Sunday Stamps | Sur la plage

Édouard Manet (1832-1883) painted this canvas in the summer of 1873, during three weeks spent with his family in the little coastal town of Berck-sur-Mer. He had his wife and brother pose for him on the beach, as is evidenced by the grains of sand mixed with the paint.

Go to Sunday Stamps to discover more Vacation Destinations on stamps.

Sunday Stamps | Rance, Loire, Tees

Dinan is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in north-western France. The town overlooks the Rance valley, which has not been freely connected to the sea since the construction of the Rance Tidal Power Station dam.

Banks of the Loire, issued in 2007. The stamp belongs to the series Portraits de régions N° 9 - La France à voir.

As the River Tees comes hurtling down from its North Pennines source, it plunges about 21 metres over an almost vertical cliff. After heavy rain, the peat-laden river splits, forming two falls divided by a protruding buttress, but even this rock can be covered in exceptional weather. England’s most powerful waterfall in terms of volume, High Force is slowly moving upstream as it erodes the sedimentary rocks beneath the Whin Sill – the hard-wearing layer of rock over which the River Tees initially flows.

For more Rivers on stamps, visit Sunday Stamps.

Postbox Saturday | "My" Postbox

The post box which has gone through all kind of calamities has finally been placed back on the sidewalk opposite. Just in front of my current workplace, which is very convenient.  I must add that it is not in very good condition: no logo, damaged paint, a little rusty... I hope it lasts a long time anyway!

Women on Postcards | F Is for Family

On this postcard, several (female and male) members of painter Salvador Dalí's family.

Postcard sent by Imma (PC).

[Women on Postcards - 2026]

Sunday Stamps | French Lighthouses

A lighthouse converted into a church in Collioure

Some French lighthouses I have recently received for today's Sunday Stamps. And I have seen three of these in person!

Chassiron

Cap Camarat

Cap Béar

Women on Postcards | E Is for Enxaneta

A castell (literally "castle") is a human pyramid built traditionally at festivals in southern Catalonia, now also found in the rest of Catalonia, and in the Balearic Islands. At these festivals, several colles castelleres (teams that build towers) attempt to build and then dismantle a tower's structure. On 16 November 2010, castells were declared by UNESCO to be amongst the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity

The enxaneta is the casteller who crowns the human structures. Generally, the enxaneta is a boy or girl, between 5 and 10 years old.

The assembly is complete once all castellers have climbed into their designated places, and the enxaneta climbs into place at the top and raises one open hand. The enxaneta then climbs down the other side of the castell, after which the remaining levels of castellers descend in highest to lowest order until all have reached safety.

[Women on Postcards - 2026]

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Big Catholic Churches

Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família

(Under construcion)

Barcelona, PC

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Assumption
Valladolid, Spain

Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar
Zaragoza, Spain

Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady
Guadalajara, Mexico

Postcards sent by Imma (PC), Bruno (Spain) and Bryon (United Nations).

-----------------------------------------------

Thursday Postcard Hunt
July theme: ARCHITECTURE

• Week 1 - Churches
• Week 2 - Houses
• Week 3 - Palaces
• Week 4 - Stations
• Week 5 - Shelters

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Thursday Postcard Hunt | O Polbo

Postcard sent by Pedro (Spain), during a recent trip to A Coruña. 

O Polbo (='The Octopus')  is a work by Javier M. Padín Martínez. It was inaugurated along with other sculptures on the A Coruña seafront in 2004. This statue is made of reinforced concrete and covered with small, colorful ceramic pieces that change hue depending on the sunlight. It measures 2 meters high by 3 meters wide.

On the background you can see the most famous landmark of this city: the Tower of Hercules,  the oldest known extant Roman lighthouse. It also appears on the pictorial postmark:

-----------------------------------------------

Thursday Postcard Hunt
June theme: SHAPES

• Week 1 - Letters
• Week 2 - Curves
• Week 3 - Lines
• Week 4 - Irregular/Wavy

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Postcard from València

Some people may do not like it, but for me it is always a pleasure to receive a postcard from a place I know well. To get a new insight, to see how the place has changed, to see which postcard people choose...

Pedro sent this postcard from València, with a matching stamp and a postmark with the image of the Central Market (also on the postcard). It you want to know his impressions of the city, you can read them on one of his blogs.

Postbox Saturday | Castell de Cabres

Well protected postbox in the small village of Castell de Cabres. I am envious that they have a postbox for 25 inhabitants...

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Columns

Old travel poster of one of my favourite cities. Sent by Jenny (Germany).

-----------------------------------------------

Thursday Postcard Hunt
June theme: SHAPES

• Week 1 - Letters
• Week 2 - Curves
• Week 3 - Lines
• Week 4 - Irregular/Wavy

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Postbox Saturday | Rossell

The postbox of Rossell, next to a street mural that say: Planta't contra la violència (='Stand up against violence').

Lighthouses in Brittany

Heleen (the Netherlands) sent this postcard with a painting of the famous lighthouse or Ar-Men, and an adventure from 100 years ago:

Achille Beltrame (1871-1945). "The keeper of the lighthouse of Ar Men, on the French coast, had remained isolated from the mainland for 53 days due to bad weather conditions. He managed, thanks to a dangerous acrobatic journey, to return to land (1926).

The same lighthouse appears on the following postcard sent by Fabienne (France):

And some more lighthouses in Brittany, all sent by Fabienne as well:

Île Vierge

St-Georges-de-Didonne

La Vieille

Postbox Saturday | La Galera

 

The postbox of La Galera. Usually, it is a lonely one: the bar is a temporary one, because of a fair.

Sunday Stamps | L Is for Landscapes

From Far and Wide is a Canadian series of stamp that has been running since 2018. It showcases the most beautiful landscapes in the country. I am very fond of these tiny stamps. I just wish they were a little bigger!

Point Pelee National Park, Ontario (2018)

Covehead Harbour Lighthouse, Prince Edwuard Island (2018)

Ile-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé National Park, Quebec (2018)

Iceberg off coast of Newfoundland & Labrador (2019)

Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park, Saskatchewan (2020)

Abraham Lake, Alberta (2020)

Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park, Yukon (2020)

Swallowtail Lighthouse, Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick (2020)

Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia (2020)

Torngat Mountains National Park, Newfoundland & Labrador (2024)

Restigouche River, New Brunswick (2025)

Qarlinngua Sea Arch, Nunavut (2025)

You can go to Sunday Stamps to see more L-stamps!

Discovering England through Postcards

Lately, I am getting more illustrated postcards than pictures. I like both, of course. So let's dedicate a post to some traditional postcards that give a sense of travelling and discovering new places...

Chichester cathedral and the statue
of St Richard by Philip Jackson

The White Cliffs of Dover 

Minstrels Gallery, Exeter Cathedral

The Museum of Somerset, Taunton

St Mary Magdalene, Taunton

Postcards sent by Laura (the UK).

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Illustrations of Northern European Cities

Cologne (Germany)

London (United Kingdom)

-----

The London Eye on the South Bank of the Thames

is 135 metres high and gives a spectacular view of London by night.

Text and illustration: Jason Brooks

Canterbury (the UK)

Postcards sent by Bruno (PC) and Laura (the UK).

-----------------------------------------------

Thursday Postcard Hunt
February theme: CITIES

• Week 1 - Asian
• Week 2 - Southern European
• Week 3 - Northern European
• Week 4 - North American

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Lucca & Lisboa

Lucca (Italy). Postcard sent by Bruno (PC).

Lisbon (Portugal), illustrated by Inna Korneeva. Postcard sent by Pedro (Portugal). 

-----------------------------------------------

Thursday Postcard Hunt
February theme: CITIES

• Week 1 - Asian
• Week 2 - Southern European
• Week 3 - Northern European
• Week 4 - North American

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!