Palaces

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt - Architecture - Palaces

The monumental Winter Palace in St Petersburg, the former main residence of the Russian royal family on the south bank of the Neva River. Today of course it is part of the Hermitage Museum complex.

 

The Royal Palace of Aranjuez one of the official residences of the Spanish royal family. It looks a wonderful entrance into the square for high stepping horses. There is a museum on the ground floor and the rooms and gardens are open to the public.

Sporting XYZ

 

1996: Olympic Games

The XXVI Olympic Games in Atlanta. The first time Uzbekistan competed as an independent nation.

1970: Football World Championships

Football's Jules Rimet Cup was awarded to the winners of the FIFA World Cup between 1930 and 1970. Named after the FIFA President who initiated the tournament, the trophy went permanently to Brazil when they won it for the third time in 1970.  In 1938 Italy won the trophy in France. When the Nazis occupied Rome in 1943 the Italian football official Ottorino Barassi took the trophy from a bank vault and hid it in a shoe box beneath his bed to prevent it being stolen or melted down by the occupying forces. 

  Brazil won the Jules Rimet trophy for the first time in 1958 beating the hosts Sweden

and for the second time in Chile 1962

ub

1982: World Cup

The 1982 World Cup in Spain. The stamp features El Salvador and Hungary. This would he the last time that El Salvador qualified for the tournament. Hungary beat them 10-1 in the first round but despite that did not advance to the second round.

Sunday Stamps A-Z for -  the roman numeral X, Yemen and Zaire - See It On A Postcard 

Village Houses

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt - for the month of July : Architecture - Houses

One of the traditional houses or mansions in the village of Vizitsa on the southern Pelion peninsula,  located 540 metres (1771 ft) above sea level overlooking the Pegasetic Gulf

The village of Pivakes on the south western slopes of the Pelion mountain range is considered one of the best preserved  villages in the region. The Pelion in Northern Greece, as can be seen, is heavily wooded with trees such as beach, oak and chestnuts  beneath which are cool springs and streams. The stone paved paths connecting the villages are called kalderimia where one might spot a wild tortoise trundling along or basking in the sunshine  One of my favourite places in Greece.

Vallorcine, Haute-Savoie, (Altitude 1260m) France

Vallorcine , the last village of the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc valley before crossing into Switzerland

Easdale Argyll

Meanwhile at sea level is the village of Ellanbeich on Seil. The village is sometimes called Easdale because of its proximity to the island of that name, one of the smallest permanently inhabited islands of the Inner Hebrides 

Waterfalls

 

1956: Power Stations and Waterfalls (Artist - S Jonsson)

Skogafoss, a 60 metre waterfall on Iceland's south coast with easy access from a car park. 

1977: Europa - Landscapes

In contrast the remote "off-the-beaten-track"  Ofaeru waterfall (Ofaerufoss)  in Iceland's Southern Highlands, a two tier waterfall plunging 40 metres (130 ft). The natural stone bridge spanning the falls was washed away by melting glaciers in 1993.

2026: Waterfalls

High Force, County Durham. The River Tees plunges 21 metres over a vertical cliff. After heavy rain the peat laden river splits into two falls but the rock can be completely covered  by water in exceptional weather.. England's most powerful waterfall in terms of volume.

Hardraw Falls, North Yorkshire plummets over a limestone lip, eroding softer rock to create an overhang. Visitors to this natural amphitheater are warned not to walk behind the veil of water because of the precarious nature of the overhang. 

Sunday Stamps A-Z this week at the letter W - Waterfalls - See It On A Postcard 

Church Towers

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt this month is Architecture, today - Churches

For those experiencing summer heatwaves here is a cool snowy view of Ulverston Parish Church, Cumbria. The tower was rebuilt in 1540 when the old one was destroyed in a gale.

.In the 13th Century as part of a modernisation of All Saints Church in Bakewell a tower and spire were built over the main body of the church. It became apparent in the 18th Century that the tower and spire were too heavy for the stonework and the spire started to crack. It was removed in 1825 and a new tower and spire built which we see today.

St Anna in the town of Verl, Westphalia. An east tower was a novelty at the time when it was built in 1792 as traditionally they would be built on the west side.

Waves

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt for Shapes that are  Wavy or Irregular

Artist - Gisbert Combaz

A lithograph used for an advertising poster in 1899 by  La Libre Esthétique (an artistic society formed in Brussels)  whose yearly exhibitions ran from 1894-1914.  Happily this design contains both wavy lines and irregular shapes.

"The Turbulent Sea"

Whereas these are shape shifting waves

Floating by Vasily Kandinsky (1924) Watercolour and indian ink on paper

Kandinsky experienced synesthesia, where hearing sounds caused him to visually associate and see colours and shapes. He considered music as the ultimate abstract art, dark blue for him was something deep and resonant like a cello or double bass. He often categorised his paintings in musical terms as either  Impressions, Improvisations or Compositions.

U for USA

 

1997: Bugs Bunny

"Whats up Doc?"

2004: Disney Cartoon Characters

Bambi and Thumper the classic 1942 film and Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket, the 1940 film which featured the Academy Award winning song - 'When You Wish Upon a Star"

2014: Batman 75th Anniversary

The inspiration for all those Batman movies began with a comic strip.  Stamp collecting played a role in the childhood of Bruce Wayne who shared the hobby with his father in the comic books of the 1950s. He probably was too busy fighting for justice as Batman to continue with the hobby after that, but maybe he still has quiet moments with his stamp collection.

2001: Porky Pig

That All Folks! Or as Porky Pig says it at the end of a Loony Tunes cartoon "Th-Th-Th-that's all folks". Voiced by Mel Blanc (1908-1989), man of a thousand voices, those same words appear on Blanc's gravestone.

Sunday Stamps A-Z - for USA - at  See It On A Postcard