Palace and Park of Fontainebleau, France

It looks like today's posts will be rather Unesco-centric, although that wasn't my initial plan. Oh well. These first couple of cards are from my penpal Alexandra. She actually lives within walking distance of this Unesco site! :O

The Palace of Fontainebleau is located 55 kilometres southeast of the centre of Paris, and is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The medieval castle and later château was the residence of French monarchs from Louis VII through Napoleon III. Napoleon I abdicated his throne there before being exiled to Elba. Today it is a national museum and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Used by the kings of France from the 12th century, the medieval royal hunting lodge of Fontainebleau, standing at the heart of a vast forest in the Ile-de-France, was transformed, enlarged and embellished in the 16th century by François I, who wanted to make a 'New Rome' of it. Surrounded by an immense park, the Italianate palace combines Renaissance and French artistic traditions.

Chinese New Year, France

A wonderful postcard I received from Veronique in France earlier this year, showing French Lunar Year stamps. Veronique says she couldn't find Chinese New Year/Year of the Sheep/Goat postcards in France so she tried to make on, so I'm not sure if this is her own design. If it is, well done! :)

Not much to say about this one... Except that I really like it - I love stamp collages like this!

Greetings from France

Um, yes, I have received postcards in 2015 as well. :P I don't know why I keep posting older cards in this blog...hmmm. It also seems like I'll never catch up with this blog - I still have a big pile of postcards put aside that I've selected to write about here. Anyway, this card is from a swap with Patrick in France earlier this year. Thank you so much!

I might have mentioned that I really like this series of postcards, even if it's pretty difficult to get some of the cards written and stamped from the countries they depict. ...and the series keeps growing, which doesn't help either. Their popularity kind of reminds me of how Nouvelles Images multiples cards used to be really popular and again, kind of hard to get. Still, they ARE very nice.

La Cascade Verte, Vercors, France

A wonderful official I received from France last year.

FR-231512   The Vercors is a range of plateaux and mountains in the départements of Isère and Drôme in the French Prealps. It lies west of the Dauphiné Alps, from which it is separated by the rivers Drac and Isère. Cliffs at its eastern edge face the city of Grenoble.

The plateau's karstic area includes the famous Vercors Cave System which includes Gouffre Berger.

The Vercors has several resorts for cross-country skiing and for down-hill skiing. Villard-de-Lans is the biggest down-hill ski resort.

Le Mont Saint-Michel, France

I've been looking for a postcard of Le Mont Saint-Michel for ages. I finally got lucky this summer - and the card has a gorgeous Europa stamp on as well which matches this card perfectly as one of the places it shows is Le Mont Saint-Michel! :)

Le Mont Saint-Michel is a rocky tidal island and a commune in Normandy, France. It is located approximately one kilometre off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches. The population of the island is 44, as of 2009. The island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times, and since the 8th century AD been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its name. The Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay are part of the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Cote d'Azur, France

A wonderful view from the French Riviera, thank you Perfecta!

The Côte d'Azur, often known in English as the French Riviera, is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend from the Italian border in the east to Saint Tropez, Hyères, Toulon or Cassis in the west. This coastline was one of the first modern resort areas.

A lighthouse in Brittany, France

A lovely lighthouse postcard I received as an RAS card last year. I have no idea what this lighthouse is called or where exactly it's located, the postcard only says it's somewhere in Brittany. Heh, and like the sender, Erin, so do I wonder how this kind of photos are taken. The photographer must have a really good zoom in their camera!

Brittany (Bretagne in French) is a cultural region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain (as opposed to Great Britain). Brittany is considered as one of the six Celtic nations.

Brittany occupies the northwest peninsula of continental Europe in northwest France. It is bordered by the English Channel to the north, the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Bay of Biscay to the south. Its land area is 34,023 km². The historical province of Brittany is divided into five departments: Finistère in the west, Côtes-d'Armor in the north, Ille-et-Vilaine in the north east, Loire-Atlantique in the south east and Morbihan in the south on the Bay of Biscay.

 In 1956, French regions were created by gathering departments between them. The Region of Brittany comprises, since then, four of the five Breton departments (80% of historical Brittany), while the remaining area of the old Brittany, the Loire-Atlantique department, around Nantes, forms part of the Pays de la Loire region. This territorial organisation is regularly contested. The Kingdom and the Duchy of Brittany, the province of Brittany, and the modern Region of Brittany cover the Western part of Armorica, as it was known during the period of Roman occupation.

In January 2007 the population of historic Brittany was estimated to be 4,365,500. Of these, 71% lived in the region of Brittany, while 29% lived in the region of Pays-de-la-Loire. At the 1999 census, the largest metropolitan areas were Nantes (711,120 inhabitants), Rennes (521,188 inhabitants), and Brest (303,484 inhabitants).

Mayotte

I thought I'd finish off today with a card from a country new to my collection: Mayotte. Ok, this wasn't mailed directly from Mayotte but then it doesn't seem like it's too easy to get postcards from there, so I'm really happy to have this one in my collection at least. ...and what's pictured on this card seems pretty fascinating, I love postcards like this!



The plant pictured here is Cananga odorata, commonly called Ylang-ylang. It's is a tree valued for its perfume. The essential oil derived from the flowers is used in aromatherapy.

Mayotte, then, is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre (or Mahoré), a smaller island, Petite-Terre (or Pamanzi), and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, between northwestern Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique. Mayotte's area is 374 square kilometres, and with its estimated 194,000 people is very densely populated (520 /km2). Its biggest city and prefecture is Mamoudzou. The territory is geographically part of the Comoro Islands, but has been politically separate since a 1974 referendum in which it elected to remain under French rule. The territory is also known as Mahoré, the native name of its main island, especially by advocates of its inclusion in the Union of Comoros. In a 2009 referendum, the population overwhelmingly approved accession to status of department (95.2% voted in favour of departmental status). On March 31, 2011, Mayotte became an overseas department.

Colmar, France

Another official... This one is quite possibly one of my favourite official postcrossing cards I've received so far this year. The houses look so pretty and colourful, and the card has a matching stamp!


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Colmar is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in north-eastern France. It is situated along the Alsatian Wine Route and considers itself to be the "Capital of Alsatian Wine" (capitale des vins d'Alsace). In 2006, the city of Colmar had a population of 65,713 and the metropolitan area of Colmar had a population of 120,367. Colmar is the center of the arrondissement of Colmar, which has 144,700 inhabitants in 2006.

Colmar is the home town of the painter and engraver Martin Schongauer and the sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi, who designed the Statue of Liberty. The city is renowned for its well preserved old town, its numerous architectural landmarks and its museums, among which the Unterlinden Museum.



Like I said, this card came with a matching stamp, issued in 2010. The other two stamps are from a set of 14 definitives issued in 2008, with the theme 'Marianne and Europe'.

Lyon, France

Another official card.. but this time a lot more recent one - I received this one earlier this year. I just love the atmosphere here.


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Lyon is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. The city of Lyon has 480,660 inhabitants. Together with its suburbs and satellite towns, Lyon forms the third-largest metropolitan area in France after Paris, with the population of its urban area estimated to be 1,422,331 and that of its metropolitan area 1,757,180.

Lyon has a long cultural influence on France and the world. The city is known for its historical and architectural landmarks and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lyon was historically known as an important area for the production and weaving of silk and in modern times has developed a reputation as the capital of gastronomy in France. It has a significant role in the history of cinema due to Auguste and Louis Lumière. The local professional football team, Olympique Lyonnais, has increased the profile of Lyon internationally through participation in European football championships.

Economically, Lyon is a major centre for banking and also the chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotech industries. The city contains a significant software industry with a particular focus on video games, and in recent years has focussed on a growing local start-up sector. Lyon also hosts the international headquarters of Interpol, Euronews and International Agency for Research on Cancer.



The stamp at the top was issued in 2010 and shows 'La Conciergerie Paris'. The other two stamps are from a set of 14 definitives issued in 2008, with the theme 'Marianne and Europe'.

Paris, France

This card is from a lovely French woman I sent an official to recently. She really liked it and asked if I'd like to swap with her. Sure I did, it's not like I receive postcards from France every day, plus she was super nice and it's always great to swap with people like her. :)



I like it how this is a slightly different view of Paris, even if you can still see the Eiffel Tower in it. On the front you can see Pont Alexandre III, an arch bridge that spans the Seine, connecting the Champs-Élysées quarter and the Invalides and Eiffel Tower quarter, widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in Paris. The bridge, with its exuberant Art Nouveau lamps, cherubs, nymphs and winged horses at either end, was built between 1896 and 1900. It is named after Tsar Alexander III, who had concluded the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1892. His son Nicholas II laid the foundation stone in October 1896. The style of the bridge reflects that of the Grand Palais, to which it leads on the right bank. The construction of the bridge is a marvel of 19th century engineering, consisting of a six-metre high single span steel arch. The design, by the architects Joseph Cassien-Bernard and Gaston Cousin, was subject to strict controls that prevented the bridge from obscuring the view of the Champs-Élysées or the Invalides. The bridge was built by the engineers Jean Résal and Amédée d'Alby and inaugurated in 1900 for the Universal Exhibition (as were the nearby Grand Palais and Petit Palais). The Pont Alexandre III is classified as a historical monument.



When I first saw this card I was a bit confused by the stamp and at first I thought it was mailed from Singapore. :P But no, it's a French stamp, issued last year to commemorate the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

Marseille, France

I'm still a bit behind with postcrossing due to Aikido Summer School, I'm slowly trying to catch up. I've received a bunch of lovely officials recently and it's difficult to choose which ones to post here. I have a soft spot for panoramic postcards so this one was a pretty obvious choice.


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This is a panoramic view from the Major, to St Jean and St Nicolas forts and Notre Dame de la Garde.

Marseille is the second most-populous city in France (behind Paris), with 852,395 residents as of 2007. It forms the third-largest urban area after those of Paris and Lyon with a population of 1,420,000. Located on the south east coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea, Marseille is France's largest commercial port. Marseille is the administrative capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.



The stamps are from a set of 12 food-related stamps issued earlier this year. These ones show Tarte Tatin and Chapon.

landmarks

The Aikido Summer School in Birmingham finished a few days ago. It went really well and for the most part I really quite enjoyed it. I passed my blue belt grading and even got the "Most outstanding female aikidoist of the year" award! I'm still a little dumbfounded by that, I never thought I'd ever get anything like that! It's such an honour.

The postcard here is a sort of landmark, too: it's my 1,000th official received postcrossing postcard! A really nice one, too, with a lovely message at the back.


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The photograph was taken by Steve McCurry and shows a man in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Steve McCurry (born February 24, 1950) is an American photojournalist best known for his photograph, "Afghan Girl" that originally appeared in National Geographic magazine. There is actually an exhibition of his photographs going on in Birmingham at the moment, I really want to check it out at some point. I've seen a few of McCurry's photographs and really like them, he's got a talent at capturing emotions in his photographs.



The stamp is from a set of 4 stamps issued in 2009, depicting Endangered or Extinct Species. This one here is the Aurochs.

Vannes, France

This week has been really warm and sunny, not very typical in England! I really enjoy it, although I do wish it didn't make my hay fever worse... I've been sneezing SO much recently, and yesterday and today my eyes have been feeling a bit funny as well. :( Oh well, I still prefer this to the usual cold and rain.

I don't know if it's the heat, but I haven't really been in the mood to write lots of postscards recently. I'm enjoying the Finnish "Summer RR", but I haven't been sending all that many officials. Which is why I haven't been receiving many, either.. I did get one very nice official today, though.


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This lovely postcard came from Emmanuelle in France. Vannes is a small town in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2000 years ago. Vannes is located on the Gulf of Morbihan at the mouth of the river Vannes. It is around 100 km northwest of Nantes and 450 km south west of Paris. Vannes is a market town and often linked to the sea.



The stamp would seem to be an automated sticker label, but at least it's nicer than the labels that I've seen from France before (those haven't had any pictures on them).

Paris, France

This one is still one of my favourite postcards from France. I just love the colours and the misty atmosphere, and the old houses look very charming. I received this in 2002 from my two French penpals, Hélène and Anne-Sarah. They used to be friends, too, although fell out some years ago. I don't know if they still talk to each other... It's always a shame when things like that happen. I still write to Anne-Sarah, but haven't heard from Hélène for ages. I actually met her a few years ago in Finland when she was studying in Mikkeli; we went to an Apocalyptica concert in Savonlinna (still one of the most memorable concerts I've ever been to, I was completely taken by surprise and the band blew my mind away!) and a little later I went to see her in Mikkeli.



I don't really know what else to say about this postcard except that I really, really like it, and that it brings back lots of memories.

Lourdes, France

This postcard is from someone even more special... my boyfriend, Matt! :) He visited Lourdes with his family in 2006 (a couple of months after we had to say goodbye for almost two years as I had to go finish my studies in Finland.. not missing those years, they were pretty painful even if we got to meet up a few times). Matt's parents are Catholic so Lourdes is a pretty important place for them. I'm not a religious person so I would probably just enjoy the sunshine myself. :p



Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes that are reported to have occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous. At that time, the most prominent feature of the town was the fortified castle that rises up from a rocky escarpment at its centre (you can also see the castle in this postcard).

Following the reports that Our Lady of Lourdes had appeared to Bernadette Soubirous on a total of eighteen occasions, Lourdes has developed into a major place of Roman Catholic pilgrimage and of alleged miraculous healings. The 150th Jubilee of the first apparition took place on 11 February 2008 with an outdoor mass attended by approximately 45,000 pilgrims.

Today Lourdes has a population of around 15,000 but is able to take in some 5,000,000 pilgrims and tourists every season. It is the joint seat of the Diocese of Tarbes-et-Lourdes and is the largest pilgrimage site in France, the second site being the Basilica of St. Thérèse (Lisieux), in Normandie.

Doëlan, Brittany, France

Here's another postcard that Tiphaine sent me from Brittany, and equally lovely. I love the golden sunlight and how it reflects off the water and the houses. It all looks so peaceful and calm, like something out of a fairytale.

This card actually has a little bit more info on the back. So.. this is the harbour in Doëlan cove and the upstream lighthouse (yes, you can see it on the far right!).

From the Brittany Tourism website:

"Tucked into its estuary near famously arty Pont-Aven and Le Pouldu, Doëlan has remained the archetypal little Finistère fishing port. Normally, when separated by water, communities either side carry different names –here it’s simply Doëlan Rive Gauche or Rive Droite – Left or Right Bank, as in Paris!

On the eastern Rive Gauche, a green and white striped lighthouse signals the forward entrance to the main harbour. Towards the back of the estuary, on the western Rive Droite, it’s a red and white-striped lighthouse that pokes its head above the trees to help fishermen align themselves. Typically for the stretch of coast between Concarneau and Le Pouldu, the estuary is fairly narrow, but all manner of small boats anchor down it, or in the odd cove to the side. Pretty houses have bagged positions on the slopes on either side. Towards the back of the estuary, the Pont Du, or Black Bridge, enables you to cross from one bank to the other by road. Both sides of Doëlan have the odd café or restaurant at which to stop. There are also just one or two boutiques, but this place hasn’t been invaded by tourist shops to date."

Doesn't that sound like an ideal destination for a relaxed holiday?!

Brittany, France

I thought I'd post some older postcards here occasionally as well - I have quite a collection and there are lots of interesting postcards there that deserve more attention.

This card is from my French friend Tiphaine. She used to spend holidays in Brittany with her family (I don't know if she still does... she told me earlier that Brittany is one of the places she loves the most on this planet so I hope she can still go there :)) and would send me postcards from there. This one is probably my favourite, and, although you can't tell from the picture, HUGE! It's always a treat to receive something like this, especially when it's from such a good friend.



I don't know what this little village is called, but it's a little village in the heart of Brittany. It looks incredibly beautiful - I wouldn't mind spending some holidays there, either! :D Apparently Brittany and England are very much alike when it comes to weather, though.. :p

ps. Note the cute little lighthouse on the right!

EDIT: I think this card is from Doëlan as well, judging by the description of the lighthouses in the following post...