Pau

Andorra is a small country without a postal company of its own. The mail service is provided by the Spanish and French public companies: Correos (since 1928) and La Poste (since 1931). Both companies issue stamps to be used in Andorra.

The stamp above was sent by Fabienne (France), and the stamp below was bought by myself in Spain, for the Peace Stamp project.

When sending mail from there, you must be careful and use the right stamps and mail boxes!

Mail box of La Poste (left) and of Correos (right) 
in l'Aldosa de la Massana (Andorra)
(Picture taken from here)

Sunday Stamps | Marine Sanctuaries

Reused big envelope sent by Phillip (the USA). The stamps belong to the National Marine Sanctuaries, issued on 5 August 2022, of which Phillip has sent the whole series on different envelopes. How cool is this?

To see more Marine Life on stamps, go to Sunday Stamps.

Netherlands King's Day

Postcard & matching stamp sent last year by Heleen (the Netherlands) to celebrate Koningsdag. 

I would have expected orange stamps to celebrate Koningsdag... And they arrived on the back of another postcard!

Keeping calm is always a good idea. And also celebrating, of course!

The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power

Have you ever thought about what having an address means? Or not having it? When most people, and especially mail lovers, think about street addresses, it is in their capacity to ensure that the postman can deliver mail.

 
The Address Book takes this apparently banal topic and makes you aware of how big it is. Addresses were not invented to help you find your way: they were created to find you. And believe it or not, they reveal more than you think about you. There are complex and fascinating stories behind street names and their power to name, to hide, to decide who counts, who does not, and why.

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Koala

On this postcard received from Australia: The Three Sisters, Scenic Skyway Katoomba, Govett's Leap, the Great Canyon... And a koala!

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Thursday Postcard Hunt

April theme: TRANSPORTATION

• Week 1 - Boats, ferries
• Week 2 - Buses, trams, taxis
• Week 3 - Bicycles, tuk tuks
• Week 4 - Cable cars, gondolas

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Lights Out

Lately, eclipse-related mail has become a thing. Before 8 April, I got a letter on this map from Bryon (the USA). 

On 18 April (only ten days after the total eclipse!), a couple of pieces of mail arrived, postmarked on the very eclipse day:

This postcard from Phillip shows the successive phases of an eclipse on the Sun (taken from Larousse Encyclopedia of Astronomy by Lucien Rudaux and G. de Vaucouleurs, 1962). But the clever thing here is how the stamps are lined up on the envelope: the Moon pass in front of the Sun, eclipsing it. An unbeatable way of sending a real eclipse by snail mail!

The eclipse stamp was issued on 2017,  and it uses thermochromic ink. I took a picture to show how it works. You can see it on this post.

The eclipse path of 2017 was quite different from the 2024 path!

Bryon, Canada, sent this postcard that arrived also on 18 April:

On the back, the stamps include superb images of northern lights and the Milky Way. And also the stamp issued by Canada Post on March 2024, which celebrates the total eclipse:

Printed with a special spot-gloss varnish that glows when exposed to black light, it shows the eclipse set against a darkened sky. A thin silver line depicts its path across Canada, and a collage along the bottom of the stamp highlights some of the landscapes over which it passes – including Ontario’s Niagara Falls and Spillars Cove in Newfoundland and Labrador.

I love that the postcard was postmarked in Bonavista, meaning, literally 'Good view'.

Apotheosis of the Rose (and the Book)

Happy St George's Day!

Apotheosis of the Rose, 1926
Joseph Stella

Folded card sent by Phillip (the USA). 

Letter sent by Laura (the UK).

Postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands) in 2023, with matching stamps on the back: books & roses!

My Only, by Katerina Babok

And her 2024 postcard as well.

Letter sent by Imma (PC).

Letter sent by Rosemary (Canada).

Quijotes

It was quite a surprise to get this Don Quijote-related postcard from Russia, sent by Eduard.

I think I found a suitable postcard to reply, this time...

Sunday Stamps | Sant Jordi

Today's theme in Sunday Stamps is Dragons, saints. 

I received this, ehem, dragon from Heleen (the Netherlands) to celebrate St George's Day (#BooksAndRoses). No element of the festival is missing: the dragon, the rose (Australian stamp), the books...

Postbox Saturday | London

Near St. Paul's cathedral in London (the UK). Postcard sent by Laura.

Russian Doll Letter

Heleen (the Netherlands) got this envelope from Germany, and she was thoughtful enough to send it to me. So, she put it inside a transparent bag, hid the stamps with some tape, and and the due postage.

For some unknown reason (an invisible barcode, as the sender suggested?) the envelope was returned to her.

So, again, she put inside a third (handmade) envelope and sent it to me. This time it arrived safe and sound. And, of course, I am not unhappy with the whole matter, because I got some extra stamps and another beautiful envelope. And it was very entertaining to reach the contents, after opening three covers!

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Random Bikes

(Received form Germany)

(Received from Russia)

Bookstore in Taichung (Taiwan)

Houses in Rynok Square (Lviv, Ukraine)

I thought I would have a lot of postcards featuring bikes, but I only found these that I got from Postcrossing years ago. At last a couple of them are not even proper bikes!

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Thursday Postcard Hunt

April theme: TRANSPORTATION

• Week 1 - Boats, ferries
• Week 2 - Buses, trams, taxis
• Week 3 - Bicycles, tuk tuks
• Week 4 - Cable cars, gondolas

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

ShangHai

It it very nice when someone on holidays cares enough to send you a postcard from their destination. In this case, not one, but two were sent by Bree (China) on 22 February. They landed here on 3 April. 

She was told at the post office that they had only one kind of stamp. Quite strange, because it was issued in 2004 (!). Both postcards bear the same, a beautiful illustration of a Yellow-bellied Tit (Periparus venustulus).

Celebration of Bulb Plants

Postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands), which celebrates the spring. It bears a matching stamp on the back:

The stamp belongs to the sheet issued on 1st March 2024, which mark the 75th anniversary of the garden of Keukenhof, in the city of Lise. The sheet has six stamps in three different designs: tulip,  daffodil and iris. Heleen has sent them all, on different pieces of mail.

They look gorgeous all together!