Here are the postcards!
I’ve been collecting postcards since 2008. Since then, I’ve sent and received over 1800 postcards from all over the US and dozens of countries. I respond to every postcard I receive, so I’m always open for private swaps.
My origin story: Back when I was a young boy, I got the idea to write a letter to several world leaders, but I only ever ended up writing the US president and the Queen of England. I was so tickled to receive responses from President Bush and then Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II! Well, they weren’t directly from the world leaders, but rather from their staff members. President Bush sent me an autographed photograph (which I lost later in a show-and-tell accident).
One of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting sent me a very detailed letter, typed on Buckingham Palace stationery, answering all of my questions about the Queen’s horses and her corgis and her favorite foods. I marveled at the strangely-sized paper, the texture of the embossed coat of arms centered at the top of the page, and the stamps on the envelope. A real person had spent time reading my letter, responding to it, folding it and placing it in an envelope, and then more real human beings had taken the time and effort to transport it from London to some mail distribution center, to an airport in England, to an airport in the US, and back through the various USPS chains until it arrived in a plastic mailbox at the foot of my driveway in southeast Michigan.
I’m still fascinated by this process today, and all for less than the price of some chocolate! So I maintain correspondence with about a dozen penpals across the world, and send and receive postcards. At last count, I have a little under 2,000 postcards that I’ve received. Keep scrolling to see the most recent postcards that have arrived in my mailbox.
Milan rainbow (Italy)
My penpal Lino was visiting Milan because his daughter graduated from university; I have been to Milan once and unfortunately the Duomo was in scaffolding at the time so the photos weren’t nearly as nice as this!
Alhambra (Spain)
Typically, I don’t prefer multiview postcards, but this one is a beautiful exemplar of what the genre should be: bite-sized views of the same locale that don’t crop out too much and feature the main sight prominently, with a unifying theme and center. To make this even better, it’s not even a rectangular (or square) postcard! It’s cut out along the scalloped edges as you see. Thanks, Julian and Salvo, for sending such a great postcard.
La Sainte-Chapelle de Dijon (France)
Celle-ci est une carte envoyée par mon ami Dominique qui écrit que Dijon est visité facilement par TGV (un rêve ça, d’avoir une système de chemin de fer si utile et facile!). Comme le capital de Bourgogne, on y goût des vins délicieux, et on voit aussi de l’architecture aussi belle qu’en Paris.
Granada (Spain)
I remember learning about azulejos in Spanish class way back in middle school, and ever since I’ve found the symmetrical geometry of them just gorgeous. Here’s a watercolor that captures that style perfectly, sent by our inimitable friends Julian and Salvo from their grand tour of Spain.
Hawai’ian Islands
Robynn and Oliver were in Hawai’i visiting family and writing, and they took the time to send this beautiful postcard! It’s printed on two pieces of koa wood veneer, each just .005 cm thick! What a beautiful piece of Hawai’i to receive in the mail!
Franklin Cider Mill (Michigan)
Our friends Kimee and Michael were visiting family in Michigan earlier this month, where Michael introduced Kimee to the tradition of visiting cider mills in the Fall. How I miss this tradition! The hot, fresh cider from the apples and holding your cup under the spout to get it as fresh as humanly possible… the hot, cinnamon-sugar doughnuts… the caramel apples… the hay rides and pumpkin patches. I don’t regret living in San Francisco, but the Bay Area cannot compete with Michigan when it comes to Fall activities!
Royal Mile Whiskies (Connecticut)
This is the first PostCrossing card I’ve received since May, as I took a little break over the summer. The sender lives in Connecticut but had visited Edinburgh in 2019. What a coincidence, as I’d just visited the shop in August!
Monika Sed Studio (Spain)
What a great photograph of this terrific cathedral. Julian and Salvo sent this from Barcelona writing, “Sell all our things, sell all of your things then meet us here!” Hang tight, I’m on my way!
gran torneo internacional (Spain)
The postcards are arriving a little out of synch, which I adore! Julian and Salvo sent this from Barcelona, writing about all of the beauty in the city, from the architecture to the food, to the art. I couldn’t agree more.
My translation of the card: Promotor Joaquin Gasa | Bullfighting Ring of Pamplona | Sunday, July 12 || Four Huge Matches | at 9:45 in the morning || Grand International Tournament of Catch as Catch Can
Ibiza (Spain)
Crystal clear water and white sand beaches - who could ask for more than a vacation to such a beautiful Mediterranean island as Ibiza!? Thanks to Maribel and José for this recuerdo desde sus vidas fascinantes!
azulejos del Patio de las Doncellas, Palacio Medéjar (Spain)
You’re in the south of Spain - Seville, precisely - and you know you’re going to get some great Arab art! This is a detail from the azulejos tiles in the Patio de las Doncellas in the Mudejar Palace. Carved into the fountain is the great poem from Ibn Zamrak: For are there not in this garden wonders that God has made incomparable in their beauty, and a sculpture of pearls, which it resembles in its pure dawn, with a transparent light, the borders of which are trimmed with seed pearls.”
la Cathédrale Saint Just (France)
Voici la Cathédrale Saint Just à Narbonne, une ville dans l’Aude. Je ne comprends exactement pas pourquoi sur la carte postale c’est écrite “Corbières.” Wikipedia me dit que Corbières est une commune avec une 40-aine de personnes dans l’Aude! Ceci ne pourrait pas être correct, n’est-pas? Une cathédrale si grande dans une commune si petite?!
Málaga (Spain)
The Spanish postcards keep coming! This one from Málaga along the Costa del Sol (the Sun Coast). We’ve since met Julian and Salvo and they had such great stories to tell, especially of the delicious meals.
happiness is… (Oregon)
Somehow Linda has run into some trouble finding postcards, so she decided to make her own! This one is a true delight, even if it doesn’t feature her own Gus. Pinot hasn’t had ice cream (yet?), but he did get some whipped cream on his birthday earlier this year. He was ecstatic!
Moco Museum x Guillermo Lorca (Spain)
Our dear friends traveled throughout four countries in Europe last month and sent a bevy of postcards! This one is from the Moco Museum in Barcelona and features a painting by Guillermo Lorca, a Chilean artist.
Sitges (Spain)
Sitges is a beautiful beach town to the west of Barcelona, which I visited way back in 2001 during my first trip to Catalunya. I think I knew at the time, but wasn’t brave enough to explore it thoroughly, that Sitges is a huge European capital of gay culture, especially Bears. Our friends Julian and Salvo made a pilgrimage to this Mecca and truly enjoyed themselves!
crème catalane (France)
Cette recette est arrivée de mon ami Dominique qui écrit simplement: “Voilà, tout c’est dit.” Évidemment!
Ingrédients pour 4 personnes: 1/2 litre de lair, 75 g de sucre semoule, 2 jaunes d’oeuf, 1 ouef entier, 1 cuillerée à soupe de maïzena et de farine, 1 écorce de cannelle, 1 bâton de vanille, 1/4 de zeste d’orange et de citron.
Préparation: porter le lait à ébullition. Retirer du feu et ajouter la cannelle, la vanille et les zetes et laisser infuser jusqu’à complet refroidissement du lait.
Travailler l’oeuf, les 2 jaunes, le sucre, la farine, et la maïzena puis verser dessus le lait après en avoir retiré les éléments aromatiques. Faire cuire sur feu très doux en remuant jusqu’à épaissement (10 mn environ). Répartir la crème dans des ramequins et mettre au frais.
Au moment de servir, saupoudrer chaque ramequin de sucre semoule, puis porter sur le sucre un fer préalablement chauffé au rouge pour le caraméliser. Le contraste entre la crème froide et le caramel chaud et croustillant rend ce dessert délicieux.
Recette de M. et Mme. Cases Henri - Ferme Auberge de Graffouil km 4, route de la Preste - Prats-de-Mollo.
Carcassonne (France)
Dominique m’a écrit sur une vidéo sur YouTube (et un article du Monde) sur la chef française Dominique Crenn qui a ouvert un restaurant à Paris qui s’appelle Golden Poppy. Je connais l’oeuvre de Dominique Crenn, la première femme aux États-Unis pour gagner trois étoiles Michelin. On y a mangé il y a plusiers années avec mon frère et sa femme. Le dîner a eté magnifique.
la Cité de l’Or (Québec)
Mon amie à letters m’a envoyé cette carte postale en célébrant la nouvelle habitation avec son partenair et ses enfants. J’en suis très heureux pour elle, et eux tous en fait!
“Scène relatives aux mesures de santé et sécurité au travail peintes en fresques au mur, mine Sigma 1949. Auteur? “ de la Collection Corporation du Village minier.
Jefferson Avenue, Detroit (Michigan)
Our niece Emily sent another great vintage postcard from Detroit where she’s living now. I suppose at the time of this printing (I think the date was torn off in transit, but maybe the 50s?), a huge, wide boulevard like this would have been attractive and indicative of a beautiful, robust city. Now, of course, we recognize that wide streets aren’t beautiful and don’t make a city desirable. The most desirable cities have narrow streets (and very few cars!). Detroit is undergoing a renaissance at the moment; I hope it thinks carefully about cars and their enormous appetite for ugly infrastructure.