Second Try

It came out better on the second try...

Sunday Stamps | Iberia

Iberia is the flag carrier of Spain. It was founded in 1927, an this stamp from 2002 commemorates its 75th anniversary.

Go to Sunday Stamps to see more Aviation stamps.

USPS Postcrossing Stamps

On 26th May the USPS Postcrossing stamps were out in the world. Three weeks later I got this maxicard from Bryon (the USA), which bears not one but two stamps, along with the First Day Cancelation.

There are four different designs that make difficult to choose a favourite. You can read more about this issue, including an interview with Jackson Gibbs, the illustrator, on the Postcrossing blog.

I got another one on the back of a postcard:

Year of the Fire Horse [VII]

Postcard sent by Bryon (UN).

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.

Portuguese Lighthouses

It is a pity that this letter sent by Pedro via Ilha das Flores (Azores) to be stamped with a lighthouse postmark, did not turned out as expected.

The stamp, belonging to the set Portugal in the European Union, 40 Years arrived safe and sound, and also did the letter inside.

It is always a pleasure to get mail related to lighthouses, and I have been lately spoiled by Pedro...

Cape Espichel Lighthouse was built in 1790 on the site of a hermitage that had been founded in the middle of the 14th century to hold an image of the Virgin, which had been found on a rock.

Cabo da Roca forms the westernmost point of continental Europe. Situated in the municipality of Sintra, near Azóia, to the west of Lisbon. The lighthouse started operation in 1772.

The stamp belongs to a 4-stamps series issued in 2024 to commemorate the centenary of the Portuguese Lighthouse Authority (Direção de Farois).

Sunday Stamps | T Is for Technology

United Nations, 1965. Telstar Communications Satellite

Germany, 2017. 50th Anniversary of the Chip Card

India, 2019. 50th Anniversary of the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology.

Russia, 2021. Autonomous Robot FEDOR. The stamp belongs to the set Technological Achievements of Russia.

Taiwan, 2021. The left stamp is dedicated to Artificial Intelligence and AI, and belongs to the set that commemorates the 110th anniversary of the country. The right stamp belongs to the set Core Industries of Taiwan, and features defense and strategic industries.

This is my T-entry for Sunday Stamps.

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Typographies

Postcard sent by Fabienne (France).

Postcard arrived from Australia, no clue why the sender chose it, but I like the typography. I have no read this book.

Maxicard sent by Bryon (the USA), with different postmarks, showing the iconic Route 66. Just three days ago I wrote in a comment that I like these stamps, and yesterday this landed!

There are different postmarks on the stamps, front and back of the postcard:

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

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!

Women on Postcards | F Is for Film Festival

Postcard sent by Fabienne (France).

[Women on Postcards - 2026]

Year of the Fire Horse [VI]

Sent by Phillip (the USA).

Sunday Stamps | O Is for O Beautiful

America the Beautiful is an American patriotic song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. Bates wrote the words as a poem, and it was first published in the Fourth of July 1895 edition of the church periodical, The Congregationalist. At that time, the poem was titled America.

On 4th July 2018, USPS issued a 20-stamp sheet where each stamp features a photograph that helps illustrate one of five phrases from the song’s famous first verse: “Spacious Skies,” “Waves of Grain,” “Mountain Majesties,” “The Fruited Plain,” and “Sea to Shining Sea.”

I have got some of the stamps:

Spacious Skies

Mountain Majesties

The Fruited Plains

Sea to Shining Sea

You can go to Sunday Stamps to see more O-related stamps.

Year of the Fire Horse [V]

Back of a big envelope sent by Imma (PC). 

The front is equally nice, drawn by the sender:

Sunday Stamps | M is for Megalith

The UNPA (United Nations Postal Administratio) has a tradition of issuing stamps that celebrate UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which are recognized for their outstanding cultural, historical, and natural significance. 

In 2024, they issued six stamps featuring Korean sites. Bryon sent me one of them, dedicated to the Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites.

This is my M-stamp for this week's Sunday Stamps.

By Cycle Mail

This letter sent by Pedro from Portugal took nine days to arrive. Not bad, if you consider it came by bike...

The stamp belongs to the 2026 series As Bicicletas no Ciclismo (='Bicycles in Cycling'). 

He has recently sent more Portuguese bicycles. The stamps below are from the 2025 series As Bicicletas nas Profissões (='Bicycles in Professions'). Here you have the farmer's and the milkman's bikes: