Postcards for the weekend 49: Retro or Vintage

To be totally honest, I'm no good at discerning whether a piece is retro or vintage (despite reading on the meaning of each word). So here we are, with the retro OR vintage theme for this weekend.

ES-439649, Sent from Spain,
Sent 15 Nov 2016, Traveled 11,265 km in 14 days

Chrysanthemum carinatum is a tri-colored daisy. I was intrigued by the scientific name on the postcard as chrysanthemums for what I know are usually multi-layer and more full bodied blooms as compared with the flowers in this postcard.

I think this postcard is a reproduction as the paper at the back isn't yellowed as it appears in front.

FI-2800936, Sent from Oulu, Finland
Sent 2 Sep 2016, Traveled 9,334 km

I hope I'm correct to categorize this postcard's design as retro, if not vintage.

Direct Swap, sent from Stockbridge, GA
Sent 31 Aug 2015, Traveled 16,034 km

This card is labeled Atlanta, Georgia - Retro Skyline at the back of the postcard. It's nice to see three layers of ascending graphics on this postcard.

Friendship Gift Postcard

I received this ad card from a friend who traveled to Europe. I think there were 4 or 5 of them linked with each other but with easy-to-tear perforation in between. This is my favorite from the set.

I'm posting from Charles de Gaulle Airport at the moment, waiting for my flight back to Singapore. I hope we're all looking forward to a relaxing weekend!

~maria 

Postcards for the weekend 44: City views (day time)

For this weekend's theme, I'm featuring city views at day time from Europe:

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sent from Helsinki
Sent 28 Dec 2016, Traveled 9,259 km

The old buildings in Helsinki City Centre gave me peace and calm. I truly wish I had more than just a 2-day weekend to discover this European capital city. If I'm not mistaken, the tall building in the background is St. John's Church. It stands out tall compared to the rest as it's resting on a hill.

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sent from The Hague
Traveled 10,530 km

Some of you may know that I have a Dutch mom (my biological mother is Filipino but I have a second mom). She sent me this postcard from the city where she works. I will visit Amsterdam this August and I'm figuring out if it's worth it to visit The Hague as well. I like this postcard for showing a contrast of old and new buildings.

Friendship Gift Postcard from Madrid
Traveled 11,374 km

Madrid ranks high on my list of cities I want to explore in depth in Europe. Here's Metropolis Building, an architectural wonder at the corner of Calle Alcala and Gran Via. The building features 4 statues representing Mining, Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce. Its round tower is covered by 30,000 leaves of 24-k gold.

Direct Swap, Sender: Anna
Traveled 10,059 km

Of all these five postcards, this is my favorite. I reckon this picture is taken close to the golden hour. I probably wouldn't have known about Ljubljana if not for this postcard. I don't know how to pronounce this city's name either so I need to ask Google for help. 

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sender: Dr. Arnold
Sent 12 March 2017, Traveled 10,252 km

This postcard steals my attention from that of Ljubljana. The buildings are way so much taller at one part of this city. Excellent vantage point for this postcard!

~ maria

You spoke, and I listened :D Starting this weekend, the time span of the linky is extended to 12 hours more, to accommodate different time zones.

U is for Undulating Lines of Gaudi, Spain

ES-198134, Sender: Jordi
Sent: 15 Dec 2012 from Catalunya, Spain
Received: 16 Jan 2013, Traveled 11,188 km in 32 days

The works of the Spanish Catalan architect, Antonio Gaudi are famous for their undulating structure. They are outstanding examples of 20th century building typology.

One of his major projects is the La Pedrera, also known as Casa Mila, shown in the postcard. It was declared as a UNESCO site in 1984.

~maria

Castle stamps

The Tower of London, viewed from the River Thames with the Union Jack.

I was frustrated that I can't find information about this stamp on the Royal Mail website. Apparently, this was issued by the Universal Mail United Kingdom, the postal service in the UK aimed at the tourist market. This stamp was part of the Historic Royal Palaces Booklet issued in June 2011.

Palacio Episcopal de Astorga

It was designed by the Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí, one of his three works outside Catalonia. 

The palace is now a museum of religious art, called Museo de los Caminos.

The stamp was released on 17 July 2012.

Two castle overlooking the Werra valley.

The two castles are the Ludwig stone castle in Hesse and the ruins of Hanstein in Thuringia.

The view of the two castles is symbolic of overcoming the division of Germany. 

The stamp was issue on 3 February 2011.

~maria

The missing blue door handle.

Facebook Postcard Swap, Sender: Marichie Postcrossing
Sent: 16 October 2012, Sent from Las Palmas, Spain
Received 31 October 2012, Traveled 13,348.5 km in 15 days

This door is missing a handle. I have two pieces of evidence to think that it used to have a handle: (1) the blue paint on the door, and (2) the pink flowering plant in front of the door.

Check out the postcard in Aritha's blog to know what I mean. ;-)

Now, head over to Smiling Sally's page for pretty blues on a Monday.

Have a productive week, 'ya all! 

~maria