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.
la tarte au fromage blanc (France)
Voici autre recette d’Alsace, cette fois une tarte au fromage blanc (qui me paraît peut-être comme un cheesecake). Mais avec les blancs d’oeufs battus en neige, je me demande si peut-être elle serait plutôt comme une cream pie?
on the go with treats in tow (Germany)
Mon ami Dominique a bien aimé son séjour à Baden Baden, ou il a profité des magasins, restaurants, et cafés.
Turkish delight (Türkiye)
This is not that kind of Turkish delight, but instead the kind that comes from having a great colleague whom you enjoy seeing alone and also with her husband. They had dinner at our place last month and brought this postcard with them (along with some other goodies)!
todo un desfile (Spain)
I know the word “desfile” for parade, but here it's translated as “runway show.” I suppose that could work but I think I prefer the sense of “parade” for this image. Julian and Salvo sure know how to pick them! I wonder which one they've decided to bring home for me?!
Passau (Germany)
My penpal who lives in Norway grew up on the German/Dutch border. I wonder if it still feels like coming home after all these years, especially in a place so far from his home?
amiguitos (Spain)
It's funny how the diminutive -ito can do double duty. Sometimes it diminishes the size, but sometimes it's endearment. Here, I'm not sure it's reducing the size of anything (except the swimwear, but then that would also be endearment I would think!)
tarte aux myrtilles (France)
Comment j’adore les cartes postales avec les recettes! Et celle-ci avec la recette en trois langues?! Ma rêve!
Palau de Maricel (Spain)
Or should I be captioning them “Catalunya"? Well, I don't shy away from the political, but maybe it's premature to do that? Although I've visited Sitges, I didn't see the Palau de Maricel when I was there. I guess we'll have to visit after all!
Sitges beach (Spain)
I have been to Sitges before but it's been over 24 years now! J & S made it to their beach vacay despite the pouring rain that caught them on their way out of Barcelona.
Stravinsky bottle (Spain)
Hrm, what's the art-work style on this postcard? It's really captivating.
Pan Am bull (Spain)
I know I've written before about how touched I am when people take the time to find postcards, write them, get postage, and post them to me - all while on their long-awaited vacations. That Salvo and Julian had the time and energy to do so for me on their trip to Catalunya, I'm just really overwhelmed with gratitude and love.
Casa Batlló (Spain)
I love the Casa Batlló! Julián and Salvo wrote that they had their first experience at Enigma last night and I'm very envious! This postcard is quite large so there's ample room for their enticing description of the experience.
"Resa med James Ensor” (Sweden)
My friend Johanna has moved to a new place on the outskirts of Stockholm and sent this great postcard featuring a 1987 painting by Leif Ericson (surprisingly difficult to find on Google due to the similarity with Leif Erikson).
Cosmos Dr. Stravinsky (Spain)
This is the first of several postcards that Julián and Salvo sent from their trip to Spain. They had also visited Italy but I think those postcards may still be on the way? This postcard is from Dr. Stravinsky.
Australian pride
Matty included these two postcards in an envelope writing about his travel plans and how he makes it work. Anyone who's been lucky enough to travel around knows that Australians always seem to be abroad. I always wondered how they made it work; Matty writes that as a public employee, he entitled to 4 weeks of vacation leave and 4 weeks of sick leave annually. He also can take his vacation leave at half pay, which doubles the length of time! Oh to have a functioning government! ;-)
postcard bonanza!
Our friends Greg and James were on a long trip, together and separately, and even including their young godson. They were in Nevada and Mexico, California, and Utah and across the eight postcards they sent, I fairly lost count! What a fun way to document the trip - and I’m very grateful they took the time to gather postcards and send them.
Hokusai - Red Fuji (Japan)
I'm not sure how I got back on the PostCrossing list since I haven't sent anything in ages, but this lovely postcard arrived and I'm very happy to have it!
baby Tasmanian devils (Australia)
Who knew Tasmanian devils could be so cute?! Maybe all baby mammals are cute… wait, are they mammals?! They're marsupials, but are marsupials a subset of mammals? Yes! Thanks to Matty for sending me on this biological rabbit hole.
tarte aux mirabelles (France)
J’ai l’impression que préparer des tartes de fruit avec tellement de précision est quelque chose typiquement français, et cette carte postale me l’enseigne si clairement! Dominique écrit que la fruit désirée se change avec la géographie: en Lorraine, ces sont les mirabelles. En Alsace, les pruneaux (tarte aux quetsches), et dans les montagnes, myrtilles.