NO WAR

This week I've begun to receive postcards on Tuesday, but I love the two cards from soniasadin and nancy.

From Pamplona, soniasadin has sent me one of my favourite paintings, Guernica, by Picasso, became in symbol of the horrors of war. Picasso painted it in 1937 at the height of the Spanish Civil War. The town of Guernica was bombed on April 26th, 1937.

Nancy from China has sent me a beautiful UNESCO Site for the "Spain to the Rest of the World" tag. It is the traditional village of Xidi. The Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui, Xidi and Hongcun, were declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000, because they "preserve to a remarkable extent the appearance of non-urban settlements of a type that largely disappeared or was transformed during the last century. Their street plan, their architecture and decoration, and the integration of houses with comprehensive water systems are unique surviving examples.

The villages of Xidi and Hongcun are graphic illustrations of a type of human settlement created during a feudal period and based on a prosperous trading economy. In their buildings and their street patterns, the two villages of southern Anhui reflect the socio-economic structure of a long-lived settled period of Chinese history. The traditional non-urban settlements of China, which have to a very large extent disappeared during the past century, are exceptionally well preserved in the villages of Xidi and Hongcun.

Lithuania and North Spain

My 149th official postcard arrived from Lithuania. I had one postcard from Vilnius, and other one from Klaipedia. This time RamuneLt sent me this nice multiview from the second city of the country, Kaunas.

The postcard shows the Church of Vytautas the Great. Town Hall Square. The Pažaislis Church of Visitation of our Lady and the Monastery. The Cathedral-Basilica. City Fountain in the Freedom Boulevard. St Michael the Archangel Church.

I won a lottery of soniasadin, and she has sent me two postcards from North Spain. In the first we can see the city of Estella, in Navarra. San Francisco de Asis Square, Estella Coat arms, De la Cárcel Bridge and general view.

And I liked a lot this night view of la Concha Beach, from San Sebastian, in Pais Vasco.

From Russia with Love...and from Brazil, Italy, Spain...

Love, much love I received today!

I won the prize for the best Avatar 2008 in Spanish Forum, so kana sent me these four wonderful cards:

Night view of the Castle of Calafell (12th century) in Tarragona (Northeast Spain).

General view of Villafamés, Castellón de la Plana (East Spain). The castle stands at the top, whose oldest remains are from the 14th century, although it is of Arabic origin.

The Favaritx lighthouse is located on the Spanish island of Menorca, Balearic Islands, at Cape Favaritx which is part of the Albufera des Grau Natural Park with Colom Island.

And finally, this aerial view of the St. Stephen's Cathedral of Vienna (Austria). Romanesque and Gothic form, consecrated in 1147, but completed in 1160.

From Italy I received this beautiful bookmark of "Firenze 2008. Un anno ad arte", from CatWoman.

Savissivik from Brazil surprised me with the Series Cultural Heritage of Humanity (1999). Three stamps showing the cities of Ouro Preto, Olinda e Saô Luis (also known as the tiles city).

And today I received this official postcard from mzk:

"Russia map and flag card. The left part is Saint Petersburgh; and the right part is Suzdal, Museum of Wooden Architecture and City of Golden Ring of Russia".