Robins

Robins are among my favourite birds, the European robin, that is.  I have not met an American robin even though I believe a few have made it to these shores when migrating.

The robins found in Britain are not very afraid of humans and can easily be tamed to take food from your hand.  They are less tame on mainland Europe where they were once hunted, but even there they will turn up to check for unexpected delicacies while you are gardening.

These cards are from France, Germany, Russia and the Netherlands.

Monaco and the Côte d'Azur

A new - for me - map of the Côte d'Azur showing the position of Monaco.  I bought it ready stamped with old stamps, and probably over-priced, but I liked it.  It seems slightly odd that they have shown the casino towering above the Prince's Palace.

Reflections

St Front Cathedral in Périgueux, France can trace its origins back as far as a church built on that site in the 4th and 5th centuries. In 976 the Abbey of St Front was built on the site of the church and it became a cathedral in 1669.  It was rebuilt in the mid 19th century and only the bell tower and crypts are left of the 12th century building.

The significance of St Front lies with the fact that it was and still is an important stopping point for pilgrims following the Routes of Santiago de Compostela (Chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle) through France. These routes are recognised as of World Heritage importance by UNESCO.

So, the A to Z Challenge has come to an end.  I managed to keep ahead of the schedule though I nearly lost it when I had to be away for some days.  The intention was to kick-start my blogging which had sadly lapsed.  I hope I can keep up some of the impetus.

I found trawling through the list for blogs was very time consuming. I did have difficulty commenting on a lot of them, especially having to sign in to Disqus, Wordpress, Google+, and there were quite a few who hadn't updated though I noticed a lot were weeded out.

But, all in all, it was an enjoyable experience, though I doubt I will be repeating it.

My posts, in order of appearance
A is for Amsersfoort
B is for Biarritz and also for Bertie
C is for Czech Republic
D is for Dunes
E is for Estonia
F is for the Forth Bridge
G is for Green Giant
H is for Hollywood, Houston and Honeymoon Island
I is for Irkutsk
J is for Japan
K is for Korea
L is for Reading
M is for Mulu National Park and Malaysia
N is for Nürnberg or Nuremberg
O is for Ottawa and Ontario
P is for Potelych
Q is for the Queen
R is for Riquewihr
S is for Swiss tradition and for Silvesterkläuse
T is for Tango
U is for Ulm
V is for Vintage
W is for World
X is for Xinjiang
Y is for Yin and for Yang
Z is for Zulu

V is for Vintage

Most of my modern cards, in fact almost all of them, have been collected through Postcrossing, but I also have a large number of vintage cards which I have bought in various places such as postcard fairs or eBay.

For a time we lived in Paris so I look out for postcards from the area. There are just so many cards of Paris that I don't often buy them but these three caught my eye for different reasons.

The top one, dated on the back August 1919, shows an aerial view of what is now called Place Charles de Gaulle but was then Place de l'Étoile.  The photo was taken from a balloon at 700 metres. I used to dread having to drive around the Arc de Triomphe.

The second also shows a view from 1919 but was written a year later because the message says "This is also a street in Paris which was flooded last January".  My sons were at a school on the banks of the Seine, and even then it did rise dangerously high from time to time.

The third caught my eye for being an attractively framed picture, something that isn't always the case with vintage cards. One of my sons had a friend who lived nearby but it looked very different by then.

R is for Riquewihr

Riquewihr is a small, very picturesque, medieval town in the north east of France, in the Alsace region. The tower shown is the Dolder Tower, one of the entrances to the town.

Its current population is less than it was in 1793.  This is the fate of so many small towns in France. There is no work there.  Fortunately this one has the advantage of being so picturesque and has been described as one of the most beautiful villages in France.

Les Plus Beaux Villages de France is an independent organisation which lists many beautiful small towns and villages.  I haven't seen Riquewihr but I've seen several others: Collonges la Rouge, Saint Benoît du Sault, Séguret, to name a few.  They live almost entirely on tourism. It gives the place a very strange atmosphere, especially if you visit off season when they can seem like ghost towns.

B is for Biarritz and also for Bertie

I bought this vintage card on a whim because I collect neither cards from Biarritz (south east France) nor of royalty.  It shows King Edward VII of the United Kingdom strolling along "la Grande Plage". It doesn't look much like a beach to me, but that's irrelevant.  He apparently took a holiday each year in Biarritz.

The message on the back reads:

"C'est aussi que j'ai vu Sa Majesté le Roi d'Angleterre sur la plage aujourd'hui" [I also saw His Majesty King of England on the beach today]

And that I found interesting enough until I saw the date 24.4.10.  King Edward VII, or Bertie as he was known to his family, died in 1910  I looked up the dates.  He went to Biarritz in March 1910.  While he was there, he collapsed and stayed on longer than originally intended, not returning until 27 April 1910.

So he was spotted by the writer of this card just days before his return to London.  He died just 9 days later on 6 May 1910.

Madonna and Child

Although this card from the Netherlands did have art stamps on it, I had to go to France to find the first Madonna and Child stamp.

It commemorates the 500 years since Rafael painted it in 1512/13. The original hangs in the museum in Dresden.

The Royal Mail quite frequently uses art on stamps, particularly around Christmas time.  I have a set of PHQ (postal headquarters) stamp cards from 1991 which are taken from a 14th century manuscript kept in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

These are just two of the set.  I love the colour and form, but if you look closely at the faces, they do look a little odd though possibly more "real". I prefer them to some more recent versions.

As I said, the original postcard did have art stamps on it too, commemorating Rembrandt
:

And another by Vermeer, that almost everyone will recognise thanks to the recent film, Girl with a Pearl Earring.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"

Tarn et Garonne

As today is the 150th birthday of Toulouse-Lautrec, I attempted to find a map of the area around Albi in the Tarn département (south west France) where he was born.  I failed but here instead is a map of Tarn et Garonne the next département along to the west.  Albi is almost directly to the east of Montauban.

Henri Toulouse-Lautrec was an artist, now probably best known for his posters such as the one above advertising the Moulin Rouge.

Rue de Rivoli, Paris

I've loved this card since I first saw it in someone's gallery on Postcrossing but only this week it arrived in my letterbox as a great surprise.

It shows cute little children crossing, "crocodile" fashion, the rue de Rivoli in Paris just opposite the Jardin des Tuileries and the Louvre. It brings back so many memories from the three years I lived in Paris.

A post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted by Beth Niquette on her blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Colmar

I've always wished to visit the Alsace region of France and this beautiful postcard from Colmar confirms at least one reason why.  Another reason for visiting could be that Colmar is the capital of the Alsace wine region and is situated on the 170 km long wine route, la Route des Vins d'Alsace.

Colmar, along with much of Alsace, alternated between being French and German through its history. As a result, there are both French and German influences in food, drink, crafts, and even in the spoken language.

Eure et Loire

This map shows the Département of Eure et Loir, just to the south west of Paris and Versailles, and it is where I stopped off for a 36 hour visit to the beautiful ancient city of Chartres and its wonderful UNESCO listed cathedral.

A map for Monday - after a long break

Gone fishin'

Men fishing off the extreme end of the Île de la Cité in the centre of Paris, and facing the Pont des Arts in the distance.  The photo was taken  in the 1950s by Charles Ciccione (1912 - 1998).  There is now a European photography award in his name.

"Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime."  There are a few alternatives to this proverb, if proverb it is, but the one that comes to mind is, "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish and you can get rid of him for the entire weekend".

The Cote d'Azur

I have been away for two weeks.  I had to leave without much warning so I'm afraid I didn't have time to plan ahead and schedule any posts. It so happens I'm going to have to go away again for another week but hopefully I'll be better prepared.

The two maps of the southern coast of France (part at least) cover the area where I have been.  The weather was superb!

Lighthouses in Brittany

Our Brittany, its lighthouses (Notre Bretagne ses phares) it says on the back of this map postcard.   The individual lighthouses are detailed on the right hand side of the card but it's very hard to make out the detail. It gives the colour, period, height above sea level, distance, of each lighthouse.

I found the text insert very interesting.  It appears to be a Breton poem with a translation in French:

Maps on Monday

A red 2CV

Just like the one I used to drive, a Citroen 2CV, although of course the steering wheel would have been on the other side on mine.  It was a wonderful car though possibly not so great in the snow.  I was sad when my sons grew too big to fit comfortably in the back.

Although the car originates in France, the postcard originated in the Netherlands.

Route Napoléon

The Route Napoléon is the journey taken by Napoleon I, the Emperor, on his return to France from exile on the island of Elba.  He arrived at the Golfe Juan on 1 March 1815 and made his way along the route shown and from Grenoble on to Paris where he arrived on 20 March 1815.  Next year, of course, will be the bicentenary.

The national road N85 follows the line of the original route and is waymarked by gilded Imperial Eagles. It received the official title "Route Napoléon" in 1932 (previously the Route des Alpes) and is still travelled by people who enjoy both the history and the beautiful landscapes.

Maps on Monday.

6th June 1944

Today is the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, the biggest ever assault from the sea.  Because of the age of the veterans, it is likely to be their last anniversary celebrations.  Events have been held on both sides of the English Channel with almost the whole Royal Family turning out in one place or another.  The Queen, Prince William, Prince Charles, were all in France along with Président Hollande of France, President Obama, President Putin from Russia and President Poroshenko of Ukraine.

I really hope some of those attending will learn the lessons of the past.

The first card is an older one depicting the Landings very clearly.  The second card is relatively new but although it doesn't mention the Landings as such, if you look carefully along that stretch of coastlines, you can see the shadowy outlines of soldiers making their way towards the beaches.

I have posted other postcards of Sword Beach and of the Battle of Normandy.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.
 

Birds

A postcard of birds taking flight from a nature reserve in the centre of France.  The Brenne, also known as le pays de milles étangs (land of 1000 lakes), is one of the most important wetlands in France because it is a stopping off point for many migratory birds.  In fact there are more than 3000 lakes, but who's counting?

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Milking

Traditional style milking in the Alps of France. Traditional milk will no doubt be used to produce traditional local cheeses - Reblochon, Emmental and Beaufort perhaps.

Two kittens are better than one

I'm not sure how much respect the photographers showed to the kittens, but there's safety in numbers.  It's a long time since my 8 year old cat could fit in a small jar but from time to time he forgets how much he has grown and squeezes himself into a small box.

Both these cards are from France, éditions agep.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.