Krakow, Poland

From the UNESCO website:

"The historic centre of Cracow, the former capital of Poland, is situated at the foot of the Royal Wawel Castle. The 13th-century merchants' town has Europe's largest market square and numerous historical houses, palaces and churches with their magnificent interiors. Further evidence of the town's fascinating history is provided by the remnants of the 14th-century fortifications and the medieval site of Kazimierz with its ancient synagogues in the southern part of town, Jagellonian University and the Gothic cathedral where the kings of Poland were buried."

The card was received in an envelope, February this year. It was a nice present from the mail at the end of my birth month :)

Have a great week everyone (despite the troubling heavy downpours here in Manila).

Hop on to Willa's page to check out more wonderful cards to brighten up your week, postcard lovers!

~maria

Quadricentennial of the University of Santo Tomas

Commemorative stamps for the celebration of the 400th year founding anniversary of the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas.

I reckon attending this university is but a dream to me in 2002. I wanted to study Behavioral Sciences there, being successful with the entrance exam. I was particular with the University of Santo Tomas for a simple reason that Pope John Paul II held a mass in UST when he visited the Philippines, and should I mention I'm a big fan of Karol Josef Wojtyla? I know, that doesn't really connect but I just had a strong pull to attend UST because of that. But I wasn't able to enroll to UST. 

Fast forwarding to 2011 , I was part of the privileged graduate students to take part at the special commencement exercises on 02 April. The Graduate School held the graduation for us on the original location of the university inside the historical grounds of Intramuros.

I never thought that I'm going to be a part of that event when I enrolled for an MS degree at the UST Graduate School in October 2008. Little did I think too that eventually I'm going to be a graduate of my dream university. Then it was just happening....the experience was overwhelming. With this experience, life taught me that you just have to hold on to your dream, even if it doesn't happen on the time you wanted it, just prove the universe that you're worth that dream. The universe will hake that dream happen for you, on the right time -- the time when you are most ripe to experience the dream and most receptive to what you have to learn from it.

Happy Sunday everyone! 

Check out Viridian's page for more stamps this Sunday.

~maria

Roscoff, France

This card from Roscoff, France is one of the first cards that I received from the postcrossing network, back in April 2011.

Roscoff is known as "petite cité de caractère de Bretagne" which means small town of character. This French commune is close to Plymouth, England and Cork, Ireland. Transportation is by the ro-ro, or the roll-on, roll-off ferries -- a picture of which can be seen on this card.

People of Roscoff are called Roscovites.

From my random browsing in the internet, I'm delighted to learn that one of my favorite authors, Alexandre Dumas, pere, started writing his book, 'Dictionary of Cuisine' in Roscoff. The story from Roscoff is an entertaining one about onions. That also led me into reading about Onion Johnnies, which apparently is a stereotypical image of a Frenchman. Johnniged, in the Breton language, Onion Johnnies are farm men riding bicycles hung with onion, selling them door to door. To learn more about Onion Johnnies, here's a nice site: http://britfrance.com/onion-johnny/

Happy Friday everyone!

~ maria

Postcard ID: FR-142295

Traveled 11,198 km in 18 days

Groetjes from Netherlands

I got this card last month from the postcrossing network. When I saw it out from the pile on my study table, I believe I stared at it for a good 10 seconds -- figuring out to myself why it looks the way it is, pretty weird, haha! But sans all logic, I think this boy just wanna have fun! 

Louise, the sender was really thoughtful to fulfill my wish for a card with both food and a child on it. Every time I'm feeling blue since I received this (blame the frequent heavy downpours lately), I just think of doing the same myself and the mere thought of it never failed to cheer me up. I should probably do it for real and take a photo of the experience. 

Wanna see if it would have the same effect for you, too? ;-)

~maria

Postcard ID: NL-1272433

Traveled 10,392 km in 15 days

Mount Teton & Lancaster County

It's all about scenic natural areas today for  Sunday Stamps, hosted at Viridian's.


The first stamp is of the Grand Teton National Park in northwestern Wyoming. The name of the park is from the tallest mountain in the area, Mount Teton. In this park, you will find the Trumpeter Swan, the largest bird in North America. I stumbled upon this in the net while reading more about the park. The bird weighs 20 to 30 pounds and lives in the valley year-round in quiet open water.

The stamp is part of the Scenic American Landscapes series, released in 2009.

The second stamp is an $1.05 stamp released in January this year, also as a part of the Scenic American Landscapes series. It features the "iconic farmsteads set amid gently rolling hills" of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

The USPS news release about this stamp reads:

“Known for its breathtaking rural scenery, agricultural bounty and small towns with evocative names like Bird-in-Hand and Paradise, Lancaster County is perhaps most famous as part of the Pennsylvania Dutch country,” said U.S. Postal Service Stamp Services Manager, Stephen Kearney. “The Amish, with their horse-drawn buggies, one-room schoolhouses and traditional lifestyle, give the county an Old World charm. Their pristine family farms, surrounded by neatly cultivated fields, offer visitors a glimpse of another century and a quieter way of life.” 

Happy Sunday everyone and have a great week ahead!

~ maria