Sunday Stamps - (K) Karate World Championship in France 2012

For the letter K - Karate

2012 - France - Sport (Sporting events)

Printer: Phil@Poste Boulazac

I came across a very informative post about the mini-series containing this stamp while researching about it. The post can be found here. Saves me some typing time (wink).

I would say though that I love how the Eiffel Tower is depicted with brushstrokes here against a bright red sun. Simple yet beautiful fusion of French and Japanese icons.

Postcards for the weekend 82: Retro/vintage

For the theme retro/vintage for this weekend, here's a reproduction postcard of Jean Boisseau's first rare double hemisphere map of the world. The title on top reads Nouvelle et Exacte Description de la Terre Universelle. The map was first issued in Paris, France in 1636.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find the scan for the back side of this postcard. I checked my postcrossing.com account and it wasn't in my received postcards wall. Given how rare and beautiful this postcard is, I reckon I might have received it from a direct swap.

Happy weekend everyone! 

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 70: Mountains

PL-1276730, sent from Warsaw
Traveled 9,406 km in 15 days

Tatra Mountains is a natural border between Poland and Slovakia. They are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian range.

Postcard sent to self, traveled 10,588 km

If you look closely at the upper rightmost image, you will see the Mont Blanc overlooking the villages of Beaufortain. I fell in love with this place. It has a quiet charm during the summer of my visit, August 2017. It was super relaxing to hear the cowbells and just soak in the slow pace of village life. 

Friendship Postcard, Sent from Ushuaia
Traveled 14,020 km

Moving southwest, we have here the Martial Mountains towering over the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia. I almost didn't want to believe it as I thought a city in New Zealand is in a lower latitude ... boy, I'm wrong!

Posting about mountains for this weekend is a good learning experience for me in physical geography.

Happy weekend everyone,

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 61: Food & beverage

I have just returned from an overnight team building trip to Melaka, Malaysia. We were joking among ourselves that it was not a team building trip but a food marathon instead. Melaka is a foodie haven! I wish I found a postcard for a souvenir but I didn't! Too bad as I realized that it would have been nice to share a postcard with Melaka delicacies for this weekend's theme of food & beverage. 

Now, onto the main topic, postcards:

Postcard sent to self, sent from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Sent 26 June 2016, Traveled 2,678 km

One of the best things about Vietnam is food. My partner and I went to a cooking class where I learned how to properly wrap a fresh spring roll without creating tears through the rice paper. 

Postcard sent to self, Sent from Beaufortain, France
Traveled ~ 10,600 km

This slice of cheese is from my first trip to France this summer. I was taught to eat more varieties of cheese. For this Beaufort cheese, the affinage variety was said to be the best. That variety also costs twice as much compared to the rest. Thankfully, its strong taste didn't agree with my palate. I don't have to break my wallet whenever I have the craving!

Postcard kept as a souvenir

For a Christmas treat last year, my boss invited us for a high tea at the Fullerton Hotel here in Singapore. It was a very expensive experience that I most probably won't pay for by myself. As a souvenir, I took this postcard from the hotel shop. It features local Singapore dishes, that are served in the hotel. These dishes are a combination of Malay and Chinese dishes.

I hope I have your tummy full by the end of this post.

Happy weekend, 

~maria 

Postcards for the weekend 55: Touristic multi-view

Postcard sent to self, Traveled 1,395 km

Two months ago, I went for my very first ever mountain hike. We started from the village of Beaufort. At the back of this postcard I wrote:

From the Beaufort market, we took the car to Col du Pre. From there we headed to La Roche Parstire on 5 August. It was a very nice sunny day. The next day, 6 August was cloudy and cold. Wan & I went back to the market. We went back to see La Coop. It was a "bank of cheese". Very impressive (especially the strong smell)!

Have a relaxing weekend,
~maria

Postcards for the weekend 34: Any landform

Sent by a friend from Brittany, France
Sent 06 January 2014, Traveled 11.102 km

I marveled at beautiful cliffs during our recent holiday in Malta. Such a pity that I didn't get any postcard to take back for that! Here's one instead from France.

US-1229764, Sent from Utah, USA
Sent 26 July 2011, Traveled 12,346 km in 18 days

Here we have twin cliffs! It's very nice to the eyes to see the alternating bands of red and white layers on this postcard.

Private Swap, Sent from New Zealand,
Sent 31 October 2013, Traveled 8,288 km in 7 days

Lisa, the sender wrote: This is our lovely volcanic plateau of NZ ... It feels like a different world here; it's like stepping back in time to when the dinosaurs were here!

Anyone up for trekking? I'm pretty motivated by the sunny weather on these cards. However the forecast says it will be a rainy weekend in Helsinki. Too bad as the sun is coming out now here in Gothenburg and I thought, I could have just stayed here! But my flights are booked and my Finnish penpal whom I've been writing to since 2009 is waiting for me.

Have a lovely weekend everyone,

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 29: France

Private Swap, Sent by Ulla
Sent on 12 December 2012, Traveled 10,897 km

For our theme this weekend, I'm sharing postcards from France - one among the many countries that I wish to visit. This card is special as it was written and sent to me on 12.12.12. It shows the French tri-color flag and different UNESCO World Heritage Sites. France is 4th in rank in ascending order of Spain, China, and Italy for countries with the most number of world heritage sites.

Direct Swap, Sent from Lyon
Traveled 10,747 km in 6 days

Lyon, a city that is in the UNESCO WHS for culture has always been on my list of a specific city that I want to explore. My partner is from this place. It is in the south of France and the third biggest French city next to Paris and Marseille.

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sent by Wan
Traveled 10,747 km

This is a postcard he sent me from Lyon back in 2011 I believe. It was sent in an envelope together with stamps from his collection. On this card that I received from him 6 years ago when we're yet to be a couple, he wrote: Here is a postcard from Lyon, my parents' place as I promised ... I'm sure you'll get to visit it someday just like the French Riviera. And hopefully you'll have a nice guide (myself ;-) ) This year in the summer, we'll travel to France together. Reading about the historic places just in Lyon alone, I can't wait to board the plane for France!

Happy weekend everyone,

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 26: Serenity

This post is quite early for this upcoming weekend. I am anticipating intermittent internet access. I will be in my home island for a delayed birthday celebration with my family.

FR-764739, Sent from Rennes, France
Traveled 11,043 km in 13 days

For the serenity theme this weekend, I've chosen first this card -- a woman with a tranquil countenance in her senior years,

RU-5218172, Sent from St. Petersburg, Russia
Traveled 8,974 km in 20 days

finding serenity in solitude; the liberty to be still, enjoy a good calming cup of tea, meditate, or slowly read a good book with lighted scented candles nearby, and

Sent by myself from Santorini, Greece

in renewing faith in each deep breath we take while witnessing the beauty of creation.

Have a great weekend everyone and I sincerely would like to express my gratitude to all bloggers and friends who have been very creative with the postcards shared for our themes this month of February.

Cheers,

~maria

Wordless Wednesday: La Joconde

Sent 7 October 2016 from CDG Airport
Received 13 October 2016, Traveled 10,722 km in 7 days

Wordless Wednesday is one of the linky parties I used to participate when I was more active in blogging. It's a great collection of beautiful photos that speak for themselves from bloggers around the world.

Mon cheri was back to France and he said there's 2 postcards for me in the mail. One of the cards is La Joconde ... mesmerizing!

~maria

V is for View from Below - Eiffel Tower, France

For the most number of postcards received for a single famous landmark, Eiffel Tower would be on top in my collection. So far there are two shared here in my blog from the titles: We'll Always Have Paris, and Paris and Its Wonders.

Direct Swap, Sender: Ulla
Sent: 26 Nov 2012 from Marly, France
Traveled ~10,900 km

For letter "V" of the A-Z April Challenge I am participating with for this month, let me treat you all for a view from below of this magnificent architectural wonder.

To be honest the stems of those trees are kind of creeping me out! It doesn't change the fact though that it offers a rare view of the tower. Do those stems creep you out, too? Do you think the postcard would have been nicer if these stems aren't there?

~maria

A is for Avignon, France

Facebook Swap: Sender: Sebastien
Sent: 7 Aug 2013 from Cadillac, France
Received: 13 Aug 2013, Traveled ~11,528 km in 6 days

Facebook Swap: Sender: Sebastien
Sent: 7 Aug 2013 from Cadillac, France
Received: 13 Aug 2013, Traveled ~11,528 km in 6 days

I have wanted to do the #atozchallenge for two years already but for one reason or another, I always miss to sign up. And before I know it, the sign up list is closed and the alphabet express has arrived. This year, I promised myself, this should change. The postcards that I haven't shared here on my blog has piled up. The challenge will give me a great venue to share my collection and this beautiful hobby of deltiology. I am not a hardcore collector but my hope is to be able to share my simple happiness of sending and receiving a small piece of paper through the postal service. A small piece of paper nonetheless, connects me to the world.

My theme will be UNESCO world heritage sites on postcards. Having just started a new job, I know it can be demanding right now for me to post an entry a day for an entire month so as suggested by the #atozchallenge team, my posts will be short. They will be composed of (1) the postcard/s, (2) a brief information about the site, and (3) some side information should I have the luxury of time on that specific day of posting. As early as now, I'd like to mention that whatever will be on the (2) portion will most likely be contributed by the sender of the postcard, the ever helpful Uncle Wiki, or an excerpt from the UNESCO WHS. 

So much for introduction then, roll the alphabet please .... A is for Avignon, France

It became a UNESCO site in 1995. Seven successive popes lived in Avignon between 1309 and 1377. I am very grateful to Sebastien who sent me these two cards giving me an insight of how Avignon looks like both from the inside and the outside. On the second card, the view is from the Rhône River, where the 4 arches of the initial 22 now remains from a bridge with an actual length of 900 meters.

I'm so excited I finally caught up with the alphabet express this time! *giggles*

~maria

The Cold & The Snow

Facebook Swap, Sender: Sebastien
Sent: 9 Sep 2013 from Cadillac, France
Received: 18 Sep 2013, Traveled ~11,526 km in 9 days 

The cold spell continues, stepping into the shower in the morning is a scary thing now! It becomes balmy around noon but I wish it's a bit warmer during morning and evenings. Pondering deeper about this weather, I think of the people who have long cold months (and snow). I have a good friend from Oxfordshire, UK who complains of the cold and the gray weather. I can empathize with her more, now! I read in the news several days ago, that the Sun is 'gone to sleep' and we're headed for a mini ice age. I admit reading that terrifies me! My sister joked, "Oh! We're gonna be white walkers!" -- I definitely wouldn't want to be one!

On a brighter note about this cold weather ... I've always thought about fun activities with snow. I've dreamed about drawing snow angels, making and playing with snow men, walking and trekking up hills of snow, like this family high up in the Pyrenees on the postcard. Even if the temperature drops even more though, we still won't get snow here in the Philippines. And so I still imagine sometimes a trip to a country where there's snow even though I'm not a fan of the cold weather. 

The beau and I have talked about skiing in Mont Blanc (pardon me, the postcards I have are from the Pyrenees and not from the Alps). Thinking about freezing in no time and turning into a frozen delight, in addition of a piece of red cherry on top of my head, I refused the idea. But I guess being under this cold spell, I'd be acclimated to chilly temperature and in the not so far future, be able to do fun activities with snow! I keep my fingers crossed!

In regards with the Sun going to sleep, I file it at the back of my head for now. I prefer imagining myself speeding down hill on a sled, with beautiful white and blue scenery around me.

Linking up with Sally for Blue Monday and Paulita for Dreaming of France.

 

Happy Monday everyone!

~maria

Wine & Cheese - Szeretettel!

Facebook Swap, Sender: Veronika
Sent: 5 June 2012 from Szeged, Hungary
Received: 21 June 2012, Traveled ~10,000 km in 15 days

Much to my disappointment, I don't have any Thanksgiving - related postcard to share. Oppss, that first sentence just sounds so wrong ... What I truly wanted to say to open this post is that, I'm grateful despite my lack of Thanksgiving-related postcard, I have this one with a glass of wine - to suggest a toast in celebration of Thanksgiving!

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in the Philippines. I don't think that's a reason though not to join my American friends in expressing gratitude for the blessings we constantly receive. Especially this time of the year, I feel the most grateful; with many of the important things I wished for this year coming true.

I'm currently in Singapore by the way. It was Friday last week when I learned I need to go back for an urgent appointment. I was here also during the first week of November. On Monday I flew back in and that evening, celebrated one milestone in my career, courtesy of the beau. (N.B. The urgency of coming here and the celebratory dinner aren't connected.) And lookie here what we had, wine and cheese, same as in the postcard!

When the wine and cheese on the card is from Hungary; the wine and the cheese platter on my photo is from a French resto called Cheese Bar by Wine Connection. It was a new experience for me trying different kinds of cheese (and foie gras, too!) For the first time, I tasted the hard cheese Gruyere "12 months" from Switzerland, which according to the menu is of raw cow milk, aromatic subtle and fruity. The soft cheese, bloomy rind Chaource from France which was pasteurized cow milk, crumbly, fruity, and mushroomy. And the goat cheese (which became my favorite from the 3 selections we had), Crottin de Chavignol from France, raw milk, smooth, lactic, and peppery. The wine were Pradio - Pinot grigio from Fruili Grave, Italy for me. And for the beau, it was Herve Azo "Chablis AOC" - Chardonnay from Burgundy, France. 

I believe I'm starting to fall more in love with French food (who will not, really?). Yesterday evening it was another cheese and wine affair, being invited for dinner by another French-Filipina couple. We had the soft-washed-rind, smear-ripened Reblochon from Haute-Savoie, France with nutty taste on croziflette. For the wine, it was Domaine du Bois-Malinge - Muscadet Sevres et Maine Sur Lie.

On top of what seemed to be a wine and cheese feature for this post, I'm thankful for the new friendships I'm starting to build here in Singapore. Meeting new people teaches me many new things and makes me know myself a lot better. It's nice also being able to share about myself that hopefully is something inspiring and useful for the people I meet. I'm positive that once I find a job here, adjustment won't be too hard for me with the friendships I've already established prior to moving in.

So long for now. Again, Happy Thanksgiving to all! Cheers!

~ maria

Sharing this for:

Beth's 

and Paulita's

Dreaming of Alsace, France

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting not just the big shots in my profession 

from all over the world. I also had the chance to meet and spend some lovely time 

with a very nice woman, Khadoudja. She's the wife of the chairman of the meeting

we hosted here in the Philippines. Her and I share the same sub-specialty.

She's also Diagnostic Radiology Medical Physicist, but is no longer practicing.

She's now teaching Mathematics and traveling with her husband instead.

She's born in Paris, later moved to Algeria, and now resides in Vienna.

Her husband and her generally speaks French. I had a great time learning

some French words and phrases from the two of them.

Meeting Khadoudja was a very rewarding experience for me.

She's very down to earth, I didn't know she's got a doctorate degree

until I looked her up on Google for the papers she published. She's gentle

and soft-spoken. There's a spark of warm kinship between us since day one.

We talked a lot about many things French and of course Paris, her birthplace.

I told her I am curious to see the "City of Light" on Christmas season. At the same time, 

I'm also very keen about visiting the Germanic region of France, Alsace in the east.

Facebook Swap, Sender: SébastienSent: 9 Sep 2013 from Cadillac, France
Received: 18 Sep 2013, Traveled ~11,526 km in 9 days

Alsace is made of two departments, the Upper Rhine and the Lower Rhine.

Colmar is the capital of the Upper Rhine. It is the best preserved historic city centre

in Alsace. On the postcard above is La Maison Pfister, a historical monument in Colmar.

It was built in 1577. The name Pfister came from the family who occupied it from 1841-1892.

Facebook Swap, Sender: Sébastien
Sent: 9 Sep 2013 from Cadillac, France
Received: 18 Sep 2013, Traveled ~11,526 km in 9 days

The most beautiful villages in France are found in Alsace: Eguisheim and Riquewihr. 

Apart from being famous for the half-timbered houses, Alsace is also famous for its wine. Riquewihr is part of the Alsace wine trail. On the postcard above is shown the Hotel- Restaurant Dolder

in Riquewihr that boasts of serving the best Alsatian dishes and wine.

Facebook Swap, Sender: Ulla
Sent: 19 August 2013 from Marly, France
Received: 1 September 2013, Traveled ~10,900 km in 14 days

More than the delicious wine and the sumptuous dishes, Alsace is famed for its villages

which are 'une symphonie de couleurs'. Alsace is of brightly painted, steep-roofed, half-timbered houses. Historically, the paint color of the houses were significant; the houses

are painted according to the type of shop or boutique they have 

on the ground floor. Nowadays though, they are free 

on what color to paint the their houses.

Merci infiniment to Sébastien and Ulla! They are my postcard swap

partners who introduced me to the beauty of Alsace!

Sharing this post for:

Paulita's Dreaming of France

Sally's Blue Monday

~maria

References:

http://about-france.com/regions/alsace.htm

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maison_Pfister

http://www.dolder.fr/fr/le-restaurant.html

La Raclette

Facebook Swap, Sender: Sebastien
Sent: 7 Aug 2013 from Cadillac, France
Received: 13 Aug 2013, Traveled ~11,526 km in 6 days

For my readers who have been reading my recent posts, I'm thrilled to share that I'm on my third day of vacation now  with my beau :) It's just crazy how time flies when we're together and how slow they are when we're apart... Moving on ...

On Thursday night, we hosted a dinner for another French-Filipina couple. We prepared a traditional French cheese dish from the mountains, raclette. On the postcard, it's shown under a heater, which melts the cheese and the melted part will be scraped. This scraped melted cheese is then used as topping for boiled potato, enjoyed with cold cuts, and greens.

For the dinner we prepared, we had a modern electric raclette grill. We realized the quantity we had was a bit short to satisfy 4 people. Raclette is really a nice dish and grilling the cheese and the pink and red meat gives a break from chewing -- which makes one a bit longer to feel full from it. (It's really very heavy in the tummy though in the end!)

Our guests brought 2 bottles of red wine. On top of that, we had other alcohol before dinner. The beau brought me back 3 bottles of wine back from France in early August. We served 2 bottles. And that Côtes de Bergerac moelleux AOC Novelum (inset), easily became the favorite. The wine was true to the French to English translation of 'moelleux', it was truly mellow indeed! I loved it because I'm not good drinking red wine.

There was some left of the second bottle, the pink Rosé Coteaux d’Aix en Provence seen inside the bucket above. I was supposed to have a glass tonight but I'm a bit sick. The beau had one glass and saved this quantity on the bottle above for me -- more than enough to get me really lethargic and sleepy but I'm very enthusiastic to enjoy it (again) as soon as I get better. ;-)

I've got 3 more days remaining for this vacation but I've already got lots of happy stories to share from the first 3 days. 

For more postcards, check out Beth's Postcard Friendship Friday, for French-related posts, hop on to Paulita's An Accidental Blog, to brighten up your weekend with pinks, check out Beverly's Pink Saturday linky party.

A lovely weekend to everyone!

~maria

Je suis amoureuse de toi!

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sender: Sebastien
Sent: 9 Sep 2013 from Cadillac, France
Received: 18 Sep 2013, Traveled ~11,526 km in 9 days

This is a surprise card from a postcard swapping friend in France. He knows that my beau is French. It's so nice of him to gift me this card, together with the bunch we've agreed for swap. He also wrote the translation for the phrase on the card, and it came with an instruction.

I'm writing this post with sweet smile on my face -- I can glance at my beau from time to time, sleeping on the other side of the screen. Thanks to technology, we can be together despite the distance. As I watch him sleep and as I ponder on the events this evening (we had a little misunderstanding), I come to realize even more the essence of love.

Love isn't just about the amorous feelings. Love isn't just about the times when you can understand each other without saying a word. Love isn't just about the feeling of "belonging" and "being at home" with the person.

Tonight I gained more understanding on the need for love to be stronger when you are not in the same page with things. Love is recognizing that the person you're with won't necessarily hold things in the same level of importance as you do. Love is respecting the other person. Love is explaining your side but not insisting that your partner gets to believe the same thing, too.

For more love-ly hearts, visit Clytie's linky part by clicking the meme below.  Also, this is a late link-up for Paulita's Dreaming of France...

~maria

Learn the nature.

Facebook Postcard Swap, Sender: Auli
Sent: 11 June 2012 from Romainville, France
Received: 27 June 2012, Traveled ~10,936 km in 16 days

It was utopia for me, traveling to Bukidnon for most of my assignments for work for the past 8 months. That place in the middle of Mindanao, south of the country is a natural paradise. With my seemingly final travel there this year happening a week ago, I can't help but feel sad.

Being in Bukidnon was enjoying warmth of nature's embrace. It was the most comforting place I've ever been; verdant mountain ranges, cool breeze, fresh inexpensive food, and good-natured people. The name of the place means mountain dweller. And if only I am very free to choose, I'd like to be a highlander and spend a year or two in that place, if not live there. It's the food basket of Mindanao and I just want to experience the joy of planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops.

I'm smiling to find these postcards in my collection that really reflects my feelings right now about Bukidnon. The French phrase on the card above means, "Learn the nature."

On the card below, the German phrase means, "Nothing happens in living nature that is not connected with the whole."

Facebook Postcard Swap, Sender: Angela
Sent: 26 March 2012 from Nordheim, Germany
Received: 10 April 2012, Traveled ~10,685.9 km in 14 days

I'm keeping my fingers crossed my next visit in Bukidnon is in the not so far future :)

Hop on to Beth's Postcard Friendship Friday meme for more beautiful cards to view as the week winds down into a relaxing phase (hopefully) for all of us.

~maria