was born in Kampsada in Phrygia, near the town of Apameia. His healing abilities were manifested already in his childhood, when he was still tending the geese. He healed various diseases and freed people from evil demons. The stories of the miracles he performed reached far, and one day he was summoned by the Roman Emperor, Gordian, to heal his dauther Gordiana who suffered from a mental illness which no physician could heal. Trifun soon healed her, gaining even greater fame as a result.
St. Trifun died as a martyr during the rule of the Emperor Decius. He was summoned before the Emperor's regional administrator, Acquillian by name, and ordered to renounce Christ and make offerings to the Roman gods. Having refused, Trifun was tortured. He was tied to a tree and beaten with a stick, then tied to a horse's tail and dragged through the fields, and when all this failed to frighten him into changing his mind, they threatened to cut off his head. But as the soldiers were leading him outside the town to behead him, St. Trifun prayed to the Lord to take his soul, so that when they reached the place of execution his soul had already passed to God. This happened on 14th February 248, according to some in 250, when the holy martyr St. Trifun was only 21 years old.

Well, back to the Valentine's...there is a bright side on it, and that is that apart from celebrating love, it also celebrates friendship...and that is something i can accept coz ive barely seen anyone celebrating Valentine;s coz of the friendship...but thats why there are the GTKY ladies...and as it happened for Christmas, a Valentine's Flamingo was organised again...and i got a number of wonderfully hand-made cards from the ladies..with really nice thoughts and quotes...i think im really happy to know those girls
Here are the cards i had received so far...as it was for Christmas, i wont post the quotes or the personal messages....hope you have nothing against that :)

from Chrissy in the USA

from Essi in Finland

from Marta in Portugal

 

from Ana in Portugal

from Katy in Estonia

from Relie in Singapore

from Valerie in France

as i receive the rest of the cards, they will be posted below. Just want to say an enormous Thank You to to GTKY gang for being who they are and for befriending me in the first place...luv ya girls!

Moinho de Maré da Mourisca, Portugal

Ok, after learning several new things about me today, lets take a break from that :)

I got this card along with the Innsbruck one and 8 others...yup, that was a nice trade indeed :)
Have i ever told you that the Portuguese mail hates me?  :)  yup...it delievers my mail there after 1 or 2 months :)  The mail from Portugal to here arrives in a decent time, but mine towards there causes headaches :)
Ok, why whenever i have a Portuguese-speaking related card, i can barely find any info in English about it?
Plus i feel somewhat lagged out, so i just look at the articles but its as if im looking thru them.....so you cant say you have read much of a productive update today..but its just one of those days :)  Perhaps Marta can tell me more about this :)

GTKY Christmas Cards

Hello Hello Hello! For the first time this year :)
Hope you have had a nice New Year's eve and that this year had a great start....mine was nice, just that it seems that i cant get enough sleep in general :)
Do you people make New Year Resolutions? I try not to, but ive made some this year, and i hope ill have the strength to stick up to them...and if you made resolutions as well, im wishing you all the necessary strength in the world so you keep up with them...*fingers crossed* :)

Well, enough chit-chat, lets show some stuff here...as its most convenient, i think, this is the time to show Christmas related stuff, no? So thats why todays posts will be all Christmas related

The first one is dedicated to the Christmas cards received through the GTKY thread....we arranged there with the ladies a nice Christmas Flamingo :) We were supposed to send each other Christmas cards, but with some rules applied...the cards HAD to be handmade and they had to have a quote/poem inside...so even though im totally anti-artistic, i decided to join, coz i knew if i didnt i would regret it...and im more than pleased to have done so....maybe my art skills suck, but what mattered eventually is the friendship...as we say, the cards were made with love, friendship, glue and paper :) So its the thought that counts....and here is what my thoughtful friends sent to me (im still waiting for the last one to arrive, and once it does, ill edit the post and post it here...)
No comments this time....i think the cards feel too personal and comments may just ruin the moment this time...so just feel the thoughtfulness and the friendship that comes along with them :)

The cards are posted in order they had been received...

from Marta in Portugal

from Essi in Finland

from Katy in Estonia

from Sally in New Zealand

from Valerie in France

from Charlotte in UK

from Carol in USA

from Ula in Poland

from Relie in Singapore
these are actually two Christmas cards, so i posted both of them

from Wendy in Jamaica

Enormous thanks my friends! Its been a pleasure to take part in this and share the Christmas spirit with you :)

*Hugs to you all*